B2B Cold Calling Tips for Overcoming Objections [TEMPLATES]

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One of the most challenging parts of B2B sales calls is overcoming objections that prospective clients may come up with trying to avoid your sales pitch. As a result, cold calling potential prospects can be hard and frustrating.

In this guide you will find:

Common Objections and How to Handle Them
Main B2B Cold Calling Tips and Techniques for Overcoming Objections
When an Objection Means No

As a sales representative, you are identifying the pain points and selling the solutions for the customer's existing challenges.

Humans are creatures of habit and instinctively resist change. This means that even if you have the best product on the market and you sell it flawlessly, the basic nature of your prospect will still create objections that you must overcome. Fortunately, with well-prepared answers, you can turn this drawback into a demonstration of the value of your product.

There are many ways to respond to objections. Let's look at the best answers to the most common ones to B2B sales, which not only overcome resistance to change but also use them to effectively demonstrate the value of your product.

Common Objections and How to Handle Them

When trying to achieve business goals, it is imperative that you respond appropriately and not react impulsively to your potential client’s objections. Here are some most common objections and useful strategies to overcome them.

  1. Your product is good but the price is too high for us!
  2. Send me some more information on your product.
  3. We already have the solution, and it works just fine.
  4. Thank you, but we have other priorities right now.
  5. Thank you for the information provided. We need to discuss everything and get back to you later.
  6. Sorry, but I have never heard of your company.
  7. “I don't see how my business can benefit from your product.
  8. Sorry, but your product doesn't have the exact feature we need.
  9. How did you get my contact details?

Objection: "Your product is good but the price is too high for us!"

This is the most common type of objection, and very often it is voiced even by potential buyers. Instead, pay attention to the value of the product itself. This objection often means that the prospects do not feel the true value of your product. They may even have the appropriate budget but are not sure your product will solve their problems.

Helping the customer to understand the time of the return on investment (ROI) will assist in overcoming this objection. The budget can be flexible for a product with a promising positive result. Discuss the current situation of your potential client and be prepared to accurately demonstrate the impact of the ROI that your product will create and how it will help them achieve their goals.

Response: "I know that there is an initial investment, and this may seem intimidating. But let's talk about the long term. Let me show you what income you will really receive next year using our product/service."

Objection: "Send me some more information on your product."

This objection may be either a good or a bad sign - it is hard to say without proper detection. Your prospect may use it to turn off the phone, but at least they said they want to know more.

It is better to give them time while they are on the line so that you can appreciate their interest. Prove to them that you will do it quickly.

Response: "I have a pile of information that I can send to you, but I do not want to clog your inbox. Let me ask you a few short questions in order to better understand your needs. This will help provide you with the most useful information on our product."

or "Fine, I will send you the information. Can I call you back in a week to find out if you had the opportunity to look through it and answer any questions that you may have? What day and time are best for you?"

Objection: "We already have the solution, and it works just fine."

This objection means that the potential customer has already identified the solution that can meet their needs and started cooperating with the competitor. However, often the real experience of this collaboration helps them to feel the problems of interaction and again proceed on looking for the vendor. 

Cold calls are not the time for an exhaustive parallel comparison of competitors. The main goal here is to arouse the curiosity of your potential customers about what they might have missed.

Try to find out why they chose a competitor's service, what are the advantages and disadvantages of this solution, and so on. Even if a lead doesn’t become your customer, this will let you better understand what criteria your target audience uses when choosing a solution for their business. 

Response: "Would you be so kind as to tell why you have chosen this product? What are you most satisfied or dissatisfied with? Is there any marginal option for you?"

or "I think it would be useful to spend a few minutes so that we can share our impressions with you and compare it with your current solution so that you can make a fully informed decision about the future choice in this area. When it will be convenient for you to discuss it?"

Objection: "Thank you, but we have other priorities right now."

Perhaps it will be easy for you to talk for hours about the many reasons why your product is better than competitors’. However, this is probably not enough incentive for your potential client to give up what they have or what they need.

