Use Qualifying To Anticipate And Handle Objections In Sales
If you’re wondering how to handle objections in sales, it helps to know that objection handling actually starts way before you hear the first objection. It starts with qualifying.
One of the main benefits of qualifying is that you won’t be surprised by any objections.
Everything is laid out in front of you like a chess board and you know your next move no matter what your opponent does.
This is why qualifying has to happen before you ask for the sale (ideally, even before you start your pitch).
Once you’ve identified possible objections (red flags) during qualifying, follow these four steps to set yourself up for success when handling objections …
- Identify “red flags” during qualifying.
- “Dig in” on red flags using follow-up questions.
- Keep a note of these red flags in your “back pocket.”
- Address these red flags during your pitch.
1. Identify “red flags” during qualifying
When your prospect says something that sounds like a baby objection that might grow up into a full-grown adult objection by the time you ask for the sale …
We call these “red flags.”
Here are some examples:
- “We’re just shopping around right now.”
- “Hold on one second, let me ask [someone else] for an answer to that question.”
- “I don’t want to buy anything, but I’ll listen to what you have to say.”
- “Our budget doesn’t renew until next year.”
When you hear a red flag, it’s important to “dig in.”
2. “Dig in” on red flags using follow-up questions.
Asking good follow-up questions is one of the most important skills to master when learning how to handle objections in sales.
Click here to read more about asking follow-up questions during qualifying.
Let’s use this red flag as an example:
“Hold on one second, let me ask [someone else] for an answer to that question.”
If we think about BANT, which letter does this red flag belong to?
That’s right. “A” for Authority.
And here’s the objection that this red flag could grow into:
“I need to talk to [someone else] before we can make the purchase.”
If you’re qualifying a prospect and they’re constantly asking someone else for the answers to your questions, there’s a good chance that they’re not the decision-maker (DM).
Usually, this will come up during rapport building, when you ask who you’re speaking with and what their role is at the company.
But sometimes a non-decision-maker (NDM) will try to pass themselves off as a DM with more buying power than they actually have.
So you want to ask follow-up questions about this …
- Who is that you’re speaking with?
- What is their role at the company?
- Could we have them join the call?
Or, you could even be more direct with questions like this …
- Who will sign the contract?
- Who will approve the budget?
But you don’t want to fully handle this objection just yet. You just want to ask questions to learn more about it. Here’s why …
3. Keep a note of these red flags in your “back pocket.”
When you hear a red flag early on in the sales encounter, make sure you wait to address it. ⏸
Why wouldn’t you just address the red flag right away?
There are two reasons:
- You haven’t shown enough value yet.
- You don’t want to seem reactive.
You haven’t shown enough value yet.
Early on in the sales encounter, especially during qualifying, you still haven’t shown the prospect enough value.
Think of it like a battle. ⚔️
The prospect is fighting with objections and the salesperson is fighting with value.
The prospect already has all their objections ready to go, from the very beginning of the sales encounter.
But the salesperson can’t use any of their value (even though they might know it themselves) until they’ve discussed it openly with the prospect during the pitch.
Therefore, addressing a red flag early on in the sales encounter, especially during qualifying, is like going up against a fully-armed opponent, when we are still defenseless ourselves.
You don’t want to seem reactive.
Think of it like having an argument with a family member.
After everyone has voiced how they’re feeling, sometimes it’s best to take some time apart to think about possible solutions before reconvening to discuss later on.
Sometimes, when given a little time, the problem solves itself or just goes away on its own.
It’s the same with “red flags” in sales.
Sometimes the prospect will solve their own red flag for you.
If, for example, the prospect says during qualifying,
“We don’t want to spend too much money on this.”
But then, later on during the pitch, of their own volition, they say,
“Gosh, I can tell this is going to be expensive, but honestly, we need it. And it’s costing us more not to have it.”
Remember, red flags are baby objections. Not all of them will grow up into full-grown adult objections that actually get voiced when you ask for the sale. Some of them will solve themselves, be forgotten, or just become irrelevant.
Therefore, you want to take note and monitor red flags, but you don’t want to respond to them right when they come up for the first time.
4. Address these red flags during your pitch. ⚾️
Now that you’ve gathered a list of possible objections (red flags) from qualifying, you want to make sure to address these key points during your pitch.
For example, let’s say that you’re an AE at Amazon and you’re selling Amazon Web Services (AWS), but you discover during qualifying that your prospect is also considering making a purchase with Oracle for their Cloud solution.
As part of your pitch, you’ll want to make sure to include specific value, backed by data and client testimonials, about why AWS is better than Oracle Cloud.
You can even “check in” with your prospect to see if the value you’ve shown has mitigated the red flag that the prospect mentioned earlier:
“Bob, I know you mentioned before that you were also looking at the Oracle Cloud solution. Now that we’ve talked about how Oracle Cloud compares to AWS, what are your thoughts?”
We call this a “mini-close.”
Click here to read more about mini-closing.
If the prospect says,
“Oh, honestly, Oracle Cloud was just the first solution that we looked at. This seems way better.”
Then you can assume the red flag from earlier won’t turn into an objection.
But if your prospect says,
“I’m still not sure. One of our business partners uses Oracle Cloud and they tell us how much they love it all the time.”
Then you need to start preparing for this objection more seriously.
Click here to read more about handling objections.
Now, there are three possibilities when you ask for the sale.
If you’ve done all four steps mentioned above, when you ask for the sale, there are only three things that the prospect can do:
- Repeat an anticipated objection.
- Give an unanticipated objection.
- Sign the contract.
1. Repeat an anticipated objection.
This is a good situation. You’ve already anticipated the objection and you’ve probably already addressed it, at least partially. In other words, there is a very clear and consistent objection standing between you and making the sale. This is where great salespeople go to work!
Click here to read more about handling objections.
2. Give an unanticipated objection.
This is interesting. Assuming you did a good job of qualifying, this might be a fake objection. Or, you did a bad job of qualifying.
Click here to read more about “smokescreen” objections.
Click here to read more about how to tell if an objection is fake.
3. Sign the contract. ✍️
Woohoo! Go hit the gong! High-five your manager! You made the sale!
If you want to learn more about how to handle objections in sales, click here to read about the Objection Pentagon.