A couple of years ago in this space, I wrote about objections that we hear from buyers. More accurately, the post was about the statements that sound sort of like objections that we hear from non-buyers - those who have no intention of doing business with us, and who frankly just don't want to face another option or have another conversation. I call these Scarecrow Objections.
This morning I want to add another bit of language to the canon: Objection of Interest. I've just started using this term in sales workshops and it's proving valuable. An Objection of Interest is a (1) legitimate question or issue that's (2) raised by a customer genuinely interested in a commercial relationship with you and (3) has the authority and means to advance the deal. An Objection of Interest is like the bridge to a sale: if you can cross this, we can continue down the path together.
The Scarecrow Objection, on the other hand, is not a bridge at all. It's a parachute that allows a disinterested or non-qualified buyer to eject from the conversation. They're not going to volunteer the fact that they're not really interested: why would they? So they ask us rote questions about minute differences in technology or policy. Or they tell us they need a case study to prove a point. And sometimes they simply put us off with vague promises of later consideration - an RFP which leads nowhere, a buying cycle that never materializes.
My advice is to measure any objection or issue you hear from a potential customer against the 1-2-3 test outlined above. If you think it fails to meet two of the three standards (or if it does not meet the second one alone) then you're looking at a Scarecrow Objection. Do not waste time and energy uncovering facts or chasing down details and case studies: those are hours of your life you'll never get back. Instead, simply qualify the objection: "If we could successfully solve that issue, would you then make the recommendation to fully invest with us?" On rare occasions, you'll transform a Scarecrow into a legitimate Objection of Interest and create a new opportunity to sell. More often your "buyer" will show her true colors and the conversation will melt into a puddle of non-commitment.
I'll talk more in a future post about how to open, pre-close and collaborate with the customer when you're facing a legitimate Objection of Interest. (If you want to hear sooner, drop me a note.) But in the meantime, I feel good in helping you avoid the costly, pointless exercise of debating with a Scarecrow.
