Overcoming Sales Objections Instructor Manual
TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ..............................................................................................................................................4 What is Courseware? ................................................................................................................................ 4 How Do I Customize My Course? .............................................................................................................. 4 Materials Required ................................................................................................................................... 6 Maximizing Your Training Power .............................................................................................................. 6 Module One: Getting Started .............................................................................................................8 Housekeeping Items.................................................................................................................................. 8 The Parking Lot ......................................................................................................................................... 9 Workshop Objectives ................................................................................................................................ 9 Pre-Assignment Review .......................................................................................................................... 10 Action Plans and Evaluation Forms ........................................................................................................ 10 Module Two: Three Main Factors ..................................................................................................... 11 Skepticism ............................................................................................................................................... 11 Misunderstanding ................................................................................................................................... 12 Stalling .................................................................................................................................................... 13 Module Two: Review Questions.............................................................................................................. 15 Module Three: Seeing Objections as Opportunities ........................................................................... 17 Translating the Objection to a Question................................................................................................. 17 Translating the Objection to a Reason to Buy ........................................................................................ 18 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 19 Module Three: Review Questions ........................................................................................................... 20 Module Four: Getting to the Bottom ................................................................................................ 23 Asking Appropriate Questions ................................................................................................................ 23
Common Objections................................................................................................................................ 24 Basic Strategies....................................................................................................................................... 25 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 26 Module Four: Review Questions ............................................................................................................. 28 Module Five: Finding a Point of Agreement ...................................................................................... 30 Outlining Features and Benefits ............................................................................................................. 30 Identifying Your Unique Selling Position ................................................................................................. 31 Agreeing with the Objection to Make the Sale ....................................................................................... 32 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 33 Module Five: Review Questions .............................................................................................................. 35 Module Six: Have the Client Answer Their Own Objection ................................................................. 37 Understand the Problem......................................................................................................................... 37 Render It Unobjectionable ...................................................................................................................... 38 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 39 Module Six: Review Questions ................................................................................................................ 41 Module Seven: Deflating Objections ................................................................................................. 43 Bring up Common Objections First ......................................................................................................... 43 The Inner Workings of Objections........................................................................................................... 44 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 45 Module Seven: Review Questions ........................................................................................................... 46 Module Eight: Unvoiced Objections .................................................................................................. 48 How to Dig up the “Real Reason” ........................................................................................................... 48 Bringing Their Objections to Light .......................................................................................................... 49 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 50 Module Eight: Review Questions ............................................................................................................ 51 Module Nine: The Five Steps ............................................................................................................ 53
Expect Them............................................................................................................................................ 53 Welcome Them ....................................................................................................................................... 54 Affirm Them ............................................................................................................................................ 55 Complete Answers .................................................................................................................................. 56 Compensating Benefits ........................................................................................................................... 57 Module Nine: Review Questions ............................................................................................................. 58 Module Ten: Dos and Don'ts ............................................................................................................ 61 Dos .......................................................................................................................................................... 61 Don’ts...................................................................................................................................................... 62 Module Ten: Review Questions .............................................................................................................. 64 Module Eleven: Sealing the Deal ...................................................................................................... 65 Understanding When It’s Time to Close ................................................................................................. 65 Powerful Closing Techniques .................................................................................................................. 66 The Power of Reassurance ...................................................................................................................... 67 Things to Remember ............................................................................................................................... 68 Module Eleven: Review Questions .......................................................................................................... 70 Module Twelve: Wrapping Up .......................................................................................................... 72 Words from the Wise .............................................................................................................................. 72 Review of Parking Lot ............................................................................................................................. 72 Lessons Learned ...................................................................................................................................... 72 Completion of Action Plans and Evaluations .......................................................................................... 73
Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. Chinese Proverb Preface What is Courseware? Welcome to Courseware.com, a completely new training experience! Our courseware packages offer you top-quality training materials that are customizable, user-friendly, educational, and fun. We provide your materials, materials for the student, PowerPoint slides, and a takehome reference sheet for the student. You simply need to prepare and train! Best of all, our courseware packages are created in Microsoft Office and can be opened using any version of Word and PowerPoint. (Most other word processing and presentation programs support these formats, too.) This means that you can customize the content, add your logo, change the color scheme, and easily print and e-mail training materials.
How Do I Customize My Course? Customizing your course is easy. To edit text, just click and type as you would with any document. This is particularly convenient if you want to add customized statistics for your region, special examples for your participants’ industry, or additional information. You can, of course, also use all of your word processor’s other features, including text formatting and editing tools (such as cutting and pasting). To remove modules, simply select the text and press Delete on your keyboard. Then, navigate to the Table of Contents, right-click, and click Update Field. You may see a dialog box; if so, click “Update entire table” and press OK.
