Objections Are Paramount To Your Success

''Objections are a request for more information.' Every salesperson who has achieved success in their chosen field knows this statement to be true. They know that when you come to buy something from them, you come with a list of objections, or questions, that when solved, result in the sale happening. When you have a clear and focused target or goal, you are more likely to persist through any objections, because you know that when you do, you will be closer to your goal. Why would you persist if you didn't know what you wanted? For many of us, that's what happens during everyday life. We have setbacks, and we fight them instead of accepting them as getting us closer to our goals.


I remember vividly when I first started my business, and the pain of knockback after knockback, rejection after rejection. My self-esteem took a bettering and I wondered on many occasions whether it was all worth it. And just as quickly as the question popped into my head, my self-talk crushed it with the answer: 'You wanted to work for yourself, you're the one who wants the great cars and trips, you're the one who said you would never work for anyone again. Shut up and get back to work'.


My biggest lesson in persistence came when I visited Sean, one of my current clients. I had tried unsuccessfully to get his business. I wanted to put all his people through my seminar, but he was skeptical. He kept on giving great excuses (objections) as to why he could not afford me, his organization did not need any motivation. On my sixth visit to Sean, he suddenly became very positive towards me. Gone were the excuses on why he could not use me - they were replaced by reasons why he should give me a go. We eventually agreed to conduct a pilot seminar with twenty of his staff to see if they thought it would benefit the company.


Two weeks after the pilot seminar, I received a commitment to put every person in Sean's organization through my seminar. Last year, nearly five years to the day that we held the first seminars in his organization, Sean and I were having lunch. Out of the blue he said to me: 'Do you realize that you came back to see me six times, and it was on the sixth visit that I agreed to purchase the pilot seminar?'


I started laughing and acknowledge his recollection. The he hit me with a king hit! Well, a big lesson anyway. He said he never gives anyone business until he is convinced they really want to work with his organization. He told me that most salespeople knock on his door, get one no, or maybe two nos, and then are never seen again. 'When I know someone comes back on the sixth visit, I know they really want my business'.


Taken from 'You Can Do It' by Paul Hanna