Handling Objections

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Handling Objections

• Dealing with Objections in the Merchant
  Services Sale

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What is an objection?

• An expanded definition of objection
• Anything a prospect says or does that is an
  obstacle to a smooth closing.
• an explicit expression, by a customer, that a
  barrier exists between the current situation and
  what he/she needs to engage your services. In
  other words, it is a clear signal that you have
  more work to do in the selling process.
• Any form of communication that means no when
  you ask for an appointment or for the sale.

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Why do we work on handling objections?

• Because almost all buyers start with no
• Because its what we deal with most often
• Because in almost all merchant services sales you
  are asking someone to make a change - and
  inertia, habit, familiarity and comfort will be
  working against you.
• Because you dont want to have to go home and
  study every time you hear an objection
• Because when mastered, the techniques of
  overcoming objections will earn you a very good
  living.

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How do we become experts?

• Practice proven techniques - you must deliver the
  response without hesitation
• Be selective - not every response will work for
  you
• Remember there are no Silver Bullets
• Innovate and Experiment
• Think
• Study persuasive people
• Search the Internet for more ideas
• Ask your peers how they handle objections
• Do not give up. Todays novice, with practice,
  patience and persistence, can become tomorrows
  expert.

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Two major areas where we get a no

• When we are trying to get a business owner to
  take the time to hear our pitch -The appointment
  objection
• When we are trying to get the merchant to go with
  our proposed solution - The buying objection

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The appointment objection

• We encounter this any time we ask a merchant for
  some of their time
• Telephone appointment setting
• Cold calling
• Exchanging business cards
• The appointment objection is any form of barrier
  to your setting an appointment with your future
  customer

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Better strategy for getting appointments

• Get referrals
• Develop a target list so you know who is a good
  contact
• Develop social and business networks where you
  can meet business/merchant owners
• Attend regional shows or trade fairs to meet
  business owners
• Establish contact through a different method,
  such as email or a hand-written note

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Types of appointment objections

• Voice mail
• Hi, this is Fred Carlson. Im not in right now
  but if you leave a message at the sound of the
  beep, Ill call you back when I pick up my
  messages.
• Admin asking questions
• And you are with?
• Will Mr. Smith know what this is about?
• Is Ms. Wilson expecting your call?
• Could you tell me what this is regarding? or
  just Regarding?

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Types of appointment objections (contd)

• Admin who maybe screening
• Im sorry, Jims not in
• Jim is in a meeting right now
• Jim is out of town today
• Can I put you into his voice mail?
• Can you tell me what this about?
• What can I help you with?
• Can you send us some information?
• I know we already are using __________ service
  and were not looking to make a change right
  now.

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Voice mail

• (the no message message) Hi, Fred, this is Mark
  Dunn. Sorry Ive missed you. Please call me
  back at 414-688-4740.
• (Ill call back) Hi, Fred, this is Mark Dunn with
  Field Guide. Ill call again when youre back in
  your office.
• (the merchant advance message) Hi, Fred, this is
  Mark Dunn. Ive been working with several
  business owners in Hartland and I thought you
  might want the details on how we funded their
  business expansion for up to 50,000. Please give
  me a call back at

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Admin asking questions

• And you are with?
• The Field Guide. Is Jim available?
• Will Mr. Smith know what this is about?
• Yes, I sent him an email. Is he in? (Of course,
  only if you did actually send him an email.)
• Is he expecting your call?
• I dont think so. I said in my email I would
  call him this week. Is he in?
• This is regarding?
• I wanted to get his feedback on several ideas
  about funding the growth of the business. Can
  you put me through?

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Admin who may be creating a screen

• The problem is if they are good, you may not know
  if it is a screen. Jim is out right now
• May I put you through to his voicemail?
• Handle like any voicemail
• Can you tell me what this is about?
• No, I wanted to speak directly to Jim. When
  would be the best time to call back?
• What can I help you with?
• Well, Ive been trying to reach Jim Smith. When
  would be the best time to call back?
• Can you send us some information?
• Well, actually I already did and Im looking for
  Jim Smiths opinion. Can I reach him on his
  cell?