(You will also want to perform this step if you add modules or move them around.)
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If you want to change the way text looks, you can format any piece of text any way you want. However, to make it easy, we have used styles so that you can update all the text at once. If you are using Word 97 to 2003, start by clicking the Format menu followed by Styles and Formatting. In Word 2007 and 2010 under the Home tab, right-click on your chosen style and click Modify. That will then produce the Modify Style options window where you can set your preferred style options. For example, if we wanted to change our Heading 1 style, used for Module Titles, this is what we would do:
Now, we can change our formatting and it will apply to all the headings in the document. For more information on making Word work for you, please refer to Word 2007 or 2010 Essentials by Courseware.com.
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Materials Required All of our courses use flip chart paper and markers extensively. (If you prefer, you can use a whiteboard or chalkboard instead.) We recommend that each participant have a copy of the Training Manual, and that you review each module before training to ensure you have any special materials required. Worksheets and handouts are included within a separate activities folder and can be reproduced and used where indicated. If you would like to save paper, these worksheets are easily transferrable to a flip chart paper format, instead of having individual worksheets. We recommend these additional materials for all workshops:
Laptop with projector, for PowerPoint slides
Quick Reference Sheets for students to take home
Timer or watch (separate from your laptop)
Masking tape
Blank paper
Maximizing Your Training Power We have just one more thing for you before you get started. Our company is built for trainers, by trainers, so we thought we would share some of our tips with you, to help you create an engaging, unforgettable experience for your participants.
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Make it customized. By tailoring each course to your participants, you will find that your results will increase a thousand-fold. o
Use examples, case studies, and stories that are relevant to the group.
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Identify whether your participants are strangers or whether they work together. Tailor your approach appropriately.
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Different people learn in different ways, so use different types of activities to balance it all out. (For example, some people learn by reading, while others learn by talking about it, while still others need a hands-on approach. For more information, we suggest Experiential Learning by David Kolb.)
Make it fun and interactive. Most people do not enjoy sitting and listening to someone else talk for hours at a time. Make use of the tips in this book and your own experience to keep your
participants engaged. Mix up the activities to include individual work, small group work, large group discussions, and mini-lectures. 
Make it relevant. Participants are much more receptive to learning if they understand why they are learning it and how they can apply it in their daily lives. Most importantly, they want to know how it will benefit them and make their lives easier. Take every opportunity to tie what you are teaching back to real life.
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Keep an open mind. Many trainers find that they learn something each time they teach a workshop. If you go into a training session with that attitude, you will find that there can be an amazing two-way flow of information between the trainer and trainees. Enjoy it, learn from it, and make the most of it in your workshops.
And now, time for the training!
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The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it. Moliere Module One: Getting Started Everyone who works in sales will run into sales objections. From retail employees on the sales floor to sales executives, people at every level of the business need to learn how to overcome sales objections. With the right training, it is possible to turn objections into opportunities. Investing in sales objection training will help improve sales and the company’s bottom line.
Housekeeping Items Take a few moments to cover basic housekeeping items.
If you need an opening or a way to introduce the participants to each other, utilize the Icebreakers folder to begin or between breaks during the day.
Let participants know where they can find washrooms, break facilities, and fire exits.
Ask participants to turn off their cell phones or at least turn them to vibrate. If they must take a call, request that they do it outside.
Take this time to encourage the group to ask questions and make this an interactive workshop.
Write the words Respect, Confidentiality, and Practice on a piece of flip chart paper and tape it to the wall. Explain to participants that in order to get the most out of this workshop, we must all work together, listen to each other, explore new ideas, and make mistakes. After all, that’s how we learn!
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The Parking Lot Explain the concept of The Parking Lot to participants.
The Parking Lot is a visible place where you will “park” ideas that arise which are not on the agenda, may be off topic, or are better addressed outside of the program.
At the end of the session, we will review parked ideas and follow up, or make suggestions for your own investigation when you are back at work.
Suggestions for the trainer: 1. If you are working with a large group of participants, you may wish to nominate a recorder to park items as you are facilitating. 2. It’s a good idea to note the name of the contributor along with the parked item. 3. Items noted on the parking lot can be useful to you later as you plan future training sessions.
Workshop Objectives Research has consistently demonstrated that when clear goals are associated with learning, it occurs more easily and rapidly. By the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:
Understand the factors that contribute to customer objections.
Define different objections.
Recognize different strategies to overcome objections.
Identify the real objections.
Find points of interest.
Learn how to deflate objections and close the sale.
