#405: The Art of Empathy in Sales

What to Do When Objections Arise

“Okay, Mr. Smith. To acknowledge the sale, all we need is your signature at the bottom of this page, " the beaming salesperson says as he hands Mr. Smith the pen.

Mr. Smith, looking directly into the salesperson’s eyes, says the words that no sales rep wants to hear, “Oh, I’ll be back tomorrow after I think about this.”

As a salesperson, you’ve come to that fork in the road; the objection you knew would come. You thought you had laid out your case very well until now. You’ve used all the tips and tricks your training manager gave you. You listened, you sold the features and benefits, you have an outstanding grasp of the product, and you matched the customer's expressed needs to the benefits of your product. What did you do wrong?

We don’t know what happened in this example, but objections are nothing more than unanswered questions. They could be questions about the product, the benefits, the real problem, or often, something or someone is missing in the decision-making process for the buyer.

When the objections start, the selling begins.

How many of you have heard this before? I come from the opinion that we should stop selling at this point. If selling is the art and process of conveying how your features and benefits matter to the buyer, objections communicate that what you have conveyed so far doesn’t matter. So stop, regroup, and look for the underlying reason. You need to address and handle the objection to move further.

Handling objections is a blend of empathy, preparation, and active listening. Let’s assume that you’re prepared with product knowledge and an understanding of your competition and the market. You’ve listened to their needs, wants, and what will make this project successful. There is one soft skill that you need to hone.

Empathy:

How can you put yourself in the buyer's shoes? Does this buyer like to take risks? Have they ever been burned by a decision like this in the past? What kind of relationship do they have with their supervisor should they make a bad decision.?

In B2B sales, empathy involves putting yourself in your prospect's shoes and understanding their challenges, priorities, and goals from their perspective. Here’s an example:

Imagine you're selling project management software to a mid-sized company. The prospect hesitantly says, "We’ve tried switching tools before, and the transition was a nightmare. It disrupted our team’s productivity for months."

Instead of jumping straight into defending your product or trying to close the sale, an empathetic response might be:

"I completely understand how challenging that must have been. Change management can be tough, especially when the tools your team relies on daily are involved. It sounds like avoiding disruption is a top priority for you. Could you tell me more about what made the transition difficult last time? That way, we can see if there's a way to avoid those issues with this implementation."

This response acknowledges the prospect's concern, validates their experience, and demonstrates that you're invested in solving their problem rather than just pushing a product.

The act of selling is more than the features and benefits of the product. Using empathy in the process will help you uncover & overcome potential objections. If you have difficulty closing sales, maybe a refresher course is in order. Let’s connect and see if the Kole Performance Group can get you over the hump. It’s hard work today and will lead to a better tomorrow.