Toughest part of selling made easy – Objection Handling

Toughest Part of Selling Made Easy – Objection Handling

What are Objections?

Objections are the questions or doubts a client has about a product. They are a normal part of any sales call. On average, an advisor will have to handle 4 to 5 objections before successfully closing a sale. If you don't face objections, it's unlikely you'll close the sale. These objections are actually steps toward success.

When a client raises an objection, it means they are somewhat interested in the product but need more information or confidence to trust you. If a client is not interested, they usually avoid the situation by saying they'll get back to you. This means your product presentation didn't impress them.

Getting objections is necessary to lead the client toward buying the product. Common statements from clients that imply disinterest include:

• "I will get back to you."

• "I will think about it and call you."

• "I need to talk to my CA/partner/spouse/parent."

In such cases, try to identify the real objection by asking the right questions.

Important Ingredients for Objection Handling

I've asked many advisors in various workshops about their feelings when they hear an objection. Common responses include frustration, anger, irritation, and sadness. When asked about their first thoughts, they often think the client is not interested or is making excuses. These negative feelings and thoughts are the real cause of failure in handling objections.

Zig Ziglar defined sales as "the transference of conviction from one mind to another."

This means two important ingredients of sales are:

1. 100% conviction about the product in the advisor’s mind.

2. Good communication skills to transfer this conviction to the client’s mind.

Negative feelings like irritation, frustration, sadness, and anger can adversely affect communication skills, leading to failure in transferring conviction about the product.

It's important to stay positive. Expect that the client is interested in your product but needs more information before buying it.

Objection Handling, the Guerrilla Advisor Way

A true guerrilla advisor takes each objection and turns it into an opportunity to close the sale. They follow specific guidelines to handle objections successfully.

Guerrilla advisors understand that objections can be real, needing relevant information and data, or psychological, where the client is interested but fearful of making a mistake. Creating an atmosphere of trust and confidence can handle psychological objections.

"The way you say something is more important than what you say."

Handling Real (Objective) Objections

To handle real objections successfully, do some homework before pitching any product or asset class to a client. Any product or asset class at any given time has 4 to 5 major objections. These objections may change with market cycles.

Step 1: Prepare the List of Probable Objections

For each product or asset class, prepare a list of probable objections before promoting it.

For example, while pitching an equity fund to a retail investor, the probable objections could be:

• "Equity is very risky; I want safety. My bank FD gives me an 8% guaranteed return. Why should I look at equity?"

• "The market may correct anytime; I will wait for the correction."

• "Our market is driven by FII flow; what if they sell heavily?"

• "The market seems to be at an all-time high; it can’t move much further."

• "I am educated and can buy stocks directly; I don’t need mutual funds."

Step 2: Prepare for Each Objection

Once you have the list of probable objections, prepare an ideal combination of answers with good data, examples, and stories. Being prepared in advance helps maintain a positive mindset when hearing objections, as they won't be unexpected.

Keep two important aspects in mind while preparing for objections:

1. Have strong arguments and hard-hitting dialogues.

2. Have proper materials like reports, data, or visual evidence to back your arguments. I call these materials "sales enablers."

For example, counter the objection that equity investment is risky by saying, "In the long term, not investing in equity is riskier because inflation will erode purchasing power." Back this argument with relevant data or visual evidence, like a graph showing the value of ₹100 over ten years due to inflation.

Another example: If a client says FIIs may move out of the market, causing a crash, counter by saying that FIIs are long-term investors, not speculators. Back this with historical data on FII net inflow into the Indian equity market over the last 20 years.

In a nutshell, be prepared in advance for all probable objections with answers, data, and visual sales enablers.

In the next part, we will discuss five powerful ideas to handle objections effectively.

Happy Selling!