CUSTOMER RESISTANCE INDEX II

By Larry Happiday
Does the need exist? Is the salesman shooting in the dark? Are customers just plain difficult people? Should customers not make this work easier? Unfortunately, customers have a business they are running and are constantly looking for ways to perform better. That should be your guide when you are trying to deal with customer objection. They are duty bound to verify that the solutions you are offering provide the best answer to their expectations. The salesman therefore is the one to make the job easier for the customer. Does not make the Mr. Atlas, but just makes it easier in the long run for the salesman to make more repeat sales, once confidence has been established.

SALES OBJECTION RESOLUTION
So, the resolution of sales objection is tied closely to the apron-springs of a well organized problem identification process. We can liken this process to a clinical examination of a patient. Assume that the sales objection being experienced is a headache. A doctor knows that there are several possible causes of headache. He would therefore embark on a clinical examination which involves oral interviews. In the process, he is able to locate cause-suspects. In the same manner, the experienced salesman knows that a customers’ objection may have multiple causes. The resolution process is designed to locate the TRUE cause of objection. Remember the reason for objection varies from one client to the other.

HANDLING SALES RESISTANCE
• I have a grievance: A customer may have a legitimate grievance that needs to e sorted out first. So, sort it out. Such grievance may be related to after sales disappointments, failure to fulfill previous promises or any other legitimate complaint. Sales situation is life situation and customers buy from people they can rely on. The more the customer sees your disposition as friendly not exploitative, the better for future business.
How to Identify this Problem?
1. customer is personalizing his attack
2. he feels acts violently and in a threatening manner
3. may not want to talk to you
4. may be crossed with the secretary for allowing you in
(EXERCISE: See if you can identify which behaviour in Part I of this article fits here)

• Price: Price objections are often centered on comparison to other products. But as we noted in Part I, the TRUE CONCERN may be different. A good salesman is not intimidated by price because pricing is related to quality. Another company may have a cheaper variant but the salesman needs to be certain about the products differentiation in order to convince on the claim of superiority.

• No need: Clearly, where the company does not run or operate with the product offered, it is a waste of time to continue to press. Close the the encounter in a friendly and easily recall-able manner as an entree for future sales effort. But do not repeat such mistake; otherwise, you may go down as a fool who does not deserve the attention of a busy executive. Do your home work well before the pitch.

• Fear of commitment: Apart from pricing, this is one of the least understood problems with selling. Every manager has responsibility to his employer. His duty is therefore to buy products or services that help to reduce costs. Clearly, buying products that are not required is a waste of scarce resources. But apart from wastage, the customer has a reputation to maintain. When he buys under pressure, he may discover that he has made any of the following mistakes:
• high price or
• salesman has taken advantage of his lack of adequate information to sell what he does not need
• he can not eventually explain the features and usability of the product to subordinates and colleagues
These and many others may explain why they often prefer to delay action as long as possible rather than make costly mistakes.