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Boost sales by mastering cold email objections. Learn effective strategies to close deals with persuasive communication.
"I'm not interested."
"Maybe some other day."
"I don't think this applies to our business."
"We already have the same product at a cheaper price."
Do these phrases ring a bell? Of course, they do. Once upon a time, each of those sales gurus you admire today received these objections regularly. So, if you're in that stage of your marketing career, don't fret; it happens to the best of us. And most importantly — Don't Give Up — it might take a while, but with relentless dedication, you'll eventually learn the ropes.
Handling objections in sales is a natural part of marketing. The assumption is every prospect has reasons for not buying your products. Otherwise, they'd have already bought them if they had no reservations. Approaching sales from this perspective will help you develop a thick skin, ensuring you never despair at the slightest clue of objection.
The good news is that if handled correctly, these stumbling blocks can be your stepping stones to the seemingly elusive jackpot you so much yearn for. In this article, our marketing experts will show you how to overcome sales objections using sample sales objection scripts for reference. Also, read on to discover common sales objections and learn what they might mean from a prospect's perspective.
Boost sales by mastering cold email objections. Learn effective strategies to close deals with persuasive communication.
A sales objection is a reservation, question, doubt, or concern a potential customer raises to express their hesitation to buy your products. Simply put, it represents a prospect's disinterest in your offer at a specific time. Or, if we were to view the glass as half full, it would show the changes a prospective client would love you to make to your goods or services before buying them.
While sales objections are common in all marketing mediums, they're inarguably more prevalent in email marketing.
According to a Campaign Monitor's 2022 Email Marketing Benchmarks Report, email copies have an average open rate of 21.5%. A similar study by Barilliance shows that the average conversion rate for email marketing campaigns is about 8.17%.
These figures perfectly capture the bleak reality of sales objections email marketers grapple with. Out of the 100 prospects you target with your email copies, only 21 are likely to read them. Worse still, only eight will likely develop enough interest in your proposal to complete purchases. The rest will either not respond or give excuses like "Your proposal doesn't suit my unique needs" or "I'll think about it later if need be."
The best solution to sales objections is researching why clients may issue them and creating proactive remedial plans. In this spirit, below are the top objections in sales that every marketer encounters in one way or another.
For the record, this objection isn't the same as "It's too expensive." It doesn't mean the prospect can't afford your product or they'd consider buying it if you offered lower rates. No. Instead, it implies they didn't set aside funds to cater for such expenses. Therefore, instead of defending your price, you should persuade the customer that they need to budget for your product or service.
What's your value proposition? What will the prospect lose if they don't invest in your solution? And most importantly, what will they gain by buying your product? Ensure your follow-up emails answer these questions as conclusively as possible. Doing so gives the clients reasons to source the necessary funds to secure your product, negotiate a mutual payment plan, or reschedule the conversation to when they have the budget.
You'll notice throughout this guide that most common sales objections are price-related. And reasonably so — purchases typically come with financial risks. Clients trust you with their hard-earned money, hoping the returns will be worth the investment.
The "It's too expensive" sales objection means you haven't convinced prospects that your products are as valuable as the financial risk you're asking them to make. That could be because they have cheaper alternatives or have not interacted with your product long enough to understand its value.
What's the solution?
First, like in the first objection, beware of over-defending your price. While price-related complaints suggest that prospects might consider your product if you lower the price, the reality is most of them are more concerned about your value proposition than the price. Therefore, the best solution is to persuade them that the juice will be worth the squeeze.
Avoid statements like this:
This approach will position you as a sales-centric business with zero concern for its clients. It will also create a combative tone, making the correspondence argumentative. In worst-case scenarios, it might discourage some prospects from engaging you further.
The best solution is to transition away from the price issue. Focus on creating an irresistible value proposition using the following responses:
Can you spot the difference between the two rebuttals in sales? The first one is too aggressive and "salesy." Comparatively, the second option is customer-oriented and less aggressive. Based on our experience, the second alternative might seem more time-consuming and strenuous but promises better results.
When cold emailing, you're approaching new prospects who might not be familiar with your business. Therefore, it's natural that, at the beginning, they may treat your products with suspicion.
Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine someone approaches you, asking you to invest $100,000 in their soon-to-be-launched cryptocurrency. When you ask how you'll benefit, all they say is they expect the cryo's value to increase by over 200% after its launch.
What will be your immediate reaction? Will you instantly trust the sales rep and stake your $100,000? Definitely, No. That's precisely how your cold emailing prospects feel.
While you might not ask them to invest $100,000 in some random crypto, the underlying financial risk is the same. You're requesting them to use their hard-earned cash in a product they know nothing about. Any sane person would have trust issues.
Below are two tips to help you earn your prospects' trust:
"I don't think I currently need this product."
When you get such responses, either the prospect thinks there's no need to solve a problem or imagines there's no problem. This sales objection usually arises when introducing new products into the market. In such cases, the target market isn't familiar with what you're selling and doesn't understand its value. Therefore, you should focus on reintroducing the product and elaborating on its potential benefits.
Below are a few tips to help you achieve this:
Sometimes, prospects might not consider your product a priority. Lack of urgency means a customer believes your solution could be valuable to them, but they have other more pressing issues. It can also mean the customer is yet to understand your solution's full impacts.
