Have you ever been on a prospect call, attempting to book a face-to-face meeting, when they say to you, “I’m too busy right now—just email me the information, and I’ll look at it later”? If so, how did you respond? Did you politely end the call and email the information, as requested? Or, did you respond in such a compelling way that you secured the appointment? Objections and obstacles come in many forms, including brush-offs, stalls, and being ignored. Zig Ziglar believed that every potential sale has five obstacles that have to be overcome:
1) No Need
This is a value-based objection that occurs when a compelling business case, a favorable ROI, and desired business outcomes have not been established or properly communicated.
2) No Money
This is a value-based objection that may pertain to one of three financially related areas: the price of the 3D printer, the total cost of ownership, or the product’s perceived value. This objection could also mean that they are open to evaluating your system, but equipment that exceeds a certain dollar amount must be budgeted.
3) No Urgency
This is a value-based objection that occurs when a prospect does not perceive significant benefits of your proposed solution compared to their status quo. Module Four: The Confirmation Phase / Lesson Three
4) No Desire
This is a value-based objection that appears as procrastination but is typically the result of a lack of information sharing relevant to the prospect’s specific needs.
5) No Trust
This objection could be the result of a lack of trust in you, your product, your company, or the technology in general. Until a “lack of trust” issue is resolved, all sales efforts are stalled.
Did you notice that, except for trust, each of these objections was tied to a perceived lack of value? This is an important fact to remember: If you do not build a strong value proposition on the front end of your sales process, you will pay for it on the back end. Without agreed-upon value—nothing gets sold!
Power Quote
“Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.”
—Zig Ziglar
Harris, Chris. “Objection Handling.” “Phase Selling for Additive Manufacturing.” 2020, pp. 149-150.
