Sales Resistance – Your Ultimate Guide
In this article, we’ll unpack sales resistance – what it means, why it happens, and more importantly – overcoming sales resistance.
Sales resistance is something you’ll experience as a Business Owners or Sales Professional when selling your products or services.
Read on to learn more.
Sales Resistance – Your Ultimate Guide
What Is Sales Resistance?
Sales resistance is the resistance a potential client or customer feels before they buy a product or service.
Sometimes before a person makes a buying decision; they feel anxious, or uncertain about going ahead and making a purchase.
Although this generally happens with higher ticket products or services; it could ever happen with lower ticket items.
How To Tell If A Person Is Feeling Sales Resistance?
The easiest way to tell if a person is feeling sales resistance, is that they will usually bring up objections – or areas of concern.
Sales objections usually come from two places.
First is a lack of trust.
Secondly is lack of commitment and desire for change.
It’s a lot easier overcoming objections in sales conversations when you have established that they do in fact have a desire for change, and that they trust that you and your business can help get them there.
So how do you establish trust and desire?
Read on as we’ll detail how to do both.
How Do You Establish Trust & Desire?
Overcoming sales resistance starts early in the sales process, as well as during your sales conversations; specifically, when you’re asking your sales interview questions.
The first thing required prior to starting your sales conversations, is to find out whether or not they qualify for your offer.
We recommend using the BANT method to identify whether or not they qualify, which’ll prevent sales objections and sales conditions coming up later on.
BANT stands for:
- Budget
- Authority
- Need
- Timeframe
If there is a lack of time frame or need, then you’re not going to have much desire; which will make objection handling in sales conversations difficult.
Secondly, you establish desire by asking deep diving and probing sales questions, which unlock the pain and desire about what it will mean when they find a solution for their problems.
The more pain you uncover, the more desire you’ll establish to find a solution.
Trust is built by building a deep rapport with your clients, and by asking well timed questions that display empathy, understanding, and that you’re there to solve their problems – rather than make a quick sale.
Related article: How To Overcome The Two Main Sales Objections In Two Minutes
Many Sales Professionals use the wrong approach when selling.
- They build some rapport
- The presentation or pitch then starts
- They then ask if there are any questions
- Objections handling, and asking for the sale
This model is not only backwards but is also very commonplace.
Fortunately for you; you’ve found this blog post, so you can prevent making the same mistake your competition is making.
We call this outdated model Premature Presentation; and it is massively costing you sales.
As per our article in Entrepreneur; we share that Sales Professionals have a hard time overcoming objections in sales conversations because they present way too early.
You should never present an idea, without completely learning what it is the potential client wants to solve.
To learn more about presenting correctly, check out the related article below.
Related article: 10 x Effective Sales presentation Tips You Need To Use
Eliminating Sales Resistance
As mentioned; sales resistance presents itself in the form of sales objections.
Instead of using cheesy and outdated sales scripts; we recommend using a structure or format to eliminate their areas if concern.
Read on to learn how.
Overcoming Sales Resistance Step 1 – Listen
The first step for overcoming sales resistance during your sales conversations, is listening very carefully to their sales objection or area of concern.
Does the sales objection sound like they have a lack of trust, or a lack of desire?
It’s very important when overcoming objections in sales conversations, that you listen intently and don’t interrupt when they’re speaking about their area of concern.
Most of the time; the objection is coming up because subconsciously – if they’re going to buy, it will mean change.
People generally don’t like change and can associate change with pain.
Overcoming Sales Resistance Step 2 – Repeat Back And Ask Them To Expand
The next step for overcoming sales resistance, is in two parts.
Firstly, you want to show empathy, and that you’re not being combative; this will only break rapport.
You show empathy by demonstrating that you truly care about what it is they’re asking, by repeating back what they’ve told you in dot form if need be.
The second part is asking them to expand on it further.
This is very important, because if you make assumptions and try to handle the objection based on something they’re not concerned about, not only will you break rapport – but you will lose the sale.
By asking them to expand on it further, you’ll find overcoming sales resistance in sales conversations will become easier, because a lot of the time here; they’ll realise that their concern isn’t really a true concern.
It’s most probably fear of change.
However – we want to ensure it’s completely diffused before proceeding.
Overcoming Sales Resistance Step 3 – Validate The Concern
The next step for overcoming sales resistance, is validating their area of concern.
This may come as a bit of a surprise to you; however as previously mentioned, we want to maintain rapport, and position ourselves as a partner for their solution, not someone on a different path or mindset.
Validate their area of concern by letting them know that you understand where they’re coming from, that’s it’s a normal area of concern.
You’ll notice I haven’t given you a sales script here, because we believe sales scripts don’t work. Instead, use a structure like what we’re outlining in this article.
Here is where you can now ask “If we could handle that area of concern, would you be happy to proceed?”.
You don’t have to ask this exact question, as your question type may change from time to time depending on whom you’re speaking with; however, you want to identify here whether this is their real area of concern, or if they have other sales objections.
Overcoming Sales Resistance Step 4 – Re-Frame
The next step for overcoming sales resistance, is your re-frame.
If you’re able to handle the sales objection by clarifying something, giving them what they want, or perhaps alleviating their area of concern (price instalments, longer warranty, training after purchase etc), then do so there and then.
If you need permission, let them know and be transparent. However before leaving the conversation, clarify that if you are able to handle the sales objection, that they would be ready to invest/ buy.
The re-frame means turning the problem potentially into a solution.
You want to change the way they’re looking at it, by solving the issue they may have with a potential solution you can offer to alleviate the sales objection.
Overcoming Sales Resistance Step 5 – Confirmation
The final stage of overcoming sales resistance, is confirming that they’re satisfied with your solution for their area of concern.
Ask your potential client if they’re happy with the solution, and work with them to completely ensure that they have no other issues.
This is important, because you want to close out any other areas of concern before proceeding to asking them your closing questions.
When you’re getting a yes, ensure that is isn’t shaky or that they’re still on the fence. It’s critical here that they’re 100% committed, so that you can ask for the sale.
Final Thoughts
Sales resistance is founded on a lack of trust and desire.
They either don’t trust themselves or whom they’re buying from, or they don’t feel enough desire to part way with money for what they’re going to get in return after they own your product or service.
Solving these key issues will eliminate sales resistance from coming up later in the sales conversation.
Want To Learn How To Close Easy?
Are you interested in learning how to close sales with ease – without spending hundreds or thousands on sales training?
If so – learn more about our flagship program – The 5% Sales Blueprint.
Our self-paced online sales training program will teach you everything you need to know to close with ease.
Click the link below to learn how.
