Why Do Customers Say No? How to Turn Objections into Opportunity

When a deal, sale, or pitch of yours doesn’t come to fruition, it can be a frustrating experience. As with most business development processes, being iterative in your approach to handling objections will benefit you in the long run. That’s why it’s helpful to study the objections you commonly encounter and work to understand them. You may want to ask yourself these questions the next time you are faced with an objection you can’t overcome. 

What Can You Learn from your Client Interaction? 

First and foremost, listening to your prospective clients when they express their objections is key. If your clients don’t feel heard when they share their concerns, then chances are you will not earn their business, even if you’re a better option than your competitors. More often than not, you will be able to gain further perspective on the situation if you ask your client to elaborate on their concerns. In these types of conversations, make sure you let the client communicate fully - don’t cut them off and try to address their concerns if they are listing off multiple concerns they have. Once they have expressed themself, you may want to restate the concern(s) they’ve shared so you know you’re on the same page. Of course, this approach depends on client facing interactions and conversation, which is not possible in all industries.    

Is this the Right Circumstance for the Client? 

If you’re not working in a client facing business, or you are not able to discuss the objection with your client (such as when communication abruptly stops), taking a step back and assessing the situation allows you to gain more perspective. You should be well aware of the value proposition you provide in your business. Coupled with that, you should have an understanding of your target client/consumer and the average length of time in your consumer’s buy cycle. If you don’t get the opportunity to hear an objection from your client, it may just be a case of personal circumstances taking priority. By practicing empathy and realizing that the circumstances may not be right for the prospective client to move forward yet, you can elect to follow up on a regular interval or reach out appropriately based on any information that may have been offered. 

Where Do You Encounter Objections? 

Taking a bigger picture approach, it can be worthwhile to take note of the portion of your sales cycle where you experience the most prospective client drop-off. By doing this, you can potentially extrapolate the steps you may want to adjust. It may be that you need to provide better follow up communications, or there may be a certain phrasing or appeal you use that can stand to be changed. 

By asking yourself these questions, you’ll be able to learn from the objections you encounter and modify your business strategies and processes for the benefit of your business.