Lee, who sells advertising, emailed with a really good question. When cold calling, many prospects cut him off with the objection, “we’ve already planned our budget for the year.” Then Lee asks, “Any thoughts on disarming this response?” Lee said that they have a unique product that is effective, but “I usually can’t even get that much out before I’m dismissed.”
Objections are thrown out through all stages of the selling process, not just at closing time. The prospecting stage is no different.
Doing sales training with a bank based in Baltimore their bankers were faced with two common objections when cold calling. One: “We’re doing business with another bank already.” Two: “It’s too much of a hassle to change banks.” They get these objections 75% of the time they told me and they are always at a loss for a response.
Often when you’re cold calling you’ll get one or two common objections almost every time, just like Lee and the bankers. That’s good to know, because then you can be prepared.
Lee had the right idea. How can you be proactive and disarm the response before it comes up instead of being cornered by it with no escape?
I gave Lee the same suggestion I gave to the bankers: bring the objection up first, before the prospect dismisses you.
“I’m sure you’ve already planned your advertising budget for the year, but….”
“I’m sure you’re doing business with another bank, but….”
“I know that changing banks can be seen as a hassle, but….”
By nipping the objection in the bud first, you accomplish three things:
Give me enough reasons
The money’s not in the budget is a common put-off. But what is a budget? To me, a budget is a strategy. A goal. Budgets by definition must be flexible enough to allow for new opportunities or problems that will arise throughout the year.
Think of a budget as being like your Saturday morning grocery list. Maybe one of your items is the snapper advertised as being on sale for $3.99/lb. You get to the fish section of the market and see the newly handwritten display of “Just Arrived Today – FRESH WILD ALASKA COPPER RIVER SALMON!” $14.99/lb.
You love that Copper River salmon. Your favorite. You can taste it now. Mesquite wood grilled and basted with lemon garlic butter sauce sprinkled with chives. Besides, you had a good week this week. Made two more sales than you expected. What the heck. They’re only available a couple of months out of the year. You deserve to reward yourself. You release the snapper and reel in the salmon. Besides, the crushed ice display with the giant Copper Rivers stretched out to full length appeals to the wild Cabella’s fisherman that you are.
Give me enough reasons and I can make some adjustments in my budget. If I want it bad enough, I’ll: (a) justify it, and (b) find the money in another budget that I can move over. Our jobs as salespeople are to give enough reasons to buy the Copper River salmon.
What to say after “but…”
So you deflect the objection. You buy yourself a precious 10 seconds. What do you do with the extra time to sell the appointment or at least get a few moments to explain why your prospect can’t live without your Copper River salmon?
There’s a technique referred to in the book Your Attention, Please by Paul Brown and Alison Davis they call the “high concept”, a term used by Hollywood script writers: in 25 words or less you must be able to convey your story idea clearly.
Examples they use:
– Teacher of the Year. Two junior high school instructors compete in a brutal battle to take teacher of the year honors.
– Wedding Olympics. The families of the bride and groom take on a competition of physical and mental games to determine which last name the couple will take.
– The Untouchables: Capone Rising. The story of the young Al Capone: his arrival in Chicago and his rise to the criminal kingpin. Prequel to the 1987 film, The Untouchables.
I applied the high concept idea to my book (you’ll see on the back jacket). “You could sell to anyone – if you could just get in front of them first. This book gets you in front of them.”
The high concept is the statement you use after “but….”
Change what you are saying
Don’t use generic words like “the best”, “unique”, or “unusual opportunity”. These are “blah” words that numb people’s minds and cause them to say “not interested” or “the budget’s already set.” If you want to change what people are thinking, you’ve got to change what you’re saying. Be specific. Give them numbers, dollar amounts, or hours saved. Tell them specifically what’s in it for them. (See today’s sidebar “Ad Hoc Selling”, question #3.)
“I’m sure your advertising budget is set for the year, but 100% of our subscribers are the decision-makers who buy your type of product (the high concept). Our website poll of 300 readers shows 80% of them buy what you sell. If they’re not buying from you, it could be because they don’t even know you exist. We create a presence for you.”
“I know changing banks can be a hassle, but independent research honors Raven Bank as the easiest bank on the East coast to change to (high concept). The reason? Each of our bankers takes personal responsibility for the transition and holds your hand every step of the way.”
Will bringing up the objection work every time? Of course not. Nothing ever does. But if you can’t get a word in edgewise, try something different. This technique has rarely failed me in my 30+ years of selling. Don’t get dismissed prematurely.
Objections?