Objection Handling in Sales

There are typically 8 objections that come up during a sales scenario. I am going to tell you about a technique which is the mother of all objection handling methods. It is a 4-step process summarized below as:

1. Listen
2. Question
3. Handle
4. Confirm

A useful memory peg to help remember it is to think of hearing door bell ring. You ask "Who's there?". When you hear "Its me, Jim", you reach out for the door handle and open the door. You then confirm visually that it is indeed Jim.

As any good sales person will tell you, being a good listener is the most important trait that you can bring to the sales process. Listening to the customer voice his concerns and objections is crucial for you to pose your questions in a manner that demonstrate real concern for his problems. Asking the right questions to get to the root of the issues will help you get a better understanding.

If now you say "If I made sure that your concerns regarding price, quality, delivery, etc. are addressed, will you be in a position to take this further?", what you have done is actually handled his concerns while also asking for a confirmation that there is something to go on.

Listening, Empathizing, Asking and Proposing (LEAP) - another way to look at the above process. I would love to hear your comments and feedback on this.