Usually, when prospects hit you with "No Urgency" objections like "Maybe later" or "This solution is perfect, but my business currently has more urgent issues," you should rebuttal by justifying the product's value. Help them answer "Why this product?" and "Why now?" Here are a few techniques you can use to achieve this:
"I can get a better product somewhere else "
"Your solution is too complex. My business prefers simple products."
When prospects voice such objections, it means they're yet to understand your product's features and functionalities. It might also mean they're hesitant to disrupt their processes as they deploy your solution, especially in production companies where business uptime is crucial.
Product objections might not be as complex as the other sales objections. All you have to do is to highlight your product's key features.
Suppose you've ever managed cold email campaigns targeting large companies with many corporate bureaucracies. In that case, you must have encountered responses like "I'd love to buy from you, but I don't call the shots" or "Purchasing decisions aren't under my jurisdiction." When you receive such objections, do not despair. Instead, ask for a reference to the "big boss" who calls the shots and re-launch your campaign. Or better still, you can request your initial target to make a case for you. Doing so will make your follow-up pitch way easier.
This sales objection is common among small or medium-sized businesses with "no names" in their respective industries. The prospect might love your product but have reservations about your company's reputation, security, or stability. Do not invalidate their concerns. Instead, inform them of your firm's length, mention some of your current clients, emphasize your customer-centric approach, and reinforce your commitment to growth. It also helps to mention a few measures you use to safeguard clients from risks, such as product warranties.
Now that you understand different sales objections, below are a few tips for overcoming them. We already outlined some solutions in the previous section. So, this section will be less comprehensive.
The adage goes — the customer is always right. Therefore, when customers share their concerns with you, you should proactively listen to them (even if you disagree). Avoid combative rebuttals by listening to understand, not to respond. The point is not to show prospects that they're wrong. No. Doing so can brew an argumentative correspondence that might turn some customers away.
The solution is to listen with a genuine desire to understand prospects' reservations. Always assume your sales pitch needs reworking, not the customer's attitude or viewpoint. With this approach, you'll learn more about your clients and meet them at their points of need.
We cannot insist on this point enough — the client is the boss, and they're always right, even if they're not. Therefore, when a customer voices a concern, you should first validate their viewpoint. Let them know that you understand their reservation before making a rebuttal.
Does this mean talking down on your product or admitting you're wrong? No, it doesn't. On the contrary, it means acknowledging you understand where a client is coming from, even if they don't have all the facts.
For instance, suppose you're marketing customer relationships management software to online stores. Some prospects might hesitate because they fear your solution might be too complex for their staff or clients. Instead of admitting the product is sophisticated, you can say you understand their reservations about implementing new software that might complicate their CRM processes. Next, outline the contingencies you have in place to ensure a seamless transition. You can even highlight testimonials from current clients to allay the prospects' fears.
After validating a prospect's concerns, emphasize your commitment to resolving them by addressing them directly. For example, if they said they can get cheaper alternatives elsewhere, you can outline what makes your product unique. Refrain from beating around the bush, admitting your prices are too high, or muddling your competitors' products. Instead, justify why you're charging the said amounts.
Another proactive way of handling objections in sales is asking follow-up questions. Ask the prospect to clarify what they'd love to know about your product or how they'd want you to improve it. Use open-ended questions to encourage them to give more detailed responses instead of a simple "yes" or "no."
Besides creating a two-way conversation, follow-up questions can help you develop a better rapport with your customers. The more they talk, the more they're likely to warm up to you, increasing your chances of making conversions. Also, asking questions can show clients you genuinely care about them. It positions you as a client-centric business prioritizing providing value to its customers over making sales.
Is your prospect concerned about your company's reputation? Or do they think your product might not be worth its price? If so, you can use evidence and social proof to validate your value proposition.
How do you go about this?
First, you can refer them to a few of your current or former clients if they want to confirm your claims. Alternatively, you can send them screenshots or links to testimonials about your product. Prospects are more likely to buy products with a proven history of solving problems like theirs.
When learning how to overcome objections in sales, it might help to review sample sales objection scripts with example answers. Below are a few for reference.
Answer: "Thanks for your response, Mr. Mark. I understand why you might feel that you don't need this product now. You remind me of the sales director at H&J Ltd. When we first pitched the product to them, they responded exactly as you did. However, when we showed them how our solution could help them lower operation costs by 50%, reduce time spent on routine processes, and enhance accuracy, they gave us the benefit of the doubt.
Two years after our initial engagement, the product has helped them achieve just that. We've streamlined their processes by automating time-consuming routine tasks, freeing their staff for business-core roles. Would you love to reap these benefits as well? Don't let your doubts hold you back. We'll be with you every step of the way."
Answer: "I appreciate your response, Mrs Olivia. And more importantly, I understand why you may be hesitant to allocate a budget for our product. Every business globally is currently experiencing the burden of tough economic times. I believe yours is no exception. In these challenging times, the best thing to do is to cut down on unnecessary expenditures. Investing in a new CRM solution might not seem like the most prudent use of your money.
Do you have dedicated customer support employees? How much do you use to maintain them per month? I bet it's way over $150,000. Right? What if we told you you could cut this expenditure by half by deploying our CRM software? Yes, you read that right. Our software solution automates ticketing, offers 24/7 auto-generated responses, and keeps accurate records of customer queries without human intervention. Ultimately, you'll need fewer people in your customer support department, reduce your costs, and your clients will be happier. Is that something you may be interested in? Let us help you out."
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