Is there anything a company can do to improve how their salespeople approach B2B sales negotiation? More importantly, can companies improve the performance of their sales team without spending lavishly on training? In fact, there is. While there is no secret to sales success, there are some fundamental principles that are present in almost every sales training approach. All are predicated on identifying customer objections, addressing them and turning these objections into opportunities. Having a company's sales force concentrate on the five most prevalent customer objections will not only lead to increased sales, but will ultimately lead to stronger customer relationships.
Understanding Customer Objections
Before discussing these five customer objections, it’s important to understand the root cause of these objections. For the most part, when a customer has an objection, it’s often attributed to their concerns. When thinking of these customer concerns, sales professionals must reflect on their own concerns. Every salesperson has concerns about not meeting sales forecasts and budgets, not closing the big sale, being questioned on their approaches and decision making and ultimately, not connecting with their customers.
Sales professionals often fail to realize that customers have similar concerns. Being able to identify these concerns will allow salespeople to better handle customer objections when they arise. So what are the five most prevalent customer objections and how should they be handled?
The above video covers five fears and concerns that all B2B customers have. Some of these concerns are covered in this article, some are not. To learn more, please go to: Five Customer Concerns That Cost You Sales and Market Share
1. Customer Price Objection
We’ll start with the most common customer objection and one every sales professional is familiar with. When a customer has an objection about pricing, what’s their main concern? It’s not what you might think. A customer’s objection about price is rooted in a fear about costs. Every company wants to mitigate their costs and customer concerns about pricing are merely concerns about being able to control costs. Once salespeople realize this, they can concentrate their efforts on saving the customer money, without simply lowering the price of the product.
The best approach is to concentrate on cost-per-use product benefits that help to lower customer costs in the long run. However, there are a number of other ways sales can help customers reduce costs without simply resorting to lowering the price of the product. Take the time to come up with a list of approaches that can save customers money without reducing pricing.
Essentials of Negotiation: Defending Price and Handling Customer Scare Tactics
2. Customer Control Objection
Customers need to feel in control of the buying process. Ultimately, they must be in control of deciding who ultimately wins their business. When a sales professional subtly takes control of the customer’s buying process, a number of customers will suddenly, and often abruptly, object. Their fear is rooted in losing control or of ultimately being “swindled”. Salespeople must understand this customer objection and confront it head on.
When confronted with a customer who suddenly tries to halt the buying process, sales must take the time to give the customer back their decision making power. Asking what their biggest concerns are, or what they ultimately object to, is often enough for the customer to regain focus.
3. Customer Uncertainty Objection
Successful B2B sales negotiation requires the ability to handle a customer’s uncertainty about moving forward. This customer objection is most present when a salesperson is pursuing a new customer. Often the customer is apprehensive and fearful of the possible new relationship. Companies could be market leaders, product innovators and recognized for their excellence in customer service and yet to this new customer, none of that matters. Since there is no history with the salesperson, the customer may ultimately decide to stick with their current supplier, flaws and all.
Sales professionals must learn to deal with this customer objection by allaying the customer’s concerns about how their account will be handled. Ultimately, it’s about assuring the customer that the company will support them in both good and bad times.
To learn more about defending your position as the vendor of choice against your competitors, please go to: Stop Losing Business to Overseas Competitors: Define Your Customer’s True Purchasing Costs
4. Customer Support Objection
Just like sales professionals are concerned about having their own decisions questioned, customers themselves have this very same concern. The contact at a customer’s account has the same issues any employee would. They have concerns about how their decisions will be judged, how they’ll be measured and ultimately, how their decision to purchase from the sales representative will be viewed by those they report to. When confronted with this customer concern, sales professionals must help their customer support their decision to buy. This means taking the time to provide the customer with all the ammunition they’ll need to justify their purchasing decision.
5. Customer Relationship Objection
It’s one thing to have your decisions scrutinized by those you report to, but it’s another thing entirely to have your decisions challenged by the sales professional. One of the biggest mistakes sales professionals make in B2B sales negotiation is to challenge the customer’s decision not to purchase. There are literally thousands of reasons why a customer may or may not order. Most of them have little to do with what the sales professional did right or wrong.
When a sales professional challenges a customer’s purchase decision, it forever taints the relationship. This customer objection is often a result of past experiences and manifests itself in a concern about how the sales professional will handle losing orders.
Run the ultimate reward program to improve your customer relationships and increase your client retention.
When it comes to succeeding in B2B sales negotiation, it’s important to keep the sales process simple. Identify the customer’s objection, deal with their concerns and move the process forward.
When sales professionals are able to reflect on their own fears and concerns, it allows them to better identify their customer’s concerns. Turning these objections into opportunities will close more sales and help strengthen the customer relationship.
It's about understanding what concerns customers the most and using that to close more business. Identify your customer's concerns, confront them head-on and present your case. In the end, understanding these concerns will help you close more business.
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