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Admin who is screening

• I know we are using _______ and were not
  looking to make a change right now.
• I understand but thats really not my reason for
  calling. Im not calling you to try to change
  the way you do business. Ive developed a source
  of funding for small merchants that Mr. Smith
  should hear about. Does he come in early or stay
  late? Whats the best time to call when he would
  have a few minutes?

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Getting the appointment

• Im not interested.
• Thats understandable. When I first contacted
  Juan Moreno of La Posada Restaurant in Brookfield
  he wasnt interested either. But when he found
  out we could help fund his new location he wanted
  more information. And you will, too. Can I come
  by on Monday or is Wednesday better?
• Give me the details now on the phone
• Well, I really cant because I need to explain
  several details that require you to see for
  yourself how the program works. Is early morning
  or later in the afternoon better for you?

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Getting the appointment (contd)

• How much does this cost?
• Well, its not free but its also not overpriced.
  When we sit down and walk you through the
  program, youll see that its very competitively
  priced and offers a good return on your
  investment. Do you have your calendar in front
  of you? Do you prefer the end of this week or
  the beginning of next week?
• Call me next month.
• Sure, but can we pencil in a date now and Ill
  call back next month to confirm?

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Getting the appointment

• I have six of you credit card guys call me every
  week and Im just not interested.
• I understand. I own a business, too, and get two
  or three calls a week from salespeople. But this
  is whats different I can show you how to build
  your business, increase your sales and take home
  more money. Only one in a thousand people
  calling you can really do that and Im that guy.
  So lets get together next week - does Monday
  work or is Thursday better?

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Essential skills in handling objections

• You will need to exercise these skills
• Hear them out and listen very carefully.
• Is this a question or an objection?
• Ask if its ok to focus on the issue so you can
  understand
• Confirm what you heard restate it in another way
• Let them know you understand, but
• Propose your resolution and keep it short
• Determine whether this answered their concern
• Move them toward a commitment
• Next step in the sales process
• Close the sale

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Objections to the sale

• Why customers object
• They misunderstand
• They dont trust you
• You havent uncovered any real needs
• They dont see that what you are proposing will
  help them
• They dont see that they need to act now

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Another approach 8 basic objections

• From www.justsell.com
• lack of perceived value in the product or service
  
• lack of perceived urgency in purchasing the
  offering
• perception of inferiority to a competitor or
  in-house offering
• internal political issue between parties/
  departments
• lack of funds to purchase the offering
• personal issue with the decision maker(s)
• initiative with an external party
• "it's safer to do nothing" perception

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Objection No Value

• Lack of perceived value in your product or
  service
• I just dont see that its going to pay me back
  to make a switch right now.
• You guys are too expensive.

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Objection No urgency

• Lack of perceived urgency in purchasing
• Give me a couple of weeks to think about it.

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Objection Inferior product

• They think your product is inferior to a
  competitor or in-house alternative
• But you guys dont have your own interface
  product that sends me my reports every morning.

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Objection Lack funds

• Lack of funds to make the purchase
• Thats way out of our price range.

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Objection Personal issue

• Personal issue with the decision maker
• This objection is rarely results in a comment
  from the person. You will have to dig for this
  one and it may not come out right away. Try
  using another team member to get to the heart of
  the issue.

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Objection Corporate issue

• Corporate issue with an external party
• Bill, if it were up to me I would go with your
  proposal but we have a board member on from the
  local bank and he is applying pressure to stay
  with them.

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Objection Safer - do nothing

• Its safer to do nothing perception
• Thanks, but were going to stay where we are at
  today.

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Proven techniques

• Feel, felt, found
• I understand how you feel. A customer I worked
  with last month felt the same way when I first
  proposed the new VeriFone VX terminal. What he
  found was that by going with the IP-based
  terminal, he could eliminate a phone line which
  saved him about 60 per month.

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Proven techniques

• Proof source
• I can see why you might be skeptical. But I
  brought with me an analysis of actual transaction
  times for the new Tap and Go interface.
  Mastercard has found it will cut transaction
  times by 5-10 seconds per customer.

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Proven techniques

• Review what they liked, then ask them to explain
  (This is safe way of asking why)
• Gee, Bob, I guess I dont understand. You said
  you liked the convenience of having everything on
  an electronic statement you liked the cost
  savings you thought Whats wrong? Where are
  we off track here?

