Barriers are opportunities

Don’t view a knockback or similar hurdle as a reason to give up, but rather an added incentive to make the sale.

There is only one appropriate way to respond to your customer’s words and barriers – carefully, truthfully, and with authority.

Whether it is: a bold statement in response to a challenge; a promise you make in order to gain buyer confidence; a guarantee that provides the prospect with peace of mind; an irrefutable fact to prove your point; or 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 salesperson, 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 I don’t believe any of them serves as a good enough generic example. 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.

Better still, 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 salespeople will try to get by without them. You’ll be able to recognise them at once – they’re the ones who 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 if 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 have found that an objection or a barrier actually indicates customer interest and so I begin my response with a question that helps me understand what their true feelings are. I might say something like: ‘Wait a second. Are you saying that xyz 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?’

You have to think ‘bottom line’. What can you ask or what can you say that will get your prospective buyer to the point of commitment, or at least to an indication of purchasing interest.

And all it takes to make that happen is proper preparation and gumption.

In the most competitive sales environments it’s vital you walk into a meeting razor-sharp, razor-prepared and razor-ready. Dull razors get thrown away; cheap razors hurt and cause cuts – everybody knows that.

What to do

1. List every possible barrier and objection.

2. Prepare responses for each one that have value or create ‘wow’.
3. Look for customers that have purchased in spite of the barrier and get them to shoot a short video explaining why they bought and what happened after purchase. (That’s where the value is.)

3.5 Stay at it until you have at least 25 examples and 25 videos.

Sound like a lot of work? It is.

The following statement has resonated with me for many years: ‘Most salespeople will not do the hard work it takes to make selling easy. Preparation is hard, but if it’s done right, selling is easy.’

How prepared are you?
How easy are your sales?

Jeffrey Gitomer is an American author, professional speaker and business trainer, who writes and lectures internationally on sales, customer loyalty and personal development. © 2016 All rights reserved. Don’t reproduce this document without written permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.