MY NEW FAVORITE ANSWER TO OBJECTIONS

For those of you who don’t know this, an objection on a sales call is just an excuse so the prospect can say no to you. They just don’t want to say yes. If they say yes it means they have to make a lot of changes (eg. Get you artwork, resize their ad, get credit approval at your company and worst of all tell the rep from the other magazine that they are leaving.) Nobody really likes changes because status quo is so much easier.  That is why you need to make doing business with your publication as easy as possible.

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In the meantime, however, you are going to hear a lot of objections and it is wise to have an answer for them in advance so you are not stumbling for words on the sales call. I do a lot of sales training on answering objections and have fun with my clients creating great answers to all of their objections. I see an objection as an opportunity so I absolutely love them. I have an answer for almost every objection that I hear while selling ads for my magazine.

My new favorite answer to many objections (it obviously does not apply to all) is “Why is that a problem for you?” When you ask that question it requires a response and possibly will bring up another or the real objection. Let’s try this answer on a few common objections and see how it works.

Example One

Sales Rep: “Do you have any questions or concerns at this point?”

Advertiser: “Yes, your magazine doesn’t seem to cover products like mine very often”

Sales Rep: “Why is that a problem?”

Advertiser: “Because I’m not sure your editors think my products are right for your magazine”

Sales Rep: “Well we can’t possibly write about every product every issue but didn’t we already agree that my readers are your target market”?

Example Two

Sales Rep: “Do you think you’d be ready to advertise in our November special Buyer’s Guide?”

Advertiser: “No, I am in a contract with the other magazine”

Sales Rep: “Why is that a problem?”

Advertiser: “I don’t want to get penalized for canceling my contract early.”

Sales Rep: “Do you know what the penalty is?”

Advertiser: “No, I really don’t know, that wasn’t in my contract”

Sales Rep: “Why don’t you find out and I will make up for any penalty they may charge you, although in my experience, publishers seldom charge penalties. It would be well worth it because didn’t you agree that my magazine reaches your target audience more cost effectively?”

You can see how the question, “Why is that a problem for you?” helps bring up the real concern or the real objection. Try it. It really does help move the sales call along.

I’d like to hear from you about what some your favorite answers to objections are. You can email me at moreadsales@gmail.com.

Happy Selling!