Do you know how to manage objections?

Last updated by Sam Smith [SSW] 9 months ago.See history

When attempting to sell a solution to a potential client, you will invariably come up against some objections. It is essential that you are prepared to handle these objections so the client is confident in your skills and has no reservations about choosing you over someone else. The main reason clients raise objections is because they have concerns about your experience "fit" with their needs.

We recommend you use this objection handling model.

  1. Ask the question - "What concerns do you have about working with us?"
  2. Acknowledge the objection - say, "Thanks for raising that", or, "Thanks for letting us know about that"
  3. Probe - ask, "Can I ask you a few questions about the concerns that you have?" "If I could resolve this issue for you, could we move forward? "You can't always solve objections on the spot - it's ok to say, "Is it alright if I speak to one of my developers about it and let you know about that later today?"
  4. Answer - Pick the best response to their objection (see below)
  5. Confirm that they are happy with your answer - "Do you now feel comfortable with our approach towards your project?"

A typical objection we get is - "Why do you put 2 developers on the project? This is going to be more expensive isn't it?". This is basically how we handle this question:

  • Explain the benefits:

    • "We can complete the project sooner. Is that important to you?"
    • "You get more expertise - One person is more focussed on UI, the other person is stronger with databases"
    • "You get better quality code because the team are able to "put their heads together" to solve a problem - this saves maintenance costs down the track"
    • "We can continue working if 1 person gets sick"
  • If they are still unsure, you can offer a small discount off the hourly rate, or offer some free support - it's all about managing risk.
We open source. Powered by GitHub