How To Turn Sales Objections Into Opportunities [13 min]

0:0010 years ago, I made the decision to build my personal brand that was elevated, yet approachable, and reflected who I was, not just what I did. I created my website with ShowIt because it's true drag and drop freedom so you can easily build and update your site. Plus, their real human support team, game changer. Want to try it for yourself? Head to jasminestar.com forward slash show it for a 14-day free trial and first month free when you subscribe. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, you want to close more sales. Hey there, I'm Whitney, content director for Jasmine Star and social curator.

0:32And in this short episode of the Jasmine Starr Show, you'll learn not only how to handle the five most common objections, but also how to use them as opportunities. Oh, heck yes. Let's listen in. Let's go over five of the most common objections and how to handle them. I'm going to name them first before diving in. Let's start with objection number one. I don't have time. What a prospect really means is, I don't know if I could fit this in my schedule. I don't know if this fits in my life. And on a much deeper level, they're really asking, do you have any ideas that can free up some time for me so I can do this?

1:12Now, they're not saying this. What people are often saying, specifically, if you are making an offer that is a solution to a problem, if people are in the problem, they have a hard time believing anything will work. So I never take it personally. I will present a solution. and this solution is you're not making enough money with your digital offers and you really just need a systemized way of doing it. And people say, okay, I agree, I want that, but I have barely any time right now. How am I supposed to fit this in? Okay, when you're handling this type of objection, you wanna focus on the features of your product or service that can end up saving time in the long run and share strategies that help it fit in their schedule.

1:53So how are we doing this? Well, if somebody says, I just don't have time to put together a proper launch. Well, we knew that this was going to come up. So we're like, great. Our solution is done for you. We provide swipe copy. We provide email automation. Like we're saying, we know you don't have time, which is why you haven't been able to execute. So here are our time-saving mechanisms. Now, like to pull away, let's use a different example. A new entrepreneur, let's call her Brit. She's interested in hiring a marketing agency, but the marketing agency requires three short form videos every week for their social media strategy.

2:26Now, Britt shares she's a little bit concerned about the time commitment required to create the videos. So the marketing agency owner comes up with a batch content plan so Britt can record all 12 videos for the month in less than two hours. The agency owner not only addressed the time constraint, but also provided an efficient and manageable solution for Brittney's schedule. Huh. So just like myself saying, here's how we say you will save time and get it done, an agency provided a content batching schedule that directly addressed somebody's objection. Okay, moving on to objection number two, I don't have money.

3:06Now, what a prospect really means is how might I afford it? Like, help me find a way to afford it. Because here's the thing, if somebody says no, then it's a no. But the vast majority of people are going to be on the fence. I am talking about the vast majority of people are going to be on the fence. So if they didn't say no, but they say, I can't afford it or I don't have money, we need to hear that question is, how can I pay for this? And we address that straight out. They might be saying, are there any payment plans available? Do you have any ideas how I can come up with money? Or have you experienced anyone else who didn't have money to invest at first, but then they found money and then they were so glad they did.

3:48Okay. When you're handling this type of objection, you'll want to focus on how your product or service can end up saving them money or making them more money in the future. Or you can share ways they can come up with money without making huge sacrifices. So how might this come out in like an example? Well, let's introduce Andrew. Andrew wants to attend a personal development workshop, but he expresses he's not sure that he can afford the$200 ticket. On the call, the workshop facilitator asks if there's any small recurring costs or indulgences that he can eliminate for a short amount of time to afford it.

4:23He replies that, you know, he goes to Starbucks Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to get a latte. The workshop facilitator then suggests, hey, there's a couple of things we could do here. One, we can eliminate the Starbucks runs altogether, and then you're going to save$50 a month, and in four months, you can afford a ticket. Or number two, if going to Starbucks is more of a ritual or it's a break for him to get out of the house and he really enjoys it. Cool. No problem. Well, instead of getting a$6 latte, can he opt for a$2 coffee? By suggesting these solutions, Andrew feels excited that he can go to the workshop and because the facilitator remains sensitive and like, you know, really judgment-free in the conversation, he feels understood.

5:05He's not embarrassed or talked down to. And like, hey, he wants his daily rituals. They're not easy to give up and now we found a happy medium. We're addressing that. Now, there are times that maybe I'm just hardwired and I think it probably comes from the fact that I grew up really poor. My whole life, I couldn't afford things like factually, like when there is no money, there is no money. My parents sat in a seminar of getting debt free and I will never forget. I was five or six years old and we sat in an office and my father cracked open his wallet and my mom opened up her oversized pleather purse with a bunch of creases and like bread crumbs and cookie crumbs and just the sticky hands in it.

5:48They brought out their credit cards and he handed them each a pair of scissors and they cut up their credit cards and they put them in a clear glass container. I don't know why that was just such a gnarly visual for me as a child that I have grown up into the person who doesn't take on debt. I mean, we have debt for our house, like we haven't paid off our house, but by and large, the things that we are buying, we are buying in cash. But there are certain experiences in my life that I couldn't afford. And so I just started getting creative. If I couldn't afford something, I would simply ask, how can I access that?

6:27And so there were times where I would wanna go to events like Andrew, in our example, he's like calling the facilitator and saying like, I don't have money. I would call the facilitator and I would simply say like, do you need a personal assistant that day? Or do you need somebody checking in? Or do you need somebody to facilitate the breaks or the lunchtimes? Or do you need somebody writing copy for your website? When I became a photographer, I was like, can I take photos of your event and you will have a full gallery up by the next day? Like I was doing whatever I could. Whenever I hear and I see people doing the same thing, I went on a 25 city tour throughout the United States as a photographer.