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Pre-Assignment Review The purpose of the Pre-Assignment is to get participants thinking about their current thoughts and feelings in regards to Overcoming Sales Objections. You will also find a Pre-Assignment handout in the Activities folder. What do you think are the top three sales objections customers have? 1. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Action Plans and Evaluation Forms Pass out the participant action plans and course evaluation forms. They are located in the activities folder. Ask participants to fill these out throughout the day as they learn new things and have ideas on how to incorporate the things we discuss into their lives. The action plan uses the SMART system. This means that your goals must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.
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The world only goes round by misunderstanding.
Charles Baudelaire
Module Two: Three Main Factors Customers typically introduce sales objections for three main reasons. They may be skeptical of the product or service. It is also possible for customers and sales associates to have misunderstandings and miscommunication. Occasionally, however, customers may just be stalling. Part of overcoming objections is identifying the factors behind them.
Skepticism People are naturally skeptical. It is important to gain the trust of prospects and communicate effectively in order to prevent skepticism from developing into an objection. There are several ways that conversations with prospects can breed skepticism. Common Mistakes:
Lack of Rapport: It is important to develop a rapport. This requires listening and showing genuine interest in the prospect.
Poor questions or answers: When speaking with prospects you need to ask questions that will uncover the needs of your prospects. You also need to answer the potential customers’ questions completely. Do not minimize their questions.
Moving too fast: Never rush a presentation. People tend to feel you are less than truthful when they feel rushed.
Overpromising: People do not trust promises that seem too good to be true. It is essential that prospects understand how an organization will meet its promises.
Estimated Time
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10 minutes
Topic Objective
Explain how sales representatives can cause skepticism. Skepticism
Topic Summary Use the exercise to identify common mistakes. Materials Required
Worksheet One: Skepticism
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Complete the worksheet individually. Break into small groups and discuss your answers. Reunite with the class and review the topic.
Stories to Share
Share a personal story of a time an interaction with a sales representative made you skeptical.
Delivery Tips
Skip the large group conversation or the small group discussion if you need more time.
Review Questions
What builds rapport?
Misunderstanding Every relationship experiences misunderstandings, and misunderstandings happen easily when you are meeting with prospects. Communication is essential if you want to prevent misunderstandings and engage the prospects. There are three steps that all sales people can take to help prevent miscommunications. Steps:
Identify the need: Be sure to understand exactly what your prospects need and how you can help.
Understand goals: Ask the prospects what their goals are and how you fit into their goals.
Provide benefits: Do not give generalizations about your product or service. Explain exactly how your company will meet the needs and goals of the prospects.
Estimated Time
10 minutes
Topic Objective
Share ways to prevent misunderstandings.
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Misunderstanding Topic Summary Use the exercise to explore how to communicate effectively. Materials Required
Handout One: Misunderstanding
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Work on the handout with a partner. Discuss the exercise with the class.
Stories to Share
Share or have a few participants share stories about misunderstandings with prospects.
Delivery Tips
If you feel that it is necessary, have a small group discussion.
Review Questions
What do you need to know about your prospects to avoid miscommunications?
Stalling Occasionally, prospects turn to objections in order to avoid making a decision. There are different reasons why people stall when they are with sales representatives. It is important to understand why people stall in order to determine how you should proceed. Reasons:
Not authorized to decide: If the prospect is not authorized to make the final decision, meet with the person who is.
Other interviews: People want to compare companies. Try to make sure that you are the final interview.
Not convinced: If a prospect is not convinced, ask what questions you can answer to help.
No time: Set a definite time to meet with a busy client.
No money: If a prospect cannot afford your product, try to fit in their budget.
Estimated Time
10 minutes
Topic Objective
Discuss the reasons why prospects stall.
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Stalling Topic Summary Practice dealing with stalling prospects. Materials Required
Handout Two: Stalling
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Work on the handout with a partner. Share your ideas with the group.
Stories to Share
Share your own experiences with stalling prospects.
Delivery Tips
To save time, forego the class discussion.
Review Questions
What should you do if your prospect has no time?
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Module Two: Review Questions 1. You can develop a rapport by _______. a) b) c) d)
Listening Making promises Answering questions Talking
Listening helps develop a rapport with customers. It is also important to show interest in what is said. 2. What is true about promises? a) b) c) d)
They should be grand They do not matter They should be fully explained They do not have to be true
Never overpromise. Always explain promises fully to clients to gain their trust. 3. What is the first step to preventing miscommunication? a) b) c) d)
Provide benefits Identify needs Understand goals Make promises
Miscommunication can end negotiations before they begin. The first step to communicating with a prospect is identifying his or her needs. 4. How do you explain benefits? a) b) c) d)
Generally With promises By asking questions In terms of goals
It is important to communicate the specific benefits of a product or service. Relate the benefits to the goals of the prospect.
