[PrintSales] Issues Sales People Encounter - Objections

Tue Sep 26 21:57:13 EDT 2006

    Before handling any objections, you need to firmly position yourself as 
a professional in your industry. Not as a professional salesperson, but as a 
knowledgable source of information that your clients and prospects can come 
to for legitimate, honest answers that they can trust. Never provide an 
answer that is in YOUR best interest unless it is honestly the truth. Bypass 
the "quality/service/price" line and concentrate on the 
"trust/value/convenience" concept. Notice I did not say line. This one is 
real, and your integrity must back it up.
    Sales is also not a quick process. Like gardening, you must constantly 
plant seeds, carefully weed, and fertilize before you harvest.
            Planting seeds is obviously prospecting. Find a good, standard 
procedure to use when prospecting. Even cold calls can be less of a hassle 
when you have a                     standard procedure to follow (walk in, 
ask for the person's name who purchases printing, give your card and 
politely leave). Don't ask to see the person;                     you are 
trying to lower the gatekeepers initial buyers' resistance. All you want at 
this stage is to get to know who they are and who the purchaser is.
            Weeding is knowing how many times you will try to "touch" that 
prospect. A touch is not always in person - it is how many times your client 
comes into contact                 with your company in some way - your name 
on a vehicle, a brochure that was mailed or dropped off, notepads to the 
receptionist, etc. After approximately                 6-7 touches with no 
progress, "weed" them from your prospecting list.
            Fertilizing is providing information for which you expect no 
return. Really. Figure out what they like, and just drop a note here or 
there with an article clipping or                 something else pertaining 
to that person's interest. You must get this person to like you in some 
fashion. We don't buy from people we don't like. When was 
the last time you bought something from somebody you didn't like? If you 
made the decision to buy before you entered the store, that doesn't count.
            Harvesting is just that - the account starts to bear fruit.

    Remember - sales is not easy, or everybody would do it. You are a 
professional. It takes a real commitment to growth and improvement to get 
good at it. And, no matter what anybody says, you must develop your own 
style. If you copy somebody else's style and it doesn't fit, your prospects 
and clients will see right through it.

Some answers to the objections you mentioned:

1. Your price is too high
        Very rarely the real objection; many times used as the quickest way 
to get you out the door. To get around this one, first determine if you are 
in front of the decision maker, who is oftentimes not the purchaser. 
Gatekeepers purchase, but don't make the "decision". They are trying to look 
good to their higher-ups, and lowering costs is a good (perceived) way to do 
that. Get in front of the decision maker, and figure out what they perceive 
to be of value.If you can't be in front of the decision maker, find another 
way to make them look good.
        We have successfully integrated ourselves into our clients' 
companies by being ready, willing and able to act on their behalf as a 
client advocate rather than a salesperson. Once you earn their trust, and 
they give you projects to be in charge of, it is more expensive to NOT use 
you.

2. Your price is good but I am happy with my current vendor and don't want 
to change.
            Patience, patience, patience. We tell our salespeople that if 
you can't be number 1, meaning they are happy where they are at, be number 
2. Eventually number 1 WILL drop the ball, and you'll be there to pick it 
up. From there, the step into #1 position is fairly easy.
            Also, there is a difference between "happy" and "satisfied". You 
will have a very difficult time overcoming a happy customer, but a satisfied 
one can be swayed. You simply need to find his/her weakness (electronic 
ordering, inventory management, turnaround times, professional advice before 
the project starts that brings the cost down, working their hours, etc.) and 
exploit that.

3. We just don't have the budget for that right now.
        This is either true, or a smokescreen. They see you as a salesperson 
instead of someone acting in their best interest. People don't want to be 
sold, they want to be bought; figure out what they really need, not what 
they say. For instance, your client wants to do a brochure for their 
salespeople to hand out, and they don't have the money for it. Design 
something yourself, on your own time, using your own computer to save them 
art charges and suggest a short run digitally. This brings the cost down, 
"smokes them out" of the objection, and lets them know you are on their 
team. Don't ever try to sell anything - people know when they are being 
sold; try to help, and it will come back to you in time.

4. We've decided to produce it in-house.
        A legitimate statement, so long as they have the proper equipment. 
Assuming the boss will stand behind the quality that represents his/her 
company, this battle can be won on quality. Most in-house machines just 
can't match the quality of a professional digital machine or a press, and 
they can't run the range of stocks you can. If you are solely a conventional 
press facility, this involves more work.

Jeff Haas
HAAS Printing Co., Inc.
1000 Hummel Avenue
Lemoyne, PA 17043
(717) 761-0277 phone
(717) 761-7109 fax
(717) 443-7854 cell
www.haas-printing.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Becky Whatley" <Becky at QUALITYPRINTINGONLINE.COM>
To: "Discussion List for Printing Sales Professionals" 
<printsales at printweb.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 7:32 PM
Subject: [PrintSales] Issues Sales People Encounter - Objections

>$  $  $  + This is a PrintSales list message. + $  $  $
>
>
> On Sep 25, 2006, at 9:34 AM, Scott Cappel wrote:
>
>> I was just trying to help Becky, who gets all the credit for sparking 
>> this list to life again, define the issues that sales people encounter 
>> and what makes them successful.
>
> Issues that sales people encounter -- thanks Scott. Good way to put it.
>
> Here's an issue:
>
> I'm pretty good at meeting people and getting a first appointment.
>
> Where I don't always do so good is "the close" when it comes to 
> objections.
> Gitomer says you should brainstorm all the objections you'll get and be 
> ready for them at all times (he claims you already know the ones you are 
> going to get and there are not that many)
> Going off that assumption, can we discuss the basic objections we get and 
> how others have overcome them?
>
> 1. Your price is too high
>
> 2. Your price is good but I am happy with my current vendor and don't want 
> to change.
>
> 3. We just don' t have the budget for that right now.
>
> 4. We've decided to produce it in house.
>
> Others?
> Answers?
>
>
> Queen O' the List
> Becky Whatley
> Quality Printing
> 2061 Third Street, Suite E
> Riverside, CA 92507
> Office (951) 784-4100 ext. 22
> Fax (951) 682-1274
> Becky at QualityPrintingOnline.com
> www.QualityPrintingOnline.com
>
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