The following is an excerpt from The Conversion Code. Order now to receive exclusive bonuses.
There are three things that top salespeople do differently from average ones when they face an objection:
• The best salespeople pause and are silent 5x longer after an objection than average ones.
• The best salespeople respond to an objection with a question 54% of the time whereas average reps ask a question after an objection 31% of the time.
• The best salespeople stay cool under pressure after an objection and only increase their words per minute by 3. Average salespeople speed up their pace of speaking by 15 words per minute following an objection.
One theme I hope you have picked up on is that questions are required throughout the entire call. Questions are king. Curiosity wins. Conversations create customers. Using The Conversion Code, you ask questions in your greeting, when you dig deep, when you use FBTs, when you close, and when you get objections.
Like my coauthor of Exactly What to Say for Real Estate Agents, Phil M Jones, says, “It is the person asking the questions who is in control of the conversation.”
Although you can predict and prepare for your most common objections, inevitably there will be a few you cannot foresee. As I mentioned, I’ve actually gotten to the end of a great call, only to have the lead tell me that “I need to pray about this first.” That’s a very tough objection to overcome without coming across like a jerk. This is why you have to learn and lean on your skills such as ARC. Even when someone throws you a curveball, you can at least still take a solid swing at it.
Here is an example of an ARC when you get an outside-the-box objection:
ME: So to get started I need you to read your credit card number to me, four digits at a time.
THEM: Sorry, Chris, but I need to pray about this first.
ME: (Acknowledge) You want to pray about this first? I can appreciate that. I’ve prayed before making a decision like this, too.
(Respond) Let me ask you. Have you ever prayed about this before today? If you were to put me on hold and say a quick prayer right now, which I seriously don’t mind if you do if that would make you feel better, do you think the big guy in the sky would be okay with us accomplishing your goals of x, y, and z?
(Close) Then let’s wrap this up. Did you want to use a credit or debit card to move forward?
I am not suggesting that using these ARCs will work every single time, but once you master them they do work more times than not. They also really help you separate smokescreen objections from genuine ones. The reality is that it can be difficult to overcome objections, but the other reality is that most of the objections you hear day after day in sales are virtually the same.
Be prepared for them.
Nail these ARCs. Call their bluff. How you handle these micro moments during the close is what can elevate you from a good salesperson to a great one.
