During the sales dialog, it is important to anticipate and overcome buyer concerns and resistance. Objections are actually necessary to make us better listeners and salespeople. It helps us find a solution for his/her problem – not about you trying to make a sale. This is the trust-building relationship building dialog in action. A sales objection is any excuse or reason your prospect gives to explain why they don’t want to buy your product or service.
For this discussion activity, you will use the Feel, Felt, Found technique featured in the Reference Material.
How does it work?
It creates empathy with your client by telling them you understand how they “feel”. I’m listening.
Moving on to “felt” tells them they’re not alone. You’ve worked with people who have felt the same way. It moves their focus off the objection and moves them to a place of trust.
Finally, the “found” is a way to come to a resolution and show them that there is still a way to work it out.
Let’s look at one more objection example. “Your price is too high?
Apply the 3Fs:
FEEL: “I understand how you feel.”
FELT: “In fact, that’s not the first time I heard that – others have felt that way, too.”
FOUND: “And what they found was… (explain to them how you resolved the concern).”
Review the reference material in this module. Now answer the following questions.
Discussion Questions:
Revisit Module 5, and your product or service of choice, “Discussion Board no. 6 My Product or Service = Influencing the Value (Written Assignment in Preparation for the Individual Sales Presentation later in the class).”
What is that product or service? What is one benefit to the customer for this assignment?
Choose just one of the sales objections below.
Apply the 3Fs to that sales objection on your product or service using the benefit above (#2).
Don’t forget to respond with a 2+2 response to at least two classmates. See if they applied the 3Fs in a positive way.
“I don’t have time for this.”
“I’m too busy.”
“Just send me an email.”
“We’re going to wait.”
“Call me back next year.”
“I need to talk to my team and then get back to you.”
“I’m not the one who makes these decisions.”
“We already use one of your competitors.”
“Your product doesn’t do X.”
“It’s just not a priority.”
“It’s not in our budget.”
.
information down below (if needed)
Module 6 Required Readings
required-reading-wide.jpg
Kaul, A. (2021). The effective presentation: Talk your way to success. SAGE Publications India Pvt, Ltd.
Read Chapter 5 and 6
Link: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cwu/detail.action?docID=453687Links to an external site.
The Product Lead Organization is an excellent book about influencing customers. Although it is written from a software development perspective, the lessons and examples can be applied to many different fields.
Olson, T. (2020). The product-led organization: Drive growth by putting the product at the center of your customer experience. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. –
Read Chapters 12, 13, and 14
Link: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cwu/reader.action?docID=6317482&ppg=110Links to an external site.
Handling Objections: No, the Price is too High (Video)
During the sales dialogue or, what I like to call, just a conversation, your goal is to create value between the seller and the buyer. This is the fit. The benefits offered by the features. As we have studied in the early modules and assignments, effective sales dialogues are planned and practiced by salespeople and leaders. We do this by:
Encouraging buyer feedback
Focusing on creating value for the buyer
Presenting value in an interesting and understandable way
Engaging and involving the buyer
Supporting customer value through objective claims (third party testimonials, product demonstrations, sales aids, etc.)
The buyer feedback helps us find the fit and added value. How do we do this?
We continually assess and evaluate the reactions and responses of prospective buyers. This provides the salesperson with important information measuring:
The climate between the salesperson and the buyer
The buyer’s level of interest in the product’s features and benefits
How well the presentation is progressing toward the buyer’s purchase decision
However, the buyer will have objections. And we will need to ask about these in order to move forward. We need to confirm the benefits and if these are meeting the needs of the buyer.
Darn, those objections! But wait, they are very helpful to the sales process.
During the sales dialog, it is important to anticipate and overcome buyer concerns and resistance. Objections are actually important and necessary for us. It helps find a solution for his/her problem – not about you trying to make a sale. A sales objection is any excuse or reason your prospect gives to explain why they don’t want to buy your product or service. For example, if you ask your prospect for the order (the sale) and they say,
You know, this sounds really awesome, but we want to take some time to think about it.
Guess what? That’s an objection.
There are many possible objections. We live with objections on our personal life as we as in business. These are the most common:
I’m sorry, I don’t have time for this.
Maybe later, I am so busy.
Call me back next week.
Let me talk to my partner first.
It is too expensive.
Darn, your product doesn’t do what I want.
I already work with your competitors.
Let’s learn more from Dan Lok, How To Handle Sales Objections With The “3 F’s” Method.
Video link: Feel Felt FoundLinks to an external site.