Objection!
It’s a word feared in courtrooms and in sales conversations around the world.
Why? Because it could mean potential conflict is coming.
And conflict, perceived or real, creates a reaction in us – the dreaded fight or flight.
What we do, though, at the point of hearing an objection, concern, or difficult question during a conversation is a turning point – it can move us forward with the buyer, stall, or end the conversation.
To keep the conversation moving forward, apply a safety lesson you learned as a child.
If your clothes catch on fire – stop, drop, and roll!
You can do the same verbally and mentally to remove the fight or flight reaction!
STOP!
Stop your mouth and your mind. Listen to what they are saying. Take a breath.
DROP!
Drop your defenses, assumptions, ego, and agenda—for now. Pause. Don’t react before you:
ROLL!
Respond to the objection by rolling forward as a problem solver. Use three A’s as a guide to your response.
- Acknowledge the objection.
- Ask for clarity.
- Answer with relevant information.
It sounds like this:
Customer (Carl): Thanks for the information, but I don’t think we have the time to address this in 2013.
You:
Pause (Stop)
Take a breath (Drop)
Carl, I appreciate you telling me that the timeline is not ideal for you. (Roll-Acknowledge)
It can be challenging to work out addressing how to make the time to address the problem in distribution you told me about.
If you would please share with me more about your concern with your schedule for 2013. (Roll-Ask – even though it’s a request, not an outright question, it works!)
Carl Customer: Responds with his tale of woe on his busy schedule.
You: Carl, I see there are time challenges for you. (Roll-Acknowledge again)
How do you see the problem with distribution contributing to the time challenges? (Roll-Ask)
The information exchange continues allowing you to eventually Roll with an Answer such as:
You: From what you said, distribution is a time drain and addressing the problem might be time well invested this year. Why don’t we review more about your options for getting this addressed sooner or late. (Roll-Answer)
And the conversation continues . . .
It really can be that easy – if you work to keep the conversation open without putting them on the defense or getting defensive yourself.
There’s more to Stop, Drop, and Roll so I wrote an eBook for you! Click here to get your copy of 3 Timely Tips to Safely Collaborate Through Objections!
By the way, Stop, Drop, and Roll works well in ALL situations when you are faced with an objection or concern (including at home)!
What do you think? What gets in the way to you collaborating through objections? Leave a comment for your opportunity to receive a signed copy of Conversations That Sell!
I like the Stop Drop and Roll approach – clear, straightforward and easy to replicate over and over again. The three A’s are a time-tested approach as well. Have you every used the three F’s – Feel, Felt, Found? “Carl, I understand why you FEEL you cannot address this in 2013. Many of our current clients FELT the same way. But they FOUND by dealing with your widget supplier sooner, rather than later, it not only saved their firm cost this year, but enabled them to use the resources elsewhere in the current fiscal year.” Depending upon the complexity of the objection, I have found that my reps can use that to rapidly diffuse less complex objections.
HI Mike,
Yes I learned FFF many years ago – and found that it can be limiting because some buyers don’t like to talk ‘feeling’ or feel that they’ve heard that before.
That’s why I developed SDR – so that it can be adapted to the situation and person – same sort of idea, but doesn’t use the same words.
Thanks for commenting- you’re in the drawing for the book! I think my advanced copies arrive in the next few days.
Nancy
Thanks for the effective strategy Nancy. It’s so easy to take someone’s objections personally but your strategy helps us overcome that. It will take practice. I think I’ll practice it at home to begin with. 🙂
Your tips are valuable as always! Thanks again.