You’re the Problem, Not the Objection

After 30 years in sales, I’ve heard just about every objection imaginable.

“I can’t afford it.”

“I need to think about it.”

“It’s too expensive.”

“I need to talk to my spouse.”

“I’m not interested.”

“Let me get back to you.”

Most salespeople hear those words and immediately blame the customer.

They didn’t have the money.

They weren’t interested.

They weren’t ready.

But what if the objection isn’t really the reason you lost the sale?

What if it’s you?

That can be an uncomfortable question to ask, but it can also completely change the way you approach sales.

Believers Are Closers

One of the sales books I’ve gone back to repeatedly over the years is Zig Ziglar’s Secrets of Closing the Sale.

There’s a story in the book that has always stuck with me.

Zig tells the story of a fellow salesman who claimed to believe completely in the product he was selling. There was only one problem:

He didn’t own it himself.

When his customers told him they couldn’t afford the product, deep down he sympathized with them because he was making the exact same excuses in his own life.

Eventually, he bought the product himself.

Something changed.

Now, when a customer told him it was too expensive, he could speak from conviction rather than theory. He understood the sacrifice because he had made it himself.

His sales took off.

That story reinforces one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in sales:

You cannot consistently transfer conviction you don’t possess.

I saw this selling Rainbow vacuums. If someone asked whether my wife used one at home, I could tell them it was the only vacuum in our closet.

I’ve experienced the same thing with other products I’ve sold. They’re what we use in our own home.

And I’ve seen the principle carry over into other industries.

People can feel whether you truly believe what you’re telling them.

The Customer Who Said No—and Then Bought

Years ago, I had a salesperson give a presentation to a couple who ultimately said no.

That was the end of it.

At least, that salesperson thought it was.

A couple of months later, another salesperson ended up talking with the exact same couple.

He discovered they had already seen the presentation, but he asked if he could show it to them again.

They agreed.

And the second salesperson made the sale.

Same people.

Same product.

Same basic presentation.

Different salesperson.

Think about what that means.

The first salesperson could have walked away saying, “They weren't interested.”

Except they were.

He could have said, “They didn't want the product.”

Except they eventually bought it.

The difference was that one salesperson accepted the objection as the final answer while another continued the conversation.

That's why I tell salespeople:

An objection isn't necessarily a rejection.

Sometimes an objection simply means:

“I’m interested, but I’m not convinced yet.”

Your Best Close Happens Before the Close

Salespeople love closing techniques.

“What should I say when they tell me they need to think about it?”

“How do I overcome the money objection?”

“What do I say when they need to talk to their spouse?”

Those are good questions.

But the best close isn't a clever sentence you memorize.

The best close is a value-building presentation.

Your customer is always asking one fundamental question:

WIIFM — What's in it for me?

They aren't buying because you need a commission.

They aren't buying because your company needs another customer.

They're asking:

How does this improve my life?

What problem does this solve?

What does this do for me?

The better you answer those questions throughout your presentation, the fewer objections you should have to overcome at the end.

Think of Value Like Climbing a Mountain

I like to visualize the sales process as climbing a mountain.

As you present your product or service, you're building value.

Every benefit, every question, every moment of rapport and every problem you solve moves the customer farther up that mountain.

Then you reveal the price.

Suddenly:

“That's too much.”

Their perceived value drops.

Most inexperienced salespeople panic right there.

They either start arguing with the customer or immediately discount the product.

I look at it differently.

That's when the fun begins.

Now I get to find out what is actually preventing that person from saying yes.

Instead of pushing harder, I can start asking questions and rebuilding value.

“That’s Perfectly Okay”

One phrase I've used for years when someone gives me an objection is:

“That's perfectly okay.”

Sometimes I'll even shake their hand when I say it.

Why?

Because it lowers their guard.

Most people have been conditioned to defend themselves against salespeople.

Think about walking into a store.

A salesperson approaches and asks:

“Can I help you find something?”

What's the automatic response?

“No thanks, I'm just looking.”

Five minutes later you're trying to find something and asking that same salesperson for help.

You weren't necessarily rejecting their help. You were giving them a programmed response.

Customers do something similar during the sales process.

“I need to think about it.”

“I can't afford it.”

“I need to talk to my spouse.”

Those statements don't always mean the conversation is finished.

Your job isn't to attack the objection.

Your job is to understand it.

Stop Talking Yourself Out of Sales

One of the biggest mistakes I've seen salespeople make is simply talking too much.

Years ago, I worked with a salesman I'll call Mike.

He was struggling badly. He had made roughly one sale in more than 20 presentations and was ready to quit.

So I went with him on a presentation.

He did almost everything right.

He built rapport.

He presented the product.

He established value.

Then he asked the customer to buy.

And before the customer could answer, Mike started talking again.

And talking.

