As a B2B salesperson, you know that objections are a part of the game.
But instead of letting them be a roadblock, what if you could use them to your advantage?
With the right objection handling skills, you can turn sceptics into believers and doubters into loyal clients.
In this article, we’re going to give you the inside scoop on the 14 best objection handling skills that your sales team absolutely needs to know. So, get ready to empower your team with the tools they need to succeed in the challenging world of B2B sales.
What is Objection Handling in Sales?
Objection handling is an essential skill for any successful SaaS sales team. In the B2B world, prospects will inevitably have questions, concerns, or hesitations about your product or service.
And if those objections go unaddressed, you risk slowing down your SaaS sales cycle and losing potential customers to your competitors.
Whether it’s competitor information, product pricing, or product fit, there are countless objections that your sales team may face. But armed with the right objection handling skills, they can turn those objections into opportunities to build trust, demonstrate value, and close deals.
Here are 14 of the best objection handling skills your SaaS sales team needs to know.
1) Preparation
Preparation is key if you want to succeed in sales.
Your sales team should thoroughly research prospects and their potential objections before any sales call. This will enable them to anticipate objections and tailor their approach to meet the prospect’s needs.
Using scripts is another effective way to prepare for objections. With a well-crafted script, your sales team can confidently address objections and provide solutions to the prospect’s concerns.
It also allows them to provide a more personalised sales experience and build trust with prospects, ultimately leading to greater success in sales.
2) Practise Active Listening
When your prospect raises an objection, resist the temptation to jump in with counter arguments or try to overpower them with your sales pitch. Instead, take a step back and give them the space to express themselves freely. Pay attention to their words, their tone, and their body language.
Active listening means you’re not just listening to respond, but listening to understand. So don’t interrupt, don’t dismiss their concerns, and don’t try to push your own agenda. Instead, focus on what they’re saying and ask questions to clarify their position.
Remember, the goal is not to overcome the objection, but to truly understand the prospect’s perspective and find a mutually beneficial solution.
3) Express Empathy
If you want to succeed in sales, expressing empathy is a must-have skill.
Your sales team needs to put themselves in the prospect’s shoes and see things from their perspective. This means acknowledging and validating their concerns, and showing that you truly understand where they’re coming from.
When handling objections, it’s easy to get defensive or dismissive, but that’s not going to win you any points with your prospects. Instead, focus on finding common ground and working collaboratively towards a solution that addresses their concerns.
This way, you can build trust and credibility with your prospects and set the foundation for a successful business relationship.
4) Acknowledge the Prospect’s Concerns
When a prospect shares their objections, it’s crucial to show that you value their input and care about their needs. One of the best ways to do this is by acknowledging their concerns in a meaningful way. This not only builds trust but also sets the stage for productive discussions.
To effectively acknowledge your prospect’s concerns, try repeating their objections in their own words. This helps to clarify their points and makes them feel heard and understood.
It also gives your sales team the opportunity to show that they’re actively listening and committed to finding a solution that meets their needs.
5) Clarification
Clarifying objections is essential to ensure your team understands the prospect’s concerns correctly. Encourage your team to ask open-ended questions encouraging prospects to elaborate on their concerns and clarify misunderstandings.
This can help your team understand the prospect’s point of view more fully and address their objections in a way tailored to their needs.
By clarifying objections, your sales team can provide relevant information specific to the prospect’s concerns, which can help build trust and credibility.
6) Reframing
Reframing is a technique that involves restating the objection in a positive way that highlights the value of your solution. Through object reframing, you show the prospect how your product or service can meet their needs or solve their problem.
Encourage your sales team to master reframing by understanding the prospect’s concerns. For instance, if the prospect says that your service doesn’t provide all the solutions they need, ask them—”How can we make our service better to meet your requirements?”
Remember, reframing objections aims to shift the prospect’s perspective and turn objections into opportunities for closing deals.
7) Educate the Prospects
Prospects may object to your product or service because they don’t fully understand it. In such situations, it’s crucial to educate them about the value and benefits of your offering.
