Are You Ready to Move Past the Roadblocks?

A proper, pointed, precise, purposeful response can help you shorten the sales cycle.

How do you respond to your customer’s words and barriers?

The answer is: CAREFULLY, TRUTHFULLY, and with AUTHORITY.

Whether it’s a bold statement in response to a challenge, or a it’s promise you make in order to gain buyer confidence, or it’s a guarantee that provides the prospect with peace of mind, whether it’s an irrefutable fact to prove your point, or it’s your ability to communicate passionately to the prospective buyer, the right words can create a buying atmosphere and complete a sale in a very few minutes.

The challenge to you, the sales professional, is to be prepared to respond to a challenge, not perplexed by what the customer is demanding and offer some weak excuse—or worse, give up.

I know you’re hoping for some examples, but as I mentally go through my 10 biggest and most creative sales in New York City, I don’t believe any of them sufficiently serve as good examples. So rather than be specific, and have non-applicable examples, I can tell you that if someone asks me a question that doubts my ability to deliver, or questions my price, or puts up some barrier to “yes,” I make an irrefutable, comforting guarantee, statement, or video that answers their concern, and moves me closer to mutual agreement.

Or better, I offer a video testimonial of someone else loving my offer and buying. This provides both proof and peace of mind. Having the videos requires work, and many sales execs will try to get by without them. You’ll be able to recognize them at once—they’re the ones that never make sales, and blame others for their failings.

If someone makes a statement that indicates interest, I immediately ask for a commitment. Or at least uncover whether that is one of their motives for buying.

When someone throws a barrier at me, I take it as both a test and a challenge. Often times, I find that an objection or a barrier actually indicates customer interest. So I begin my response with a question that helps me understand what their true feelings are, and I might say something like, “Wait a second! Are you saying that (___) is the only thing between you and an order?” And then I proceed from there. But I have taken the barrier or objection and immediately qualified it as the only one.

It amazes me how many salespeople take an objection or a barrier as a defeat. Maybe it’s my attitude or self-confidence level, but I have always looked at an objection as a road-bump on the path to a sale.

And if the buyer says that he or she has to consult with others, I immediately ask, “if it was only you, what would your decision be?”