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Proven techniques

• Trial Purchase
• Well, you dont have to convert all your business
  now. Ill get you set up on our Virtual Terminal
  and you can test it out. It wont cost you
  anything to try it. Let me make sure I have this
  information correct (run through the merchant
  application).

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Proven techniques

• Price objections
• Real objection or negotiating strategy?
• Sell value vs. cost
• I admit were not the dirt cheap option and we
  dont want to be. We take pride in our service.
  Lets look at all you get for your money We
  have the best service staff in the industry and
  that means whenever you have a problem, day or
  night, you can get a live helpdesk expert on the
  phone to solve the problem. We have the best
  tested applications available so you dont have
  to struggle or do extra tasks to get your
  transactions done. We haveSo you can find
  someone who will do this for less but it wont
  make life easier and it wont cause you fewer
  headaches. And arent fewer headaches worth the
  difference in price?

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Handling the Objection No Value

• Lack of perceived value in your product or
  service
• I just dont see that its going to pay me back
  to make a switch right now.
• Identify where no value is seen
• I see. This is very important and I want to make
  sure its ok with you if we talk about it for a
  moment. Is it that were not saving you enough
  money or that youre concerned making a switch
  might be disruptive?

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Objection No urgency

• Lack of perceived urgency in purchasing
• Give me a couple of weeks to think about it.
• Identify why they dont want the solution today
• OK, Bill, I can do that. But tell me something
  If you know your wait staff will like the new pay
  at the table system, why not get it going today?
  Where are we stuck here?

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Objection Inferior product

• They think your product is inferior to a
  competitor or in-house alternative
• But you guys dont have your own reporting
  product that pushes me my reports every morning.
• Verify that is their only objection
• Work around it and emphasize other benefits
• Yes, youre right. For now someone will have to
  pull the reports. But we will have that function
  available in a few months from now. And in the
  meantime you will be able to save thousands of
  dollars with our lower fees on downgrades.

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Objection Lack funds

• Lack of funds to make the purchase
• Thats way out of our price range.
• Determine if you got the right numbers for their
  budget for this product.
• Find out what alternative is more attractive
  price-wise.
• Wow, thats a surprise for me. I understood that
  you had budgeted 10,000 for the new restaurant
  payment system. Was I wrong about that? Or is
  there a different solution thats more
  attractive?

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Objection Personal issue

• Personal issue with the decision maker
• This objection is rarely elicits a comment about
  the person. You will have to dig for this one
  and it may not come out. Try using another team
  member to get to the heart of the issue.
• Help me out, Jill, where are we off track here?
  Did I say something that was a problem? Is there
  something going on I need to know about?

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Objection Corporate issue

• Corporate issue with an external party
• Bill, if it were up to me I would go with your
  proposal but we have a board member on from the
  local bank and he is applying pressure to stay
  with them.
• Ask for your contacts help
• Find a higher decision maker
• Sarah, sometimes this happens. Maybe it would
  help if we could present the solution together
  and discuss the real benefits to the company.
  Could you set this up with the board?

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Objection Safer - do nothing

• Its safer to do nothing perception
• Thanks, but were going to stay where we are at
  today.
• This objection relates to lack of benefit and
  inherent risk of problems in recommending a
  change
• You need more information
• Andre, you could stay with what youve got now.
  But that wont take you where you need to go.
  You need to have (list benefits) and we can make
  it happen. Or was there something I missed?

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Review of Essential Skills

• To handle objections, you will need to
• Hear them out and listen very carefully
• Ask if its ok to focus on the issue so you can
  understand
• Confirm what you heard by restating it in another
  way
• Let them know you understand, but
• Propose your resolution and keep it short
• Determine whether this answered their concern
• Move them toward a commitment
• Next step in the sales process
• Close the sale

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Summary

• Confidence is persuasive
• You can expertly handle objections
• Objections are what we get most, so get
  comfortable with hearing objections
• If they trust you if they can afford your
  solution if its what they need if it will
  solve a significant problem now - they should buy
  it. Now.
• Technique matters
• Find what works for your style
• Practice handling objections make them yours
  you will succeed