I was talking deals with a co-worker recently – he was trying to figure out what to offer a client to close. I remembered a salesperson I worked with a while ago who had this issue with overcoming objections he THOUGHT the customer might have.
The more I worked with this guy, the more I realized that he was working on issues he thought the customer might have. He had done a fair amount of deals in the past, and he knew what a lot of the objections were. The guy was experienced in selling this product – he knew the list of objections the customers had.
This all hit me one day when he told me, “I gave the customer my max 20% discount – I really want to bring this deal in.” I asked him how he framed the discount – did the customer know the 20% was his max? He gave me this blank look…….he had just sent out the prices but never really talked to the customer. We waited a couple of days for the deal to come in, and it never did. We both called the customer together, and it was clear pretty quickly. That customer thought 20% was our starting offer and that we would go way lower.
I realized that this sales guy was negotiating with someone, only that person was in his mind. That person was the sum of all the objections he has ever heard….all the issues and reasons why customers did not buy. He had the perfect objection-creator in his mind….kinda like the guy who has an iPod in his brain….. (links to The Onion)
When you are selling to someone, you must know what that person thinks. You know more than the customer…you’ve sold this product more than they have ever bought your software. You probably are even thinking faster than they are – you’ve probably sat around thinking about this deal a ton. So, when you get that person on the phone……you need to slow it down, really listen to them, and respond to their actual objections.
A good rule to remember….the only objections that matters are the ones you discuss with the customer. You should be proactive and dig around for them, but the customer has to confirm them for you.
