Revenue Journal®

In any sales situation, the seller wants the buyer to buy. The buyer, meanwhile, is considering the purchase - and alternative courses of action. Most sales training gurus would call those alternatives "objections," and salespeople are trained to "counter" those objections.

But this usually backfires.

Here are some typical "alternative courses of action" that could be floating around in the buyer's mind as she listens to a sales pitch:

• I think I like the other company's product better

• There are more important things to buy

• I think I'd prefer a smaller/lighter/stronger/easier/cheaper version

• A new, better version will probably come out next year

• It's too confusing right now, too difficult to make a decision

• I'd rather make it or do it myself
  

Here's what happens in typical selling situations, when these issues come up in the buyer's mind.

The least effective salesperson will talk and talk even though the buyer has made it clear, via body language and a sudden drop in interest level, that one of the alternatives has become more appealing as the salesperson prattled on. This salesperson has lost the sale, but continues to jabber, while the buyer is devising her exit strategy ("How can I get this person out of my office in the shortest amount of time and with the least amount of bother?"). This is one of the most common situations in sales.

A slightly better salesperson will notice that the buyer is now crossing her arms and sitting back in her chair, and that she has started to frown. He will stop, and ask if she has a concern.

If it's too late, the buyer will pretend that there isn't a problem, immediately change her body language, and continue to devise her exit strategy as the salesperson resumes his pitch.

If it's not too late, the buyer will express her concern.

And here is where we separate "slightly better" salespeople from "stellar" salespeople.

The "slightly better" salesperson, as soon as the buyer expresses her concern, will start pitching again. He will treat the buyer as a silly child who just isn't aware of all the reasons why his product would be better than her alternative. This will only alienate and irritate the buyer, who really did have a valid concern, and who will now regret that she shared her concern with the salesperson. "I should have kept my mouth shut," she will think. She will become more determined than ever not to give this salesperson her business.

The stellar salesperson will sense a concern, and stop pitching. He will actually turn off the presentation as soon as the buyer has expressed her concern. He will start to encourage the buyer to talk more about her concern, and will not sell during this entire exchange. He will agree with the buyer about her alternative courses of action. "Well, it's true, you could put this off right now," he will say. "Because you're right, if you wait a year or two, a new, better version will come out. We introduce new versions every six months, for example."

Then, the salesperson would let there be silence. This is the hardest thing for salespeople, and one of the main reasons that salespeople have so much trouble communicating with engineers, finance people, and anyone else who likes to compose their sentences in their heads before speaking. Not to mention buyers who are thinking over their alternatives. What will happen during this silence?
Whatever the salesperson said just before the silence will ring in the buyer's mind. "We introduce new versions every six months, for example." The buyer will take this new information and add it to her thinking process. She will then ask a question: "If I buy from you, will I be able to upgrade for a reasonable price when you come out with a new version?"

Still sitting back, not selling, the salesperson will say, "Yes, we have an upgrade path. The cost of an upgrade is always about 1/3 the cost of the full program." More silence.

What is happening during this silence? The salesperson is letting the buyer go through her own buying process. He is not dumping more data on her, when she is not ready for it (which is what most salespeople do). He is not treating her as if she is stupid for considering alternatives. He is acknowledging that there could be alternatives, and he is letting her think them through.

Most importantly, he is taking advantage of a fact that is seldom, if ever mentioned in sales training materials: Buyers want to buy. Buyers want the purchase to be easy. It's easier to buy from a salesperson who is sitting in front of you than it is to keep looking. But it has to be the buyer's decision. The seller has to give her the time and space to make that decision.

The seller is also stepping back a little, letting the buyer come forward if she wishes. In the seller/buyer dance, the seller is letting the buyer take the next step. The buyer has now had time to consider her options, and has decided that her concern about obsolescence isn't that critical, because the seller has an upgrade path. She has now countered the objection in her own mind.

Now she will say to the salesperson: "Well, since you have a clear upgrade path, and I really do need to get this problem solved, I'm comfortable with this. Let's go back to the presentation."

The salesperson can now start pitching again, while keeping an eye on the buyer's responses.

Note that the stellar salesperson never countered the buyer's objections, but carefully listened to them and, if they made sense for the buyer, even agreed with them. Most importantly, he was willing to walk away.

I do need to note that this is not the insincere agreement so typical of telesales call techniques. "Oh, yes, Mrs. 'Zheerazho,' I understand why you would say that. I'm sure you are good at repairing your own computers. But wouldn't you still want a certified technician to come out and evaluate your current networked PCs and help you improve them?" This is not the same as the technique I just described. This is just manipulation, pure and simple, and it alienates and irritates the customer, who immediately thinks, "How can I get this creep off the phone as quickly as possible?"

Instead of countering objections, the best salespeople use the jujitsu method, where they don't fight the objection, they accept it and work with it. And, they are willing to walk away.

What's interesting is, when the seller is willing to walk away, the buyer often follows.