Objections are Opportunities!
Objections are problems, but they’re also opportunities. They’re challenges you can overcome with a 3 step process, whether you’re selling a product or otherwise achieving S.M.A.A.R.T. goals that you’ve set so that you can live in harmony with your WHY.
If you push the boundaries of your comfort zone boundaries in the name of achieving those goals, it’s easy to freeze up when you’re met with someone’s various objections in relation to whatever you need to do to accomplish that goal.
But the shorthand way to deal with those objections is the Feel, Felt, Found method. Quite frankly, if you’re the one blocking your own blessings you can calm down and use this method on yourself if need be.
Step One. Realize that objections are manifestations of fear masked as excuses, so the thoughtful (and effective) thing to do is to show empathy towards those fears so that they can ultimately be overcome by saying, “I understand how you feel.” (Be genuine and respectful; people’s feelings are precious to them).
Step Two: Move swiftly into telling them about someone else (if not yourself) who felt the same way the person at issue does now about X. Why? You’re validating their fears masked as objections by illustrating that the current naysayer isn’t alone in their feelings.
Step Three: Immediately add the chaser that you (or someone else) ultimately found that once they did X (whatever it is you need them to do), they received a corresponding benefit. Provide useful information at this stage in the form of proof and it’ll go a long way towards winning over your objections-laden opponent.
Again, the “feel” prong of this method establishes empathy, while the “felt” part illustrates that the naysayer isn’t some lone loser in their feelings, but ultimately establish that they should yield to you because of a benefit that they get (NOT a benefit that you get).
People are always self-interested. If you want to change NO to YES, you have to show them what’s in it for them. You’ll get what you want on the back end of things if you can connect people to what they want on the front end.
Worried that the opposition won’t believe in the sincerity of the words, “I understand how you feel,” when you utter them? Make it harder for their objections to gain traction by saying something along the lines of, “Some people would totally understand how you feel.”
This works great because now you’re broadening the scope of your representation. Some will and some won’t is a phrase that applies to nearly everything, so it’s harder to believe the sincerity of what “some people” do or feel.
Want to overcome your own objections and everyone else’s? Try the book, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, by Roger Fisher, William L. Ury and Bruce Patton, available on Amazon.