To do this effectively, your sales team should provide informative materials to help prospects understand how your product or service can meet their needs.
This approach shows that your team has the prospect’s best interests in mind and can help them make informed decisions. Additionally, it helps establish your brand as a reliable source of information, increasing your chances of closing the deal.
8) Anticipate Objections
Identify the most common objections and prepare responses for each. Your sales team can then use this information to anticipate potential objections and be ready with targeted responses.
Moreover, by anticipating objections, your sales team can prepare for them proactively and avoid getting caught off guard during the sales call. This approach will help your team remain calm and focused during challenging situations, leading to successful sales.
Encourage your team to be proactive in identifying potential objections by reviewing previous sales conversations and preparing for them. By doing so, they can build trust and credibility with prospects, leading to higher conversion rates and increased revenue.
9) Show Confidence
Confidence is crucial in objection handling. It’s imperative to motivate your sales team to exude confidence and trust in the value of your product or service. This approach is also key to demonstrating your team’s expertise and reliability.
Adequate preparation and consistent practice in objection handling can help your sales team develop self-assurance and maintain composure and focus even in difficult scenarios.
10) Leverage Social Proof
Many sales objections are based on the prospect’s perceptions, but small adjustments in your negotiation tactics can often change the customer’s decision. Social proof is an effective way to do this by providing a reference point that can help sway their opinion.
Social Proof is a theory championed by American psychologist Dr. Robert Cialdini.
It states that people who don’t know how to behave in a certain situation will look to others to imitate what they are doing to provide guidance for their actions.
Leveraging social proof is a powerful technique to help overcome objections and build trust in your product. It starts by sharing success stories of other customers who have succeeded with your product.
This way, you can demonstrate the value and effectiveness of your solution and alleviate any doubts the prospect may have about your product.
11) Persistence
Persistence is not about being pushy or aggressive. Rather, it’s about demonstrating to the prospect that you are committed to helping them find a solution to their problem.
Research highlights that 60% of customers say no four times before saying yes, but 48% of salespeople never even make a single follow up attempt.
That’s why your sales team should follow up with prospects regularly and provide additional information as needed. For example, if a prospect says they need more time to decide, your team could follow up via email or phone to check in and offer additional resources or support.
This can help build trust and demonstrate that you are invested in their success.
12) Creativity
Creativity is key to standing out in a crowded market and creating unique solutions to overcome objections. Your sales team needs to think outside the box and come up with a solution that addresses the prospect’s concerns as they are.
Encourage your team to brainstorm creative solutions that differentiate your product from competitors. For instance, if a prospect is concerned about the cost of your product, your team could offer a payment plan or a customised package that meets their budget.
13) Flexibility
The world of B2B sales is constantly changing, meaning salespeople must be adaptable.
Flexibility means pivoting quickly from one objection to another and adjusting your approach accordingly. As such, your sales team should be able to adapt to changing situations and tailor their approach to the prospect’s needs.
One of the best approaches is encouraging them to be open-minded in providing the best possible solution to the prospect. For example, if a prospect raises a new objection during a sales call, your team could listen carefully and adapt their pitch and script to address this new concern.
14) Collaboration
Collaboration is essential in objection handling because it helps establish trust and build rapport with the prospect. By encouraging your sales team to work with the prospects, you allow them to be part of addressing their concerns and finding solutions together.
For example, suppose a prospect is concerned about the implementation process of a particular software. In that case, your sales team could collaborate with their IT team to develop a seamless implementation plan that meets their needs.
Final Thoughts
Objection handling is not about forcing prospects to purchase your products or services.
Rather, it’s about building trust and providing valuable information enabling prospects to reach their conclusions.
By emphasising these key objection handling skills and providing your sales team with the necessary training and resources, you can ensure they are well-equipped to handle any objections that come their way and succeed in today’s competitive marketplace.
At Excelerate360, we spend time with our clients to get to grips with any objections their ideal customers may have, and build a script to ensure our sales executives are quickly up to speed.
If you want to expand your lead generation efforts to bring in new business, give us a call.
We’re here to help.