To distract a prospect from a competitor, use reviews, case studies, recommendations, or even meetings with your customers who have left competitors.

Customer reviews are extremely effective because prospects do not immediately take the same defensive position that they use with the seller, and they may relate to someone who was in the same position in which they are.

Response: "I fully understand you. But let me share with you a case study that shows how a company like yours was able to triple its marketing return by switching to our solution."

Objection: "Thank you for the information provided. We need to discuss everything and get back to you later."

Imagine that you worked hard for a long time, convincing the prospect of dealing with you. After long conversations, emails, phone calls, and even video calls on Skype, your lead finally informs you that they will contact you later.

Obviously, this is in no way a positive answer. Especially after you have spent so much time trying to convince this prospect that you are an ideal service provider with the best price.

Unfortunately, despite the difficult and lengthy attempts, such a terrible answer is usually inevitable. This is no different than when they tell you "I have to think about it." Of course, we all understand that most customers are polite and do not want to infringe on service providers. In fact, they will never contact you back.

Response: "You know, I've been doing this for a long time. Usually, when I hear people say this, I never hear from them again. You were just polite, you don’t want to reject me, isn’t that so?"

Objection: "Sorry, but I have never heard of your company."

The lack of knowledge about your company is something that you can control using your content and strategy on social networks. Being consistent, honest, and often sending messages will build trust with social followers. Make sure you optimize your search engine so that potential customers can find you before you find them. And while you are talking on the phone, invite a potential customer to share case studies, blog content, or customer reviews. Any social proof is beneficial, and the more you have, the better. 

Present your company very briefly and explain what problems your product or solution may solve.

Response: Tell about your future plans, and how are you going to implement them in order to improve your business. You will have the unique opportunity to collaborate with us from the beginning, thus we can offer the most favorable solution to you. 

Objection: "I don't see how my business can benefit from your product."

In this situation, it is better to find out which product your potential buyer last used, or what they intend to use. Upon learning this information, you will know what is a priority for them.

Then you need to overcome this objection and close more deals by telling them about the benefits of your product or service and how it can help them.

Response: "Now let me to shortly describe our solution and maybe it could be a help for solving your problem."

Objection: "Sorry, but your product doesn't have the exact feature we need."

Try to offer an additional product that you can use as an alternative. But if this particular need is mandatory, and your product cannot solve it, move on to the best opportunity.

Response: "Let me introduce another option that is more suitable for solving your issue."

Objection: "How did you get my contact details?"

If you take the cold contact lists you find on the Internet, your prospects have the reason to be irritated. In this case, remind them that they have filled out a form on your website or signed up for more information, or that you just came across their website and wanted to get in touch to see if you could help.

Response: "I have been doing a lot of research lately, trying to find a business that would not only greatly benefit from working with us, but also a business that seeks to build interrelation between us."

Main B2B Cold Calling Tips and Techniques for Overcoming Objections

Getting objections from a client is not always a bad thing! This means that the potential client has enough interest to at least chat with you, and not just avoid it in every possible way. For the seller, an objection to sales is an opportunity to learn more about the needs of a potential customer and find more effective ways to convey to them the value of your decision.

But there are some tips and techniques that will help you overcome the main objections when cold calling.

  • Active Listening Practicing
  • Repeating Back What Was Heard
  • Defining And Understanding Your Prospect’s Real Concerns
  • Asking Follow-Up Questions
  • Explain the Value and Give Social Proof
  • Set a Specific Date and Time to Follow-Up - Sell Not the Product, But the Next Step
  • Previse Sales Objections

Active Listening Practicing

Email, text messaging, and social media have made real-time conversations more meager. As a result of this, conversational speakers have become more prone to what psychologists call the "shift response."

Salespeople who manage calls, demos, or presentations can use this natural impulse to keep their prospects right. The more potential clients say, the more you can learn about their needs and requirements. In addition, they will feel more comfortable with the sales professional, knowing that their circumstances and wishes are understandable.

