How Do You Handle Objections or Address Concerns?
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Thirty-Two years ago I saw my first sales training video (on VHS) made by Tom Hopkins. All these years later, he’s still in the sales game, and offering gems that can help all of us to grow our business—including myself. I will share these gems in a moment, but first let me share the recent events which led to me thinking back to that sales video…
I recently worked with a couple of new clients that I that want to move their IRA funds out of the market and into something that will be safe AND will generate a lifetime income when they retire in 7 years. So, I introduced them to index annuities with lifetime income riders.
At first they had a lot of questions and objections, which is pretty common when first learning about index annuities. So, I took a page from the Tom Hopkins book of sales tips, and worked through their fears and helped them design the very best lifetime income plan for their current and future needs. It worked so well that I want to share these strategies with you.
As a professional salesperson, you must smile inside when you hear an objection, because you are now ready to go to work. Until you learn how to address their concerns, you cannot achieve your potential in sales. To give the greatest amount of service to your customer, you must be able to help them get all the information they need to put their fears to rest. ~ Tom Hopkins
By Tom Hopkins
Here are the steps I teach for handling any objection:
1) Hear them out. Listen to the objection (area of concern) without comment.
2) Feed the objection back. Re-state their concern to ensure you understand it.
3) Question the objection. Ask how important this concern is to making a final decision so you know what weight to give your answer.
4) Answer the objection. Address it. Help the buyer think differently about the concern—as being less important or unimportant when weighed against all the benefits of your offering.
5) Confirm the answer. Once the concern is addressed or overcome, confirm that your answer satisfies them.
6) Attempt minor close. Ask how the buyer feels about going ahead now that the concern is handled.
7) If minor close receives a positive response, move toward finalizing the sale.
Please highlight and imprint this statement on your brain:
OBJECTIONS ARE NOTHING MORE THAN THE RUNGS UP THE LADDER TO CONSUMMATING THE SALE.
The only way to climb this ladder is to grasp and overcome the rungs called objections. Unless you face them, grasp them, and reach above them, you'll never reach the top and become a true Champion.
Building on What Tom Hopkins Teaches…
I try to learn from every conversation where I have had to help a client overcome an objection, and incorporate that experience into future client meetings. By building in educational sections designed to overcome common objections, you help the client understand the concepts and strategies so well that their imagination doesn’t have a chance to whip itself into a frenzy and create objections.
Give us a call when you have client meetings coming up, and we can help you prevent the objections from occurring.
CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO MESSAGE FROM THE OWNER OF TWH.
~ Greg Skogsberg
800-200-9194
Gregory B. Skogsberg
Greg is the President of TWH Agency with 20+ years of professional experience. Greg is a seasoned management consultant who has worked for organizations of all sizes in locations all across the country.
