Mr. and Mrs. Be-Back! Have they been to your store, too? You must remember them . . . they like the widget. . . but they'll "be back!"

To many of us, a customer objection means "no sale." The customer rejected the merchandise and you. Why do customers object? Customers buy for two major reasons: trust and value. It's a bonus if the customer trusts you as a salesperson, but value must always be established before any customer will buy. So it follows that when there is a lack of trust in the salesperson, or the customer has failed to see enough value in the merchandise, you're going to get an objection. Or, sometimes an objection is no more than a defense mechanism used to delay making a buying decision. Hey, remember that it's not easy parting with your own money sometimes, so it isn't any easier for the customer.

The vast majority of the time when customers object, they are giving you an incomplete or false reason for not buying. Your customer may feel uncomfortable or embarrassed to tell you the real reason for not going along. Think about it for a moment. Haven't you ever made up an excuse to get out of a store because you didn't have the heart to tell the salesperson you didn't want the item? All of us have. So what is the chance your customers are doing the very same thing to you? Probably about a 100% chance. Granted, customers do sometimes want to shop around before making a decision, but when you hear, "I want to shop around," how do you know that you aren't the last store they are shopping and the line works to get them out of the store?

The better you are at building trust throughout the presentation and particularly in probing (via supportive responses to the customers' answers), the more difficult it will be for the customer to come clean if they have a specific objection. Conversely, if you do a poor job of building trust, the more powerful the customer's objection will be and the more difficult it will be for you to handle. The customer who doesn't trust you will resent you trying to handle their objection.

To overcome these obstacles and close the sale, you must handle the true objection. For example, if the customer tells you that they want to "shop around a little more," but they really think this model is too expensive, you can try to handle "I want to shop around" all day and still never close the sale. Never take an objection at face value. Some detective work will be required to smoke-out your customer's real reason for not buying.

An objection to a specific feature is often the result of poor probing in the first place. If you determine this is the case, probe again and demonstrate a more appropriate model. For example, if the customer says the widget doesn't have enough power, find another suitable choice with more power. This may happen several times during a presentation when customers really don't know what they want. Remember to keep your enthusiasm level high throughout the process and not to show frustration at their inability to make a decision.

Not all objections will be specific. Many aggressive salespeople feel that answering an objection means wearing down the customers until they finally buy. On the other hand, some salespeople go so far in the opposite direction that they feel any attempt to overcome an objection amounts to being pushy.

Properly handling an objection is a customer service in the truest sense and can be done without being considered pushy at all. The steps I've listed below will guide you through handling nearly any customer objection. Keep in mind, though, that to appear empathetic and non-pushy to the customer, you must be able to effectively follow these steps in order.

Step 1: Listen to the Entire Objection. Don't interrupt your customers in mid-sentence, thereby implying that what they have to say is not important enough to hear. We sometimes have little empathy for our customers when we're at the moment of truth in a sales presentation. If you let them finish voicing their objection, you might discover they were just moaning a little before parting with their hard-earned cash. You do it as a customer in other stores, so let your customers do it with you, too.

Step 2: Acknowledge the Objection. Let the customer know that you understand their concern by restating the objection with "I can understand . . ." or "I can appreciate . . ." For example, if a customer says they want to think it over, the salesperson would acknowledge this by saying, "I can understand you want to think it over. You want to make the right choice." By using this step, you have an opportunity to get on your customer's side and avoid arguing.

Step 3: Gain Permission to Ask a Question. So as not to appear pushy in any way, simply ask the customer the following. "Before you go, may I ask you a question?" Wait for the customer's response, which will always be yes.

Step 4: Ask a Broad Question to Learn More. You may need to ask several questions to uncover the true objection, but the first question you should always ask is, "Do you like the widget?" Such a broad and direct question will often prompt the customer to open up and tell you exactly what the problem is. If the customer does open up at this point, fix the problem, and make the sale. If the customer says they like the widget, go onto the next step.

Step 5: Smoke Out the True Objection. Your questions now will become more specific to reach the truth through the process of elimination. You may want to review the benefits you gave on the widget and ask them how they feel about each one. Something you pointed out as a benefit may actually put some doubt into the customer's mind that needs to be removed. If nothing is discovered after two to three additional questions, move onto the next step.

Step 6: Ask, "How Do You Feel about the Price?" If the customer has no problem with the price, you should give them a new reason to buy the widget, because no customer has ever changed their mind based on the information already given. This is why it is so important not to tell your customer everything about the widget during the demonstration. If you hold back a good reason why they should buy, you'll now have one available that may change their mind.

If the customer says they think the price is too high, you must determine whether they feel the widget is not worth the price or whether it is just more than they wanted to spend today. To determine if it is an objection to value or budget, I suggest asking: "Is the price of this particular widget too high, or is it just more than you wanted to spend today?"

If the customer feels the widget just isn't worth that much money, enough value has not been established. This is another opportunity for you to give your customer a new reason to buy. Resist the temptation to defend the price.

If the customer just doesn't want to spend that much today, simply ask, "How much did you want to spend today?" Then demonstrate a similar widget within that price range.

It's interesting to note that after you've demonstrated a less expensive widget, the customer will often buy the higher-priced one anyway. This fact is proof that it's always better to start higher instead of showing the lower-priced model first. No customer has ever said, "This isn't expensive enough!"

Use the smoke-out to uncover the customer's real objection, and you may find yourself saving some sales that might otherwise have been lost. The technique will also enhance your store's image as being customer-service oriented where the staff is willing to go the extra mile for their customers.