Is Your Team Skilled At Handling Objections?

Objections are a lot like curveballs. It’s a lot easier to hit a curveball if you know that is what is going to be thrown. It’s the surprise element that makes it more difficult to hit. Objections are similar. If you know they are coming, you know what they might be and you’ve practiced how to respond then objections are not that difficult to handle.

Too often teams in the financial services industry are not prepared to handle objections. The mindset is that they’ll learn with experience, but this is flawed thinking. Some may learn with time and experience, but some may never learn a good way to deal with objections. Instead, they end up just accepting them and letting those objections shut down opportunities. 

Here are five insights to help your team overcome objections:

• Don’t take them personally. Objections are natural. It’s a prospect’s way of expressing that they’re not ready to take the next step. It tells you they have concerns. And it’s your job to uncover what those concerns are. Challenge yourself to see objections as a reason to be curious.
   
• You don’t have to be aggressive to handle objections! Many people associate pushing back on objections with pushy salespeople, but it doesn’t have to be that way. You can choose the tone and approach you take. In fact, we encourage you to be assertive, but never aggressive. Handling an objection can be as simple as asking, “Tell me more about that.” Your goal is to simply keep the conversation open, find the concerns and see if you can eliminate them.
   
• Be first! You don’t have to wait for a prospect to bring up an objection. If you sense that they have an objection, put it on the table to discuss it. You might even say, “Many of my clients are worried they can’t afford life insurance, however…”
   
• Practice. When you respond to an objection you don’t want to stumble, you want to show confidence. This takes practice. Write down common objections and then have your team take turns answering them. Write down the answers and look at them once a day for just 10 minutes. You’ll improve. And, if you’re worried about sounding too robotic, remember that you don’t have to say the exact same thing every time, but by knowing what to say or even what to ask you’ll have the confidence to respond even if you switch up the words from time to time.
   
• Ask questions. Handling objections doesn’t mean that you’re lecturing or informing a client. A great way to handle an objection is to ask a question. It opens up the conversation, without making the prospect feel like they’re wrong or that you’re not listening. Questions can really open up the conversation and keep the prospect engaged in the conversation.

Remember, handling objections is a part of the sales process. It means that you have your prospects thinking. It means they’re communicating with you. It’s up to you to keep that opportunity alive.