And talking.

He started offering different options and explaining everything all over again.

He was uncomfortable with the silence.

He literally talked himself out of the sale.

I gave him one assignment for his next presentation:

Ask for the sale and shut your mouth.

He did.

The silence became incredibly uncomfortable.

But eventually the customer spoke—and Mike got the sale.

Salespeople have to become comfortable with silence.

You've spent 30 minutes, an hour or maybe longer presenting information. When you finally ask someone to make a decision, give them time to think.

Sometimes the best thing you can say is absolutely nothing.

Listen to Understand, Not to Respond

Another reason salespeople struggle with objections is that they're listening for an opportunity to respond instead of listening to understand.

Your customer will often tell you exactly why they're not buying.

But you have to hear it.

Maybe they don't have the money today.

Maybe they don't understand the value.

Maybe you presented the wrong solution.

Maybe you never discovered what they actually wanted.

Maybe you rushed.

Maybe you overwhelmed them with information.

Maybe you sounded desperate.

Maybe you tried to close before they were ready.

Instead of arguing with the objection, investigate it.

If someone says:

“It's too expensive.”

Don't immediately respond:

“But look at everything you're getting!”

Try:

“I understand. When you say it's too expensive, what are you comparing it to?”

Now you're having a conversation instead of an argument.

A Simple Five-Step Process for Handling Objections

When you receive an objection, slow down.

1. Listen

Don't interrupt.

Let them finish.

Sometimes customers will actually answer their own objection if you give them enough room to talk.

2. Acknowledge

“I understand.”

“That's a fair question.”

“I can appreciate that.”

Acknowledging someone's concern doesn't mean you're agreeing with it.

3. Clarify

Make sure you're solving the real problem.

You might ask:

“So, if I'm understanding you correctly, the only thing keeping you from moving forward tonight is the monthly investment?”

Now you've isolated the objection.

4. Respond

Connect your answer to something the customer has already told you matters to them.

Don't launch into another 20-minute presentation.

Address the actual concern.

5. Ask Again

This is where many salespeople fail.

They successfully handle the objection—and never ask for the sale again.

If you've answered their concern, ask them to move forward.

Every successfully handled objection needs another close.

What the Common Objections May Really Mean

When someone says:

“I need to think about it.”

Try:

“Absolutely. Usually when someone tells me they need to think about it, there's one thing they're still unsure about. What is it for you?”

When someone says:

“I can't afford it.”

Try:

“I understand. When you say you can't afford it, do you mean it doesn't fit the budget right now, or you're not sure it's worth the investment?”

Those are two completely different problems.

When someone says:

“I'm not interested.”

Try:

“That's perfectly okay. Just so I understand, is it that you don't see a need for it, or you don't see enough value in what I've shown you?”

You're not trying to manipulate someone into buying something they don't want.

You're trying to understand what they're actually telling you.

And today's customers are smart.

They know when they're being sold.

The best salespeople learn to have these conversations naturally enough that customers don't feel like they're trapped inside a closing technique.

Confidence Comes From Reps

Sometimes the objection isn't your presentation.

It's your confidence.

Confidence doesn't magically appear.

Confidence comes from experience, and experience comes from repetitions.

The more conversations you have, the more objections you hear.

The more objections you hear, the better you become at recognizing patterns.

Eventually, you've heard “I need to think about it” enough times that it doesn't scare you anymore.

You've heard “I can't afford it” enough times that you don't panic.

You simply ask another question.

To become great at sales, you need confidence in three things:

Yourself.

Your product.

Your price.

If you're afraid of your own price, your customer will feel it.

If you don't believe in your product, your customer will feel it.

And if you don't believe in yourself, don't expect your customer to have more confidence in you than you have in yourself.

Here's My Challenge to You

For the next week, write down every objection you receive.

Don't just write down the objection.

Record four things:

What did they say?

What did I say?

What happened next?

What could I have said differently?

Do this for 20 or 30 conversations and you'll begin seeing patterns.

And once you recognize the patterns, you can start improving them.

You can't improve what you refuse to measure.

So the next time someone tells you:

“I need to think about it.”

“It's too expensive.”

“I need to talk to my spouse.”

Don't automatically blame the customer.

Don't blame the economy.

And don't blame the objection.

Ask yourself a harder question:

What could I have done differently?

Maybe you didn't establish enough value.

Maybe you didn't ask the right questions.

Maybe you never discovered the real objection.

Maybe you talked too much.

Or maybe you simply forgot to ask for the sale again.

That's the uncomfortable truth behind You're the Problem, Not the Objection.

But there's also good news.

If the problem is something you're doing, you have the ability to change it.

Get more conversations.

Get more presentations.

Get more reps.

Learn from every no.

And keep moving forward.

Because every objection is an opportunity to become better at the skill of selling.