In today’s video, I want to talk about why objection handling is bullcrap, and why you don’t need to worry about adding objection handling skills into your sales training especially if you’re a coach or a consultant.
I know there are lots of different opinions about how to sell stuff.
Yes, there are lots of different trainings around handling objections in different kind of closing techniques that you should have as a coach or a consultant to sell your stuff.
And frankly, I’ve never had to use all of them —and it’s not just because of my incredible Australian good looks.
Really, the reason that objection handling has never been an issue or a factor for me is that at the end of the 10-minute triage call that we have, it’s really obvious that someone is either a fit or not a fit.
It’s like a light switch; it’s on or it’s off.
You don’t need to worry about trying to get someone who’s not quite right and push them over the edge.
If you’re a fit, it’s obvious to both of you guys, and you just do what comes naturally. And if you’re not a fit, that’s obvious as well, and you’ll both do what comes naturally.
I had a short conversation today, 10 o’clock this morning with a great lady.
Really, really lovely person and last year —the end of last year, we talked about me helping her out with some stuff and even her helping me out with some stuff.
So, we had this conversation today and after we’d kind of exchanged pleasantries, I checked in about her situation, and it became obvious that she didn’t have a problem that I could help her solve.
And so, there was nothing that needed to get done.
So I just said, “Okay, cool. So, my goal today was just to work out whether there’s a need or —I don’t know, honestly, it sounds like you’re really clear right now, and there’s nothing that you need from me.”
And likewise, the thing that I was going to get her help on, I didn’t need anymore either. And so, there was no need for either of us to handle objections.
And to be honest, even trying to handle objections, would’ve been a complete waste of time.
There’s no objection there, just wasn’t a need. Right?
So, from now on, instead of like chasing the sale, I want you to do what my friend Ari Galper taught me years ago.
Instead of going for the sale, just go for the truth and just find out, are we a fit or not? Right?
And if you’re a fit, what would be true?
- They would have a problem that you could help them solve.
- It would be a priority for them to do something about it. Right?
- They would have the kind of budget in mind that you need to be able to pay you.
- Anyone else who had to be involved in the decision-making process would be involved in the process and onboard as well.
- You’d actually like them.
So, first five things are there, I’d call that a fit.
And if those things aren’t there, no fit.
So, you don’t need to objection handle, or pressure, or do any kind of 1980 and manipulative force choice double-close —”Would you like it in black or red, Mr. Prospect?”— bullcrap techniques.
You don’t have to do any of that stuff anymore.
You just have a conversation and work out if you’re a fit.
Because here’s why: if you’re not a fit, you’ll do what comes naturally and that’s do nothing.
And if you are a fit, of course, you’ll do. Of course, you’ll work together.
And if you’re not a fit, of course, you won’t. It’s really that simple.
And so, I guess the questions I’ve been thinking about today are, “How do you know if someone’s a fit,” —and we’ve just talked about those— and, “What’s the quickest possible way to work out if you are a fit or if you’re not?” Right?
So, I guess there are two things you need to have:
- You need to have your own criteria for are you a fit or not.
- You need to have a really fast way of helping you and your potential client work
You both mutually work out if you’re a match or not.
The best way I know to work out if we’re a match or not is with a 10-minute phone call called The Triage Call™.
You might have heard me talk about it, you might have read my 5-page triage call guide.
It’s a short little guidebook which explains how specifically to work out if you’re a match with a potential client or not.
It’s called the Triage Call. The metaphor comes from the triage nurses, the first person you meet when you go to the emergency room at the hospital.
So, here’s the thing. We want to work out if we’re a fit or not.
And the best way we do that is with a 10-minute conversation that you have with every prospect before your strategy session.
In other words, there’s no need to spend quality time with someone who hasn’t proved that they’re a quality prospect yet.
So, imagine you’ve got a 10-minute conversation. Well, what would you do in that 10-minute call to make sure that you both knew if you’re a fit or not?
Well, firstly, you wouldn’t try to make sales. Your only goal is to go, “Are we a fit or not?” And I want you to think about it like an audition.
Your prospect is auditioning for you, like at the start of American Idol.
And you’ll just be going to work out, “Hey, is this somebody I want to take with me to Hollywood or not?”
So, what do you do in this triage call to work out if you’re a fit or not?
Well, I guess, the very first thing you want to do is take control of the call and set out a little agenda.
And so, my first minute would go something like this, “Hey Gabby, Taki Moore here. I’ve got a little note in my calendar that we’ve got a 10-minute call right now. Is that right?”
And you’d say, “Yes.”
“Cool. My goal today is really, really straightforward. My job is to ask you a bunch of questions and work out if or how I can help you. If I feel like I can’t help you, I’ll let you know politely and do my best to point you in the right direction. If I feel like I can help you, then, we’ll book another time in to talk about how. Is that okay?”
You’ll say, “Fine.”
“Okay, cool. So, like I said, we’ve only got 10 minutes, and I’ve got a call straight after you. So, if it’s okay with you, let’s keep the time. Keep your answers nice and short, and let’s get started.”
And so, in that first minute, a couple of things have happened. I’ve taken control of the call. I’m the person with the plan and you’re happy to play along.
Now, you’ve got confidence that you know where we’re going to go.
And I’ve already set up the game that I’m the person asking the questions, and at the end of this call, I decide whether you come with me or not.
In other words, I’m the person who decides if we’re a fit or not. Obviously, there are nine more minutes.
But that’s the first minute. The opening minute is critically important.
What you do in the middle is work out the fit, and there are six questions that we ask. And then at the end, you just go, “Well, does this person feel like a fit or not?”
You summarize their three biggest problems and the impact they’re having. And then if they’re not a fit, you let them know politely, and point them in the right direction.
If they are a fit, there’s a little script that you use which just basically says, “I promised at the start to ask you some questions and work out if or how I could help you. I said if I couldn’t help, I’d point you in the right direction. If we could, then, we book another time to talk about how. So, the good news is, these kinds of problems, I can help you with them. So, next step for us is to book a time.”
And then we book in a time. There’s an actual script for that.
But I just want you to get the idea that your job isn’t to make sales anymore.
You don’t have to overcome objections anymore, your job is just really simple; to work out are we a fit or not.
Because like I said before, if you’re not a fit, it’s obvious we’re not going to work together.
And if we are a fit, it’s obvious that we will.
To give a sense of stats, if we did 50 triage calls, 40 of them would be a good match and of the 40, 35 would become Blackbelt clients.
Yes, so, we don’t do outbound cold calls to anybody. We do something that triggers the call.
We can talk about that on a future call. 🙂
This has been Taki Moore down at Mona Vale Beach. Take good care. Talk to you soon.
P.S. Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways I can help you grow your coaching business:
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