With the traditional method of selling, salespeople were taught to close, close, close. They were told to spend most of their time closing the deal. Trainers taught salespeople fancy closes to handle and overcome objections. Over the years, a new school of thought has evolved: the school of possibility. Imagine what would be possible if all the objections you typically hear at the "closing table" were prevented and defused throughout the course of your presentation.
Each salesperson has two choices to make. The first choice is to spend minimal time on your presentation and most of your time attempting to close the prospect. The second choice is to invest most of your time up front in a masterful presentation infused with well-crafted questions that defuse the most common objections. If you meet the prospect's expectations and desires from the start, the close will occur naturally. Which school do you choose to be a student of?
Do you run into the same objections over and over again? If you see a pattern, create a plan to defuse these objections and preemptively prevent them from surfacing. Wouldn't it make your job easier if you were to put these objections and concerns to rest throughout your presentation? The end of your presentation should simply be the natural evolution of the selling process: earning the business of a new prospect.
If you can overcome an objection during the course of your presentation while it's still in its fetal stage, as opposed to waiting until the end of your presentation when it has become a full-grown obstacle, you will find yourself spending less time closing and more time posting new sales.
Consider this: if you were building a brick wall, would it be easier to remove a broken brick that has just been laid or to wait until the wall is fully constructed? If you wait until the end, you will have to tear down the entire wall just to get to the broken brick and then spend the rest of your time reconstructing it.
The same holds true with the selling process. Remove the defective bricks or objections first in order to avoid having to do so later — when it may be too late.
About the Author
Keith Rosen is an engaging speaker, master sales coach, and well-known author of many books and articles. For his work as a pioneer and leader in the coaching profession, Inc. magazine and Fast Company named Keith one of the five most respected and influential executive coaches in the country.
AllBusiness.com provides resources to help small and growing businesses start, manage, finance, and expand their business. The site contains forms and agreements, business guides, business directories, thousands of articles, expert advice, and business blogs.
Material copyrighted by AllBusiness.com.