7:00And I was teaching photographers and we'd have these events and it was called The Fix and it was really amazing. But what we needed, tickets, to best of my recollection, I think tickets were like$400 a pop and it was like a three hour event. And people would be coming and we realized as we got to each town, we would need a crew of like five or six people to do the door sales and pour wine, things like that. And so it was always the people who had a little bit of bite who would email JD and say, I want to volunteer in this city. And in exchange for volunteering, they got to come for free. When people say, I don't have money, what they're really asking for, is there any way that I would be able to get in?

7:37And as a business owner, it is so smart for us to figure out, is there a way to make this possible for people? And as we launched this course, we knew it was going to be a high ticket offer. And that's not available for everybody. And so we discussed what payment plans might look like. How might we get somebody to say yes? Okay, so when we think about these like, you know, big objections, the third most common one is, I'm just not sure if it's right for me. This can also be worded as, I've had bad experiences before. I've been burned. I don't want to do this again. I'm not that dumb this time.

8:14Okay, okay. But what they're really, really deeply saying is, how is this the solution to my unique problems? How is it different from things I've bought in the past? What is the common drop-off rates and I don't want to be a part of it? What's different about what you're doing than anybody else? How can I trust that I won't have the same experience I did with the head of offer? Or what features of your product or service are going to help me to where I want to go? Like, these are all real simple and really complex questions that get in the way of people. And in this objection, the prospect is basically asking for more specific information.

8:48In the simplest terms, they just want to know that you or your team hear them and see them. And you can handle this objection by asking questions to go deeper with their specific problems and then share success stories that are similar in the transformation that they're looking for. Number one, when people say, how is this different? I've been here before. Or what they really want to know is, do you see me and do you hear me? Will we get cross that finish line? Help me get cross that finish line. Do you see me? Do you see that this is going to be a big, scary investment for me? Okay, so let's use an example.

9:25Let's say an esthetician has a consultation with somebody. And let's call her LaShonda to help her reduce their appearance of acne. Okay, so LaShonda has acne. LaShonda mentions that she's leery because, you know, she's tried a lot of products and treatments in the past without success. And now she's nervous about investing in another solution that might not work for her. Now, the esthetician would mention how she's worked with clients dealing with persistent acne before. Explain how it helps with acne specifically. And then she could share before and after photos of the improvement after the treatment.

10:01And here's the best part. If the esthetician could offer a guarantee or a trial period that would make LaShonda feel better about her investment, she would be so much more likely to make it happen. By doing this, the esthetician shares social proof all while easing LaShonda's concerns. We're using past as case studies, hearing specifically her objections, addressing them straight on. Now, the first objection was, I don't have time. The second objection was, I don't have money. The third objection was, I'm not sure if this is the right fit for me. And the fourth objection is, I'm not ready to commit right now.

10:37What the prospect really means when he or she says, I'm not ready. What they really mean is, what do I lose if I don't decide right now? Is there a lower commitment option to start with? Right? They did not say no. They just said they weren't ready. Well, if you're not ready, like, are you incentivizing me to make this decision now? Can I test the water somehow? how? Okay. The cause of this objection could be that they're overcommitted. Maybe they've tried things in the past and they just became spread too thin. Maybe they let themselves down and they don't want to feel that way again. It can also mean that they don't feel that they need to make a decision right away.

11:13So, you know, they should just take their time. With this objection, you can offer free trials, lower commitment, phased in options that are more self-paced. Now, I've also seen this happen with very strong salespeople. And I don't think that one is right or wrong. But when we're talking about facing objections, what I've seen people do in the past would be like, well, you have to make a decision by this time or else. Or the pressure to say, this is the time. Don't wait another day. This is now. And that becomes very pressure selling. And the approach I like to take is, well, let me just address the objection.

11:52because if I address it, that will close the sale, not me selling harder or faster. So an example, let's say Steven, he wants to join a decluttering membership to be more minimalistic. He isn't sure he wants to commit right now. And then he tells the owner that he'll talk to his partner about it first. The owner then offers the membership free of charge for seven days so that he and his partner can try the membership together. By offering this, the membership owner builds trust and rapport with Steven and helps get him and his wife to experience a week of decluttering wins. Now, how many times have I seen when somebody says, oh, I need to talk to my partner?

12:32That is an absolutely valid, valid justification for not making that decision or making that transaction. But what hurts me more than anything is when somebody says, I need to talk to somebody and I'll get back to you. The chances of closing that sale, they decrease by over 50%. So what I love in this example, and the reason why I used it is don't let somebody off the phone. Don't let somebody out of your office. Don't hang up the Zoom call before you get a commitment where you take all of the responsibility. Like you take all the risk. This membership owner looks at Steven and Steven's like, I need to talk to my wife.

13:07And instead of saying, yeah, talk to your wife and get back to me, he says, you want to know what, Steven? Why don't you give me your name, your information? I'll set you up a profile. What's your wife's name? We're going to get her set up. And this is on me. Complimentary, no strings attached. You're going to get access for seven days. What did he just do? He closed that client. He got their information. He could put them in a sales funnel. He could follow up with them on day four and day six and day seven, and he could show up for these people and learn about their decluttering wins. And he doesn't have a fan and he doesn't have a client.

13:34He has an evangelist that my friends is overcoming an objection frontward and forward. Let's go. You are now fully equipped to handle objections head on, offer tailored solutions, and ultimately guide prospects towards confident decisions. Thanks for listening to the Jasmine Star Show. Until next time.