A good active listener achieves many goals in every conversation, including:

  • recognizing the value of the speaker;
  • encouraging the prospect to clarify their thoughts;
  • creating a sensitive interconnection;
  • establishing honest and trusting relationships.

Repeating Back What Was Heard

If you really want to make a good impression on a potential customer and fully understand them, repeat what you heard in your own words. When we rephrase, we reinforce our own understanding of something, rather than simply providing a verbatim summary.

In addition to demonstrating active listening and helping our own understanding, it also gives the speaker the opportunity to correct any misunderstandings or confusion.

Use phrases like "What I hear is ..." or "It means that ...", and so on.

Defining And Understanding Your Prospect’s Real Concerns

This stage includes compiling a list of the most common fears and concerns that customers face. You need to take into account all their problems, even those that are not considered in your value statement. This list is needed for B2B sales professionals so that they can easily determine which customer is your prospect and which isn’t.

You should focus on the issues that concern them most when explaining how your product or service can eliminate them as persistent problems.

Asking Follow-Up Questions

By asking the right questions, you can reach to your potential customers, find out what problems they are trying to solve, recommend them to lead the search process for you and find out if this partnership is suitable or not.

Quality follow-up questions are a critical tool. When used correctly, they will help you:

  • determine if you have a prospect;
  • identify potential barriers to modern B2B sales;
  • find out customer needs;
  • plan effective closing of a deal;
  • rate the offer price.

Explain the Value and Give Social Proof

We are easily influenced by other people's behavior. Social proof plays a major role in sales because it shows the prospect that your product has helped other people with similar pain points. Try telling the success story of a client who has faced the same situation. This is one of the tips for B2B sales success. 

Use recognizable company names that you think a potential person will be familiar with. This will affect their opinions and instinctive thoughts about the company.

Set a Specific Date and Time to Follow-Up - Sell Not the Product, But the Next Step

Perhaps the biggest mistake the salespeople can make is not setting a specific date and time for a further call at the end of their initial call. Unclear commitments from potential customers ("Call me next week") or seller ("I will send the offer and it will continue in a couple of days") lead to missed calls, voicemails, and, ultimately, a longer sales cycle.

To make the perfect call, you need a perfect commitment. There are two steps to achieving this:

  • ask for a specific date for your next call;
  • ask for a specific time.

Previse Sales Objections

The hope that there will be no objection during cold calling is not the best plan. It is better to make a plan of possible ones to know exactly how to immediately approach your answer.

There are many factors that affect sales objections. When talking with potential customers, you need to consider different markets, product levels, price ranges, and decision making power. 

One way to do this is to incorporate these specific objections into a sales training program. You do not need to complicate things too much, you just need to be active in preparation. Here is a simple process that you can follow in the next few days to protect your objections in the future.

  • Write a list of the most common objections you hear every day.
  • Come up with a plan to expose them.
  • Look at past missed opportunities, objection handling scripts, and emails.
  • Prepare a shortlist - you should get at least 10-20 of the most common objections.
  • Find out why you cannot overcome the objection then, and what you should do differently in the future.
  • Develop and test a scenario plan that any team member can use to overcome objections through effective and consistent communication.

When an Objection Means No

Sometimes you cannot handle an objection, and in fact, no means no. Sometimes this is a bad day, week, month for the person you are calling, and absolutely any attempt to process objections will lead to a negative result. Despite the fact that this is not a free card that allows you to cope with objections, you need to pay close attention to the height and tone of the subscriber on the other end of the phone. You should define, are they simply not interested and need you to surprise them, or are they really angry right now, and you need to quickly end the conversation. These tips for B2B sales success will help you to overcome cold calling objections and responses, as well as to close more deals.

 

Updated on 2020/05/21

Tanya Gonchar

Expert in call center process automation, Head of Marketing at Voiptime Cloud. Interested in customer service, B2B sales, marketing, business analysis.

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