How to turn any objection for a funnel sale, into a close

An objection is when a customer or prospect turns to you and says “that’s too expensive” or “I’m OK with how we are”.

It’s seemingly negative feedback for what you’re talking to them about.

Objections are terrifying and the reason we shut down when we hear them, is because we hear the customer saying “NO”.

But that isn’t the case. An objection is just the customer explaining that they don’t understand how this project or sale, affects their life and make it better.

An objection isn’t a no. It’s a customer looking for a way to rationalise a purchase. You job, running a business and selling marketing funnels, is going to have to deal with objections.

Most of the time, as I mentioned, we shut down. We hear what sounds like a NO and we back off. But that’s not what most customers want. Most people want to be sold to.

You’re already sat there, why not take the time to push through? The worst that’s going to happen is they’ll politely decline and tell you’ll they’ll think about it.

To me, “I’ll think about it” or apathy is more dangerous than no. No means they’re on a side. They’ve chosen a side of the fence to be on. Apathy is very hard to turn around.

I’d rather speak to 10 people that disagree with me than 100 who are apathetic.

Objections are a part of our lives AND I’ve got news for you. Just because you don’t hear an objection, or it’s not said to your face, doesn’t mean it isn’t being thought.

Objections come up all the time when we’re making ANY sales, and that even means online.

When we write sales letters and online videos and webinars and product pages, customers are still throwing up objections before purchasing.

What they want is reassurance, to see that you’re listening and they’ve been heard. Objections are how we rationalise a changing way of thinking.

Let’s explore the VERY simple process behind turning any objection into a close.

 

The key is to agree

What if I told you, the key to successful sales, is to agree with everything the customer says?

One half would say “obviously that’s true Mike. The customer is always right. If I agree of course they’ll buy from me.”

The other half say “if I agreed to everything the customer said I’d be building huge massive projects for free. I’d be promising work I can never deliver.”

That’s not what we’re saying. The truth is that the customer isn’t always right. In fact customers are often wrong. Or even lie.

But it’s impossible to close a sale when both sides are in disagreement. We’re looking to get customers to agree with us. The fastest way to do that is agree with them.

If a customer want’s the world, agree that you can get that for them. For a price.

If they reduce the price agree with them. With reduced results.

There’s nothing wrong with agreeing and saying something isn’t a problem. As long as you are also happy to move the goal posts.

If a customer says “I want the world, but I only want to pay $100” we can say, “I want to give that to you. I can do both those things – give you the world and charge you $100. But they’re not going to be the same project.”

Next, let’s explore the 3 part series that turns any objection into a close.

Feel, felt, found.

Feel

When a customer throws an objection to you, like “that’s too expensive” or “my wife/husband/partner/business associate need to see this first” or “I like how things are now” or “I wanted something else”, first we need to AGREE with them.

We can use think, feel, mean, understand. Whatever connection you want, to prove that you’re listening.

I totally understand how you feel.

I know what you mean.

I hear what you think.

I understand what you’re saying.

We’re connecting with them and demonstrating that we’ve heard them. Most of the time, that’s all people want. They just want to feel heard and understood.

Most people don’t listen. Especially anyone trying to sell something. We just don’t listen.

Most people selling a product and most of your competition will say “Oh…ok. I’m sorry you feel that way.”

We’re going to agree with the customer. I understand how you feel. We’re going to flip the objection round and help them understand.

The best part, is that we can do this all day.

Felt

Now we’re going to show that not only have we agreed with them.

Other people feel this way.

AND we’ve helped them too!

Nothing makes people feel more at ease, than when they hear they’re not the first to ask a question.

I totally understand how you feel.

A lot of people we’ve spoken to felt the same way.

A lot of people – we’ve done this before and got over this before.

FELT the same way – they don’t feel like that anymore because we’ve helped them.

Feel, felt. The easiest response in the world to any objection.

It also gives us time to think of a response.

Found

I totally understand how you feel.

A lot of customers felt the same way when we spoke to them.

But what we found is…

But what we found is – when you add up everything you’re getting. It’s well worth the price.

But what we found is – because we have a 100 day refund guarantee, there’s no risk if you want to return it.

But what we found is – when we looked at what your business could look like, it’s worth exploring.

But what we found is – if we explore what it is you DO want, we can provide something that suits better.

Objections are like commonly asked questions. A lot of the time, we can even used a rehearsed answer. There’s no need to think of something on the fly like that.

If you’re really struggling, use it as an opportunity to ask another question or continue the conversation.

Give yourself some time and explore the most common objections you hear. What’s your counter-argument? Don’t just accept “well that’s the price” or “that’s the way it is, take it or leave it”. Think about what other people experienced who might have felt the same thing.

What we’re doing is telling them the benefits and results that we are going for, if they commit.

“I don’t have the budget to spend on marketing”.

I understand how you feel. Lots of customers felt the same way. But what we found is for one company, we made their budget back in 60 days and continued seeing growth for the rest of the year.

I understand how you feel. Lots of customers felt the same way when we spoke to them. But what we found is that we can direct other budgets into growth channels that give you some breathing room.

We can go on and on.

It sounds like…

We start to wrap it up by repeating their goals, roadblocks and concerns.

So it sounds like you want to [goal] but can’t because [roadblock]. You’re concerned with [objection], but we’ve seen how [turned objection].

You want them to agree with that statement. We’re reaffirming their goals, showing how we can fix a roadblock and heard their objection.

We’ve listened to them and still want to help them

If they raise another objection, just rinse and repeat.

Do you want help with that?

If they do agree with you (the key is to agree), then we ask “do you want help with that?”

That’s their opportunity to close themselves and you don’t feel you’re pushing them into it.

If they don’t want help, it’s YOUR job to qualify your leads better next time.

This sounds very pushy

Absolutely not. Look, I get that some people hate the idea of selling. But without selling anything, the world doesn’t move.

Everyone sells something. The Pope sells religion. Banks sell debt. Toyota sells journeys.

We’re helping people understand the investment they’re making. It’s hard, I know, and it can be awkward.

But if you can have the conversations, you’re doing the OPPOSITE of pushy sales.

Pushy sales is when you don’t turn an objection, you answer it. Pushy sales is when you’re having an argument with someone and you still buy.

We’ve all been there and it doesn’t help. I get objections from long term customers all the time. It’s their way of testing if I’m committed to helping them.

What are the most common objections you hear and are you going to handle them differently? Let me know in the comments.

Mike Killen

Mike is the world's #1 sales coach for marketing funnel builders. He helps funnel builders sell marketing funnels to their customers. He is the author of From Single To Scale; How single-person, small and micro-businesses can scale their business to profit. You can find him on Twitter @mike_killen.