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Inspiration

Disarm objections with
a preemptive strategy

bjections are a fact of life for sales professionals price of your bankcard service is often cited as above the
throughout the year, and handling them skill- market, you might say, 'Would you agree that good support
fully is part of every proficient merchant level and 24-hour equipment replacement has more value than
O salesperson's repertoire. Indeed, Jeff Fortney pennies saved in monthly fees?'"
wrote in "Street Smarts SM: The secrets to overcoming objec-
tions," The Green Sheet, Aug. 13, 2012, "All training courses Of course, not all objections can be addressed preemptively.
recognize that how you handle objections may make the To handle objections not easily eliminated, Green advised
difference between success and failure." being ready with "testimonials and specific cases that
support your service and prove to your prospect that a
What if you could command meetings in such a way that possible objection is not valid. For example, 'Mr. Anderson
merchants don't even voice common objections that can of Anderson Auto Supplies thought that the price was the
sidetrack presentations? most important thing to him, but once he used our service,
he found that more approvals created more income. In
Research addition, he found that although overall he paid more than
In Good Selling!: SM: The Basics, Paul H. Green wrote, "However with his previous service provider, it was well worth the
you feel about objections, you must know that it's better gain in profits.'"
to avoid them than to overcome them later." That's right: Think on your feet
one surefire way to deal with objections is to avoid them
entirely. To do this, Green noted, professional salespeople There will be times when issues you did not anticipate will
plan their presentations to include the answers and proofs arise, as well. In these cases, Fortney suggested using the
that will decrease a typical prospect's resistance. LREA method, which includes the following steps:
• Listen
Green offered ideas on how to gather and present this
information. "Record your most typical objections," he • Repeat
wrote. "Don't trust your memory. Keep a written list of • Explore
the objections you have dealt with before, and ask your
service provider for help with the problem questions." He • Address
also advised to consult experienced peers, because they are
"excellent sources for this kind of information." You can't anticipate and eliminate every potential objection,
but you can close more sales faster and easier if you plan for
Craft your presentation objections and watch for the opportunity to close, Green
advised. Let's take this advice to heart as another brand-
Once you identify common objections found in the merchant new, beautiful year rolls in.
vertical you are targeting, it's time to work those concerns
and answers to them into your presentation. Green offered
these examples: "If you've discovered that your prospects
frequently ask about the size of the negative file that will be
used for approval, you might say, 'Wouldn't you agree that
more sales are more valuable than more declines?' Or if the Kate Gillespie, President and CEO

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