Handling Objections Today

Sales resistance is normal, isn't it? It's impossible for ANY publication to satisfy the needs of the entire population, or the EXACT needs of any one customer.

When you're selling adspace, you're the shooter, and your client is the target. If the shooter misses the target, it ain't the target's fault.

Just imagine if your publication tried to satisfy the demands and desires of each buyer for audience, editorial, price, features, and so forth. You'd grind to a complete halt as you ran out of space. And you would end up with no identity at all.

So, NONE of your clients is going to end up with the exact audience they want, with their adverts surrounded by the exact editorial message they want.

Unless they produce their own publication, under their own total control, (AND WITH THEM PAYING ALL THE COSTS of print, distribution etc.) they'll have to settle for less than they want. They'll have to share you -- with other advertisers and other editorial spreading the costs.

Tell them this. TELL THEM. Let them know that they're going to have to compromise and drop some of the items on their 'wish list'. No publication in the world can give them everything they want.

Consider the ignorance towards advertising of the average client. Then realise that, by definition, fully half of them must be even dumber ......

The question is ...... how closely does what you offer match what they 'must have'?

Which brings up another question:

How do clients determine what they CAN do without when it comes to buying adspace? And how do they communicate to you their 'must haves' from their 'could do withouts'?

Some ask questions: "Can I get it tomorrow?" "Can I have my own spot colour?" "Does it come with this guarantee or that special price?"

But many prospects don't come right out and ask. Instead, they wait until you've finished your presentation. So you ask them what they FEEL about what you have just told them. What is their OPINION?

Now, they hesitate, they resist, they OBJECT.

At this moment, you can CHOOSE to treat any objection as something negative to overcome ...... OR ...... as a request for more information.

It's an attitude thing.

What's YOUR attitude toward sales resistance?

As you learnt in 'Selling Adspace Made Simple' -- clients buy when your offer gets so close to matching their expectations that it becomes MORE VALUABLE to them to buy your adspace than to keep their money.

From where they sit, the BEST way to explore how far you'll bend to their needs ..... is to object! Then you'll offer them alternatives that more closely resemble the situation they want.

So objections are: Requests for more information Signposts of interest (And a stall for time)

When you get any type of objection or sales resistance, including price, the key is to recognise that all of us are ALWAYS right IN OUR OWN MINDS. Your client is right. It's his (perhaps) feeble mind.

DON'T try to change HIS MIND. In a sales interview, you don't have time. Just remind him that for children, there are rewards or punishments -- for adults, there are consequences.

Then change YOUR OWN attitude and begin re-matching what you offer to bring it closer to what your client wants. The great thing about selling advertising space is that you are selling IDEAS.

When a client objects to one idea, or to a part of your offer, don't fight them. Agree.

And come straight back at them by SUGGESTING a NEW idea -- or your original offer re-engineered so that it appears to move closer to being a match for what the client really wants.

They'll never get EVERYTHING that they want. They'd have to run their own publication for that.

But YOU can keep slightly altering your offer. Changing it to move closer and closer to what they want. Until it comes close enough to what they want - and it's worthwhile for them to book an advert with you.

Article Source: http://www.contentspool.com

Roy Preece has sold ad space, trained and managed ad space sales executives for over 20 years. The adsalespeople web site has been helping with advice, encouragement and sales tools for over eight years. It's at: www.adsalespeople.com

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