Have you ever been on a client visit, or in an interview, or frankly in ANY situation where you are trying to convince someone of something? Of course you have, we all have. For instance, I find myself constantly trying to convince my husband to bring home take out, or my kids to pick up after themselves. But thats a whole different story...(and may belong in a wholly different kind of blog...!)
But have you ever wondered why they were objecting? If only we had that mind reading tool in mass distribution.... Well, I can't help you with what your spouse or children are thinking. (And if they are teenagers, I am afraid no one can tell you what they are thinking). But maybe we can chat about what might be happening in a business setting.
In my experience, objections in a business setting tend to fall into one of three categories.
The first is the CONCEPTUAL objection. The client you are speaking with does not yet see the value in the concept of what you are proposing. They don't necessarily have an issue with YOU, but the solution is not speaking to them yet. At Aquent, this objection might look like this, "We only use Agencies for our creative needs", or "We don't believe in using contractors".
The next type is the BRAND objection. Sorry, but this one is actually about you. They understand the value of the solution you are presenting, but they don't believe YOU are the answer yet. Typically there is missing information in your value proposition, so your work is not done. At Aquent this objection might sound like this "We use XYZ firm for our staffing needs".
The final type of objection is the STALL. And boy are we seeing a lot of this right now. This one is self explanatory, now that you think of it. The objection might sound like "Call me next quarter when budgets are done", or "We are in a hiring freeze right now". But the reasons for the stall can be varied, and possibly the most complex. Are you sure you have the right buyer, the one with authority to make the decision? Is there something happening behind the scenes that you don't know about?
Its important to be able to quickly categorize these objections when you hear them, because HOW you respond, and the follow up questions you ask, will be very different depending upon that answer. You may find yourself in an actual dialogue that feels consultative, if you are not careful.
Oh, and can you pick up Chinese on the way home?
But have you ever wondered why they were objecting? If only we had that mind reading tool in mass distribution.... Well, I can't help you with what your spouse or children are thinking. (And if they are teenagers, I am afraid no one can tell you what they are thinking). But maybe we can chat about what might be happening in a business setting.
In my experience, objections in a business setting tend to fall into one of three categories.
The first is the CONCEPTUAL objection. The client you are speaking with does not yet see the value in the concept of what you are proposing. They don't necessarily have an issue with YOU, but the solution is not speaking to them yet. At Aquent, this objection might look like this, "We only use Agencies for our creative needs", or "We don't believe in using contractors".
The next type is the BRAND objection. Sorry, but this one is actually about you. They understand the value of the solution you are presenting, but they don't believe YOU are the answer yet. Typically there is missing information in your value proposition, so your work is not done. At Aquent this objection might sound like this "We use XYZ firm for our staffing needs".
The final type of objection is the STALL. And boy are we seeing a lot of this right now. This one is self explanatory, now that you think of it. The objection might sound like "Call me next quarter when budgets are done", or "We are in a hiring freeze right now". But the reasons for the stall can be varied, and possibly the most complex. Are you sure you have the right buyer, the one with authority to make the decision? Is there something happening behind the scenes that you don't know about?
Its important to be able to quickly categorize these objections when you hear them, because HOW you respond, and the follow up questions you ask, will be very different depending upon that answer. You may find yourself in an actual dialogue that feels consultative, if you are not careful.
Oh, and can you pick up Chinese on the way home?
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