How to Overcome Sales Objections Like a Pro, As Suggested by Sashin Govender (South Africa)

Objection handling is an integral component of sales. It's not about convincing prospects or forcing them to accept your proposal; it should focus on meeting their concerns while continuing the dialogue.

Prevent objections early by compiling a list of common issues and providing responses in advance. Keep your objection management document updated, tailoring it to your target market.

1. Listen to the Objections

Sashin Govender (South Africa) suggests that nothing takes the wind out of your sails during a sales call like being met with an unexpected objection. These serious counterarguments can disrupt all your efforts in crafting your pitch. Still, if handled properly, objections can serve as an opportunity for you to demonstrate your value and close deals.

Sashin Govender South Africa

Experienced sales reps or newcomers alike must learn to address objections effectively for success in sales. It's essential to remember that most buyers will present some form of resistance during the selling process, so don't panic when an objection surfaces. To handle an objection effectively, listen closely and understand its source before responding with solutions.

Not to be overlooked is that objections are often just friendly excuses that mask the reason your prospect doesn't want what you have to offer them. A buyer might respond, "I'm too busy," while in truth, they just don't want to spend the time listening or don't believe your solution can provide them with what they need.

Once you've heard an objection, your response must acknowledge it in its terms. Doing this demonstrates your interest in helping them resolve their problem while showing you care about them as individuals.

You can proceed with the sale once you've addressed a buyer's biggest objection. Try to address their concerns immediately if possible, as this will increase their likelihood of continuing the transaction. If more information is required to satisfy them, ask for some time and come back later with more.

2. Understand the Objections

Sashin Govender (South Africa) highlights that unexpected objections can quickly derail a sales call, making it imperative that all salespeople acquire appropriate objection-handling skills such as situational awareness, gathering background information, leading with empathy, and asking thoughtful questions. Doing this can help control impulsive responses and pinpoint where most objections originate to overcome them.

Keep the conversation moving by creating an easy-to-use objections and answers document to address common concerns quickly. This document is especially beneficial if one or more of your prospects repeatedly use the same objections; for instance, they might use price as a smokescreen when their main worry is adding extra expenses into their budgets by purchasing your product by empathizing with their perspective and showing that investing in it will pay dividends many times over.

Another common objection from prospects is a lack of time to implement your product, but this can be overcome by conducting an assessment of their responsibilities and workflow to show them how your product can increase efficiency and productivity, along with data, testimonials, and case studies that demonstrate its return on investment (ROI).

An anxious buyer might worry that your solution will compete with existing tools or render them obsolete, creating an opportunity to highlight its unique benefits and how it can supplement or replace their current solutions. You could highlight any additional value-adds or discounts you provide that your competitors don't. For instance, if learning and training resources need allocating, highlight any extra onboarding services or training modules included with your product.

3. Ask Questions

Rejection can be hard to stomach when your sales career relies on meeting or exceeding quota. But rejection doesn't need to be the end for either party involved; sales objections provide an opportunity to learn more about your prospect's needs, demonstrate the value of your product better, build rapport, and increase trust between parties involved.

Sashin Govender (South Africa) mentions that objections may stem from misinformation or simply not understanding your product or service. To address this, ask your prospect questions about their current challenges and why they feel your solution can best address them. Listen carefully to their answers; don't be afraid to correct or add information if necessary.

If your prospect objects that your product is too costly, explain how it will save them money over time by eliminating waste and streamlining processes. Use case studies or testimonials from previous customers as evidence that investing in your product is sound.

Anticipate objections raised by prospects, prepare responses in advance to avoid being caught off guard when they voice their concerns, and increase their willingness to listen to your reasoning for moving forward with your offer. Keep track of common sales objections to understand what can be expected and ideal responses for each one. Role-playing can also help build your objection-handling skills - so feel free to role-play challenging scenarios within your team to gain experience handling any number of difficult situations!

4. Offer Solutions

As a sales leader, you must know how to address objections so your team can withstand deal-breaking excuses that threaten their pitches. Every objection poses an opportunity to change the conversation and alter your prospect's understanding of their needs from your solution.

When faced with an objection, please take a deep breath and approach it calmly and peacefully, according to Sashin Govender (South Africa). Don't panic or become defensive, as this will alienate your prospects; listen closely and fully understand why they are objecting so that you can create an appropriate objection-handling script.

When a prospect tells you they don't require your product, for instance, you can respond by asking how they feel about their current contract or offering to negotiate more favorable pricing plans - this shows them you are open to working together towards finding a suitable solution.

If a customer raises concerns over cost, you can defuse them by showing how your product or service can save them money in the long run. Or highlight its high return on investment, surpassing competitors.

As soon as an objection is presented, use it as an opportunity to demonstrate empathy and understanding to create rapport with your prospect. However, it may be time to walk away if they persist with their objection. As mentioned previously, experienced salespeople can reframe any objection into an opportunity to create and connect with buyers while showing how products or services add value to their lives - this skill will become invaluable over time and help overcome sales objections easily.

5. Reframe the Objections

Reducing sales objections may not be straightforward, but it certainly is achievable. Each objection you encounter should be seen as an opportunity to learn more about your ideal client and show how your product or service can improve their lives, save them time, or solve a problem they face. You can turn an objection into a conversation and complete the sale by listening closely, understanding its source, and asking pertinent questions to dig deep enough to gain clarity around its root cause.

"I'm not interested" can seem like an insulting statement from your prospect, but this should serve as an opportunity to see if their disinterest stems from something or if your approach is just off-putting them. Sometimes, this excuse is used because someone doesn't want the hassle or can't afford it. Try exploring your prospect further before giving up altogether.  

Convincing someone that your product or service is superior can be challenging when consumed with cost analysis and return calculations, as per Sashin Govender (South Africa). Offering time-limited trials with cancellation at any point may help overcome this objection by giving them time to experience its results first-hand before committing.

Rephrasing and reframing objections smoothly is an advanced sales technique that takes practice to master, but once you do, it will make life much simpler when faced with roadblocks in conversations - you might even come to enjoy them! For optimal success with sales objections, prepare in advance. Create a list of common objections and practice responses until they become second nature - remembering to tailor responses to each market to be prepared for specific concerns raised by buyers in each location.