Handling Sales Objections vs. Harassing a Prospect

 I just received an interesting sales call. It is for a lead generation, database management tool.  Not a CRM. But a place where you can get decision maker contact lists for companies.

I was at least impressed that this person didn't email me but actually called me today saying he found me on LinkedIn.

I have looked at this service before. It is VERY expensive. Right now, it is just not a good fit for us for multiple reasons.

Here is where it got interesting.  I told him why it wasn't a good fit right now. He tried to refute my stance. He then proceeded to tell me about a great new tool that targets people that are searching for our products/services and blindly sends them a series of emails.

If you have followed along at all, you know I am not a fan of the blind pitch.

I proceeded to tell him; I am NOT A FAN of the unsolicited email without any personal interaction. That if I get them, I immediately flag them as junk.  He argued that they were emailing people looking for our products/services so that is ok.

I told him, we build relationships and don't just email prospects.

Understanding in our world, that some companies have been using the same exhibit company for 10, 15 or even 20 years. The chances of them just replying to a blind email and me selling them an exhibit, is pretty slim.

Can it happen?  Of course, but it would be very rare. You have to catch that person at just the right time, in the exact right circumstances to get them to reply to your email, engage and then buy from you. 

He proceeded to argue with me again, saying they have had a lot of success with other companies like us, in our industry.  Ok, maybe the REALLY big companies.

Remember, I told you they were VERY expensive. The most expensive option like this out there on the market. I have researched this previously.

My last objection was that they are by far the most expensive option out there.  Of course, his reply was, "I'm sure as you know, there is good reason for that."

So, this gets even better. Out of curiosity, I went out to their website to see what their pricing is like now.  There is NO pricing on their website.

My phone just rang. It was my persistent sales rep. He got a notice that I was out on their website, and he wanted to know if I wanted pricing.

I know all about handling objections. The best salespeople handle objections without the prospect even knowing they are handling the objection. Arguing with your prospect is not a good look.

Remember, I told him point blank, I would never use a blind, targeted email. That is just not how we do business. I really despise those emails that lack any personal attention and are clearly sent by a bot. 

AND it gets better! I just got another call from someone else at this company. This call came from a local number. I asked to be removed from their list. Her response, "You're not on a list".  Then why did I get 3 calls in less than hour. Clearly, they need some CRM consulting to not call the same prospect multiple times within an hour. 

How do you handle objections, and do you use automated emails?

When Your Prospect Says No

 Anyone that even remotely follows me knows that I am not a fan of the immediate pitch on LinkedIn.

Recently though, it has gotten worse. People that are requesting to connect with me are pitching me and then arguing with me.  I have had this happen more than once this week!

I know sometimes it is really frustrating to hear 'no' over and over again. Honestly, if you can't take 'no' gracefully, you may want to consider another career.

There are days when I am prospecting that I get the urge or sense that I want to be snippy with a prospect, it is time to move on to something different.  Do something, anything to distract and recenter your focus.  Clean up some data in CRM. Work on a new lead list. Do an expense report.  ANYTHING other than sending another email, message or making another phone call. Unless you want to write that prospect off forever.  Ok, there is a chance that they may not remember you being rude or short with them, but is it worth the risk?

Here was the conversation:

Monday, I received this.  I accepted her connection request.

Hi Lori! I see we share three mutual connections and wanted to reach out. Do you have 20-minutes to discuss how HR outsourcing can help your business? Our approach is different than most companies in this space. The renewal period is also near so wanted to share how we can offset cost long-term.

I have to give her credit; she actually did a little homework before sending me the connection request.  We were local to each other too. Tuesday, I replied.  As a salesperson, I appreciate when someone tells me that they are not a good prospect for me. I don't want to waste anyone's time.

We are a very small company and are all family.  We have no HR needs.

 She immediately responded:  

Lori, I appreciate your response. A lot of the small, family owned and operated businesses we work with find that our services actually give them the chance to enjoy family time outside of the work setting. Insperity may not be the best fit for everyone but, if you are looking to get back some time, I am happy to schedule a meeting to discuss with you how we are able to do this.

 I immediately responded.  Remember I already told her no. Here was my immediate response.

I appreciate your tenacity, but I can GUARANTEE we spend ZERO time on anything HR related.

You would think any normal human being would let it go, but no.

I'm glad I had the chance to connect with you today. If or when Total Displays decides to focus on exploring benefits and payroll, company compliance, and growth, I am more than happy to revisit this conversation with you. Enjoy your holiday weekend!

If that had been her first response, I would have said thank you and have a great day. Instead, I blocked her, and she lost any chance of ever earning my business.

I know I am demanding and expect too much of salespeople. But I am always learning from other's mistakes. I figure if it frustrates me, it may frustrate someone else too. 

If you make live phone calls, practice in the mirror. If you send messages have a polite response already typed up that you can copy and paste as a reply.

Try something along the lines of, "thank you for letting me know, if anything ever changes, please keep us in mind" or "Thank you so much for letting me know, I really appreciate your honesty, is it ok for me to send you my contact information so that you can keep it on file in case your situation changes?"

Both of these leave the door open. I have tricks and tips for how to stay in touch with them without frustrating them or losing them as a prospect all together.  Stay tuned for those at another time.

One More Call

This is going to be short and sweet.  Of course I am passionate about trade shows, marketing, branding, that is our lives. That is what we eat sleep and breathe every single day.

I have a couple other passions, sales best practices and CRM best practices.  I guess after 30+ years of sales experience, you maybe learn a thing or two.

Cold calling is a brutal job and is not for everyone. When you finally meet or find that salesperson that is good at it?  Hold on to them with everything you've got. It is a gift and a rare talent. I am one of those really strange people that love to cold call.  I am not patting myself on the back to say that I am good at cold calling.  But, I am good at cold calling.  

Like anything, if you do something non stop for too long, you can get tired. Some days are better than others.  I have tracked for years my ratios of calls, connects and engagements.  These are critical metrics to know how many dials you have to make to back into your number.  Of course it is much more complicated than I make it sound, but it is a good starting place.

You know those days, you set a # of calls goal for your day (if you don't do this, we need to chat -- you need to set a call goal).  Some days, you just slog through.  Here are some common frustrating results of your calls (some are specific to our industry).

• We JUST bought a new "xxxxx" - we have no needs
• We make our own "xxxxx" - we have no needs
• Can I tell him/her who is calling?  What is this regarding?  Oh we don't need any "xxxxx" (right the receptionist knows that detail.
• We don't allow solicitation calls (I HOPE EVERY ONE OF YOUR PROSPECTS HAS THE SAME ATTITUDE)
• Can I tell him/her who is calling? Let me check.  He/She is in a meeting.  - OK, do we really believe this?
• Specific in our industry, "we don't do trade shows".   Hmmm I'm looking at an exhibitor list and you are sure on there.  Interesting.

Of course we all know, gate keepers lie. There are a lot of ways to get past gatekeepers but that is another subject.  

I am always amazed at how this happens.  The day has not been super productive (don't forget your cold calling should always be planting seeds - so never a complete waste of time).  I push through and say, 'I'm going to make one more call" and invariably, that call makes the whole day worthwhile.  I really should track how often it happens.  Thankfully it happened today after what was kind of a crappy day in general.

Chin up sales peeps, there is always tomorrow and there is always 'ONE MORE CALL'.

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Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Read other Total Displays Blog posts at http://totaldisplays.blogspot.com/ or check out our website at www.totaldisplays.com