Foolish Errands

Here is a post that was my contribution to the Sales Bloggers Union April Fools discussion (and long ago 1st ever version of A Chip off the Block)

There are lots of jokes that our suspects and prospects customers play on us. When it’s not April Fools Day; we call them objections. Here are three common ones telesales people have shared with me (along with my own personal translation of what those pesky prospects might actually be saying):

1. Send Me Some Information (I’m in the middle of something and really want you to go away)
2. I Have A Vendor (It isn’t worth the time to learn about you because the people I work with aren’t screwing up)
3. We’re All Set (I can’t think of anything I’m doing that sounds like what you just said)

How about our customers?

1. If It Was My Decision (I don’t want to hurt your feelings and another vendor did a better job matching our needs with their proposal)
2. Nothing Going On (Based on what we have done together so far, your solution doesn’t match my current challenges)
3. Waiting To See About The Economy (I’m not sure your products are worth fighting any internal battles for money)

Now what? Well most telesalespeople (and salespeople in general) will either give up and hang up or blast right through without stopping. Which one sounds like you?

I’ve found that neither of these strategies work. Instead here is my patent pending (not really, it just sounded good) easy to follow three step process:

1. Acknowledge – that they have a valid point
   
2. Ask A Question – to turn their brain back on
   
3. Tell A Story – to get them reengaged in the conversation

Instead of running off on a foolish errand, take a moment and actually listen to what your prospect/customer ISN’T saying and move on from there.  Plus since this process will work with any objection – take a few minutes this week and work through the ones you hear most frequently.