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5. What can you do if a prospect does not have time to speak with you? a) b) c) d)
Schedule another time to meet Continue talking Send an email Send a letter
Prospects stall by saying that they do not have time to talk. If this happens, schedule a time to meet. 6. Who should you pitch to? a) b) c) d)
The first person you speak with The CEO The person capable of making the decision HR director
Always make sure to contact the person capable of making a sales decision. This can prevent stalling.
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Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
Seneca Module Three: Seeing Objections as Opportunities Sales representatives need to expect prospects to make objections. Rather than seeing objections as hindrances, they should be viewed as opportunities. Addressing objections early on will help prevent any problems later on in the business relationship. Simply learn to translate the objections to questions and reasons to buy.
Translating the Objection to a Question Objections can indicate that a prospect is interested in what you have to say. Therefore, objections should be welcomed and encouraged. It is possible to translate objections into questions. Practicing this technique will provide the opportunity to understand exactly what the prospect objects to and alleviate any concerns by answering their questions. Example: So, you are saying that you are concerned that product will expire before you use it all?
Estimated Time
5 minutes
Topic Objective
Outline how objections are translated to questions. Translating the Objection to a Question
Topic Summary Recognize how you can translate objections to questions. Materials Required
Worksheet Two: Translating Objections to Questions
Planning Checklist
None
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Recommended Activity
Complete the worksheet individually. Share your answers with a small group before reviewing as a class.
Stories to Share
Share that this technique is part of a strong communication strategy that will help prevent miscommunications.
Delivery Tips
Skip the small group or class discussion to save time.
Review Questions
Are objections always negative?
Translating the Objection to a Reason to Buy Sometimes the objections that prospects give are actually good reasons for them to buy. It is the sales representative’s job to point out how the objection is actually a benefit. A client may object to the change in the business your product would bring. The change, however, could lead to greater profits or open up a new clientele. This sales objection can be overcome by providing clear information and statistics that show the prospect the benefits of buying. Example: I understand that most of your customers do not use social media, but our service will expand your customer base.
Estimated Time
5 minutes
Topic Objective
Understand that some objections are actually helpful. Translating the Objection to a Reason to Buy
Topic Summary Determine the roles and responsibilities needed for your organization. Materials Required
Worksheet Three: Reasons
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Complete the exercise individually. Discuss the exercise as a group, and review as a class.
Stories to Share
Explain that the objection may be fear of change, but businesses need to change to stay competitive. Ask them to consider how many changes have entered the industry in the past 10 years.
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Delivery Tips
Skip either the small or large group discussion if time is running short.
Review Questions
Why are some objections reasons to buy?
Case Study Cliffs Communities managed to thrive in the 2009 real-estate market. The initial objection to an employee-training program was to wait for the market to recover. Once the objections were questioned and overcome, the Cliffs Communities implemented a sales training program with great success. The closing average went from 4.8 percent to 11.9 percent.
Estimated Time
5 minutes
Topic Objective
Contemplate the case study. Case Study
Topic Summary Use the case study to consider how objections can become opportunities. Materials Required
None
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Ask the participants to describe any objections that were opportunities, and how translating the objection began the process.
Stories to Share
Share how turning objections to opportunities over the phone and in person have similarities and differences. Give specific examples.
Delivery Tips
You may need to begin the discussion.
Review Questions
What is a specific objection that can be viewed as an opportunity?
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Module Three: Review Questions 1. Objections should be ______. a) b) c) d)
Avoided Encouraged Prevented Excused
Objections need to be encouraged. They allow you to address questions and close a sale. 2. How should you address objections? a) b) c) d)
As a question Directly Indirectly Creatively
Translate objections into questions. This will make it possible to answer questions and address concerns. 3. What was the initial objection to training at Cliffs Communities? a) b) c) d)
Cost Time Comparison The market
The initial objection was to wait for the market to recover. The concerns were addressed when the objection was translated to a question. 4. How much did the closing average increase? a) b) c) d)
4.8 percent 11.9 percent 7.1 percent 6.5 percent
The closing average was 4.8 percent before the training and increased to 11.9. This is a 7.1 percent increase.
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5. Objections can __________. a) b) c) d)
Be a reason to buy Be avoided End a negotiation Be excused
Objections can actually become a reason for a prospect to buy. Simply translate the objection to a benefit. 6. What is a useful method for translating an objection into a purchase? a) b) c) d)
Promises Statistics Emails Goals
It is possible to make an objection a reason to buy by using statistics and specific information. Show prospects how the product or service will benefit them.
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