Resistance - How to Handle It

Do you ever meet with resistance from other people - I betyou do! It might be a customer, a colleague, a member ofyour team or even someone in your personal life. Dealingwith resistance or objections is one of the biggestchallenges faced by business people; so let's consider whywe get resistance and how we can handle it. I'm going totalk about customer contacts but the same rules applywhether it's a colleague or even someone in your personallife.

Well there's good news and bad news - first the good news.When someone says - "You're too expensive" or "We alreadydeal with someone else," or "I don't agree with you"- thenthey may not be telling the truth.

The bad news is - most of them won't buy what you're sellinganyway, but don't cut your wrists just yet because - there'smore good news.

If you can find out exactly what your potential customermeans when they say - "No" then you have a much betterchance of improving your success rate, getting more salesand more agreement.

What we need to realise is that, there is no smart answer toa customer's objection. Sales people are always looking forthe "things to say" that'll deal with an objection. How canyou possibly have an answer if the customer isn't tellingthe truth is the first place?

Many sales people believe the customer when they say -"You're too expensive". They then start offering discountsor walk away from the sale, complaining that their productor service isn't competitive enough.

So why do customers say "No"?

Well I don't want you to burst into tears but the First andmost important reason is that - they may not like you! Thatdoesn't mean that they dislike you, it just means that theydon't know you and they haven't built any trust or built arelationship with you. So firstly - get them to like you,sell yourself, be trustworthy, be a great listener, smile,be friendly.

The Second reason could be that they haven't understoodwhat the heck you're talking about. Maybe you haven't spokenclearly enough or you've used too many technical terms orjargon. This can make you seem like a real "smarty pants"so, that takes us back to our First reason. The answershould be simple enough, use language the other person canunderstand and keep checking by asking questions.

The Third reason may be that the customer wasn't listening.They might have been distracted by something or somebody -your big blue eyes or the fact that they're tired, hot andneed a comfort break.The trick is to keep checking when you're making you're saleor dealing with someone else - "Did you understand that lastbit, Mr Customer or did I make it confusing?"

Fourthly, they may not be the right person. The personyou're speaking with may be telling you - "We have anothersupplier" - however they may not be the decision maker. Tomake sure you're speaking to the right person, be brave and ask the question - "Is ityou who'll make the final decision or do I need to speak tosomeone else?"

The Fifth reason could be that they don't like change. Sometimes our potential customers like to stay in theircomfort zone and they don't want some salesperson tellingthem they have to change their way of doing things or theirsupplier. Even although they could possibly save money ormake their life easier; people are generally reluctant tochange.

It's therefore important to outweigh the customer'sreluctance by emphasising the benefits of your product orservice. Also, keep selling yourself and appeal to thecustomer's emotional side, don't be too logical. Alwaysremember that human beings will almost always allow theirhearts to rule their heads when buying something.So appeal to the customer's emotions, keep telling them howthey'll feel when they're using what you're selling - Howgood they'll look or how others will feel about them.

Lastly, it may just be that the customer genuinely doesn'twant or need or have the money for what you're selling.

The only way to find out which of these Six points is thetruth, is to keep asking questions, listen carefully to thecustomer and watch their body language.

Always remember that - "You're too expensive" could mean. -"I haven't understood a word you've said" or "I'm going onholiday tomorrow" or "My son-in-law works for yourcompetitor."

When a potential customer raises an objection, make sure youknow what they really mean before you deal with it.

"You can close more business in two months by becominginterested in other people than you can in two years bytrying to get people interested in you" - Dale Carnegie

Discover how you can generate more business by motivatingyour team!Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Salesby Motivating Your Team" This book is packed with practicalthings you can do to get the best out of your people . Click here nowhttp://www.howtogetmoresales.com/Motivating%20Your%20Team.htm