How to Coach Yourself and Others Influencing, Inter Personal and Leadership Skills | Page 43

2. Persuasion during negotiation
1. Uncover the root of the objection
Start by asking some questions that will help uncover the root of the objection. The
exact questions you use will vary depending on what the client says, but some possible
examples include:
• What is your main concern with this point?
• Why does that particular concern worry you?
• If your concern were handled, what would the result look like?
• What is your main priority in considering this offer?
• What information do you still need?
• What would the ideal offer for your situation include?
• What are the main factors you will consider in choosing your provider?
Notice that these are all open-ended questions. They give the prospect the opportunity
to talk so that you can learn more information as well.
2. Next, Redirect the prospect to focusing on the benefits of your product
Some examples of these types of questions include:
• We’ve talked about the fact that you have a challenge with ________. What would it
be worth to your organization if that challenge were resolved?
• How would it help you to be more competitive if you didn’t have to deal with the
problems caused by _______________ anymore?
• What value can you see in eliminating __________ from your daily workload?
If you find that the prospect is not willing to give you more information, you might need
to examine other possible reasons for their objection.
3. Possible reasons of failure to close the deal
1. Failure to Create Desire
All sales require that your client has a desire to own your product or use your service. If
you haven’t yet created that desire, you will face objections and not make the sale no
matter how persuasive you think you are being. This idea comes from the sales method
known as AIDA, an acronym which stands for:
• Attention
• Interest
• Desire
• Action
This is very similar to Monroe’s Motivated Sequence Model that we discussed in Chapter
Six. The point is that if you haven’t created the desire for your services, you will not
persuade the customer that they need your services. Why would they buy something
that they don’t want? You will need to go back and establish desire by demonstrating the
benefits your offering will provide to the customer. If you do this well enough, you won’t
have to do any more persuading – the customer will already want what you are offering.