One of the most frustrating parts of a sales rep’s job is handling objections during the sales process. It seems like no matter how well you listen, how carefully you clarify and confirm your customer’s concerns, or how thoroughly your solution matches the customer’s needs, at the end you still encounter objections. Honestly, what more can you do to satisfy the customer and close the sale?
Well, one thing you can do is remind yourself that the sales process is essentially an emotional process. Even after you have done an excellent job of understanding the customer’s needs and providing an awesome solution, it is quite likely that you will have to be patient while your customer’s emotions catch up with your facts!
I like to say it this way: “Feelings are non-negotiable. They aren’t good or bad or right or wrong, they just are.” In sales and in life in general, we all have to deal with emotions and feelings. Feelings, whether rational or not, cannot be denied. If a customer, partner, colleague, friend or loved one feels something, that feeling is true and real for them. Now, granted, that feeling may be based on a false assumption, bad information or something irrational. However, denying someone’s feeling is a recipe for disaster, particularly in sales. Rather than arguing with someone about how misguided their feelings might be, you must take the time to understand those feelings and connect with that person to help them work through and resolve those feelings if possible.
In sales, objections that occur as you approach the close are based on fear. Often that fear is based on the buyer’s concern that he is not getting the best deal or that he will discover later that the product was defective or inferior in some way. Maybe he is concerned that someone else– maybe his boss or his spouse (really, what’s the difference?!?) – will criticize or second guess his decision to make this purchase. Maybe a growing sense of buyer’s remorse is already beginning to set in; he likes the product and believes he needs it, but he hates the thought of parting with all that money. Whatever the reason is, your job at this point is to patiently, graciously help the customer work through it.
When a customer raises an objection based on an opinion or a feeling, you can use the “Feel, Felt, Found” technique to defuse their concern. Be listening for key phrases like I think, I know, I feel, I don’t feel comfortable or I’m not sure. When you hear these phrases, you know you’re dealing with feelings. The “Feel, Felt, Found” technique allows you to acknowledge a customer’s feeling and then respond to their concern.
There process has three steps and works like this:
1. Feel: Begin this stage by saying, “I understand how you feel?” By doing this, you are acknowledging the concern and demonstrating that you understand the customer’s feeling is valid and normal.
2. Felt: Continue immediately with, “I have/Others have felt?” At this point you are setting up an example of how other people have also had to deal with similar concerns, so that you can explain how it can be resolved positively.
3. Found: Then finish the story by relating how you or someone else addressed the problem by sharing that, “I found/Others found?” In this way you are defusing the concern and providing a reason to overcome the fear that underlies the objection.
Here are some examples of how Feel, Felt, Found can be used:
Customer: “I just don’t know if your company can have the materials delivered to us in time.”
Sales Rep: “I understand how you feel. General Motors felt the same way when they purchased our materials for their Dearborn headquarters. Once they placed the order with us, they found that we were able to ship the materials to them well ahead of schedule so that they could be distributed to their entire staff before the open enrollment period.”
In this next instance, a specific customer situation was used to alleviate a client’s concern. The technique can also be used with more generic responses.
Customer: “We just don’t feel comfortable working with your company since we’ve never heard of you working in California.”
Sales Rep: “I can understand why you feel that way. Several or our customers in Oregon felt that way when we first started doing business there. After working with us and finding out about our 20 years of experience and our Fortune 500 client list, they found that we were a reputable supplier who could easily meet their requirements.”
The Feel-Felt-Found technique works very well. It allows you to acknowledge a concern and resolve it without telling a customer that he is wrong. Rather than using conversation stopper phrases like, “yeah, but,” you simply connect, sympathize, and offer a solution that will create a new comfort level. Once the emotion has been defused, the path to the close will be quick and painless.
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December Sales Quick Tip of the Month – Make Yourself Memorable
Customers appreciate small touches that allow them to clearly see the difference between your organization and the competition. Even little things can make a big impact. For instance, think about the way you correspond with customers. When you send correspondence or thank you notes, do something that makes your message stand out. One enterprising sales rep used nostalgic looking cards that featured vignettes of old tractor ads. The cards were usually attached to other correspondence but they still helped the sales rep to stand out from his competitors. Customers remembered the tractors. Some companies package their products distinctively, to gain that extra edge of recognition. Whatever you do, do something that makes your service just a bit different. Your customer will remember it and remember you, and that can be money in the bank.
