We’ve all been at the place where a big objection to your service offering has put the brakes on the conversation. Yet in the digital age, we have very effective ways to overcome sales objections using our marketing tools.
Crystallize Your Objection
First thing’s first, you really need to know what the objection is. And we all know that is not always the surface objection or the one you are told. When a client says “timing is not right,” there might be internal opposition that is not shared with you.
So digging into the real issue is going to be the only way you get past the objection.
How Do You Find The Objection?
Well, if you have a great relationship, you can just ask. But that is a rare thing these days.
The next best thing is to email… Yes. Email.
How To Fish Out The Objection
If you are getting the cold shoulder from your contact, there are a few emails you need to have in your toolbox as a sales professional that can help you fish out the objection and help overcome them. Both of them use content on your website.
Click-Bait Objection
So, a simple tactic is a click-bait objection approach. Simply put, we send a mock “email newsletter” that contains a few articles that address certain common objections that might come up. For example, you might have an article about budget, or competition, or hiring internally versus hiring a contractor.
The magic is that your prospect will receive this seemingly random newsletter email and click a link to the article that most interests them, which may likely be your objection point. Now you are in the know!
Subject Line Test
You can also send a series of emails looking for open and engagement around certain subject lines. Having an email that has a subject such as “How to pay for the marketing you need,” could hint toward some budget issues. You’ll have to be creative here and apply your industry knowledge to make it work for you. The results are bit fuzzier, but the idea is the same as above.
Addressing Your Sales Objection With Marketing
Now that you have a clear idea of what your objection, or objections, might be, its time to start addressing those with marketing.
The best approach to this is going to be in your email marketing to your opportunity. Let’s talk about how we do that.
Content That Convinces
Here is the list of assets you need to have to make this work.
- A killer ebook on your No. 1 objection to your service
- Articles that you’ve written around the other minor objections to your services
- Articles that you’ve written about how you are a clear differentiator in the space
Take your time writing this content and make sure it’s really solid. You’re going to use this time and time again to help convince.
Objections via Email
Now that you have your content, you’re going to want to send that material to those prospects in your lead funnel that have reached the decision point where the objection makes sense. Send this as a pure ebook offering, not personalized. They will think it’s just a generalized marketing message, yet it will be really relevant to them.
Follow up personally, mentioning the ebook that was sent out, and a few articles (see point above) that might help them in the decision process. This is a great 1-2 punch for emailing good content to your potential prospect.
Once you are a bit more in-the-know of the objection, another great email to send is specific testimonials. Objections are sometimes excuses more than legitimate objections, and having a strong testimonials can ease some of the tensions. They will call your references if you give them a clear path to do so.
[tweetthis]Objections are sometimes excuses rather than legitimate objections.[/tweetthis]
Objections via Social Media
You might want to integrate your objection material into your social media marketing. This can be done in the form of promoting your articles with big, clear images.
You can also discuss the objections in groups or forums and see what your cohorts or potential customers might think about the situation.
Objections on your Website
Many companies don’t feel comfortable putting objection content right on the homepage of the site, and I can understand. But in the long run, having a real conversation around the popular objections can only help your marketing efforts.
This might be a section a few pages deep that make sense in your buyer journey. Once you have them on the right page, introducing objection content can be really helpful and timely. These could be as subtle as tooltips, or whole pages explaining the objection in detail. Or simply linking to the articles you’ve written in your blog.
Looking For a Yes in a Cloud Of No’s
I hope this helps you deal with some objection scenarios in your marketing. The key thing to remember is objections are not just obstacles, they are moments to pause for both sides to make sure if this is the right move for both companies. The question, “does this align with our goals” is the right thing to be thinking about. You might lose a deal, because it’s the right thing for the prospect to pass on your service. AND THAT IS OK! Sales and marketing is not arm twisting, it’s fit finding, and it goes both ways. Overcoming objections is just a way to help your prospect see the fit they don’t quite see yet.