Call Center Training Solutions

Call Center Training Solutions Blog

Posts Tagged ‘tips for overcoming objections’

How To Achieve Sales Success in Your Center: Part 3

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Success Factor Number Three: Look at Root Causes to Improve Tough Areas of the Call

This is the third post in our series: How to Achieve Sales Success in Your Center.

As we work with sales agents, one of the most common requests for help is with objections.  Outbound sales people deal with objections both at the beginning of the call (e.g.  I­m right in the middle of a meeting so I can­t talk.) and at the end ( Your price is too high.  I can do better.).  Generally speaking, Inbound agents deal with late-call objections only.

Merely learning effective responses to common objections will not fix the problem.  One of the best strategies for improving your sales for the long-term is to look for the root cause of the problem.  With objections, the root cause naturally occurred somewhere on the call before the objection. 

Find the Root Cause and Look for Trends

To illustrate this, consider an Outbound call and early-call,  reflexive objections like  I­m not interested, or  We already have a supplier.  What is the root cause problem that got this customer thinking,  I think I need to object and get off this call?  The answer lies somewhere in the Greeting.  Perhaps this agent did not try to connect with the client.  Most agents that form a connection with the client do not receive as many early-call objections as other sales people.  We have watched early-call objections decrease by 90% in a single night by working on the Greeting and improving the steps that get this client involved and excited to be on the call.  What would you rather do, use better objection responses  or not receive objections in the first place?  Always look for the root cause problem and you will have better results.

Other Culprits that Cause Objections on Calls

Another illustration.  What is the root cause problem that encourages clients to object at the end of the call?  This one is a bit trickier, but here are the common culprits.

Discovery: Did you do a great job of getting to know this client?  Did you have a conversational Discovery dialogue or was it more like an interrogation with no other comments in between your questions?  Remember that Discovery is more than just asking the questions that help you pick the right product offer.  It is also a chance to improve your rapport and get the client involved in the call.

Presentation: Was your presentation lively, encouraging and urgent or was it bland and informational only, as if it does not matter to you whether they buy or not?  Too often, sales people forget that they need to be excited about their recommendation.  If we are not excited, why would the client ever decide to buy?  Many lifeless presentations cause late-call objections.

Closing: Was there any signs of hesitation in your close?  Did you say,  Is this something that might be interesting to you?   Would you consider, um, taking this offer today?  Even small amounts of hesitation will spook the client.  End result?  An objection.

Other major call challenges include clients who interrupt and start taking control of the call, hang-ups right in the middle of your conversation, clients who say they have to speak with their spouses before buying and a host of others.  To be a highly successful sales person and sustain your success for years, not just months, always look for the root cause problem to any challenge and fix it.  If you are successful, your performance will usually increase much more than by just building responses to the challenge.