Sales reps know objections are a part of the sales process and there are many great resources that detail strategies for handling objections. Many of these strategies focus on how to handle objections verbally in either face to face encounters or over the phone. There is much less thought leadership on how to handle objections with content and this post will dive into a few ways you can do just that.
As I have said many times before, sales reps (if your marketing department won’t do it for you) need to see themselves in the business of creating content that sells and not just in the business of selling their stuff.
This is especially true now because the ways we consume content are on the rise with technologies like wifi, smartphones, tablets, and social networking. Even email is getting more social as your status updates and profiles are being pulled into email clients. It is far more likely that you will be able to reach your prospect or customer on their mobile device and it is easier to constantly provide value with the technology at our finger tips.
In her new book SNAP Selling, Jill Konrath points out that you need to become invaluable to your prospects and customers to break through the noise, get in the door and move the sales process forward.
One of the best ways to do that is to create your sales playbook that can help you sell and overcome your most common objections. You know the most common things that keep you from getting in the door or advancing the sale. The first thing you need to have is a solid understanding of your most common objections and from there you can begin creating content or leveraging content that is compelling, persuasive, and valuable to your prospects and customers.
The companies and sales reps with the biggest advantage here are the ones that are making strides to sales and marketing alignment or have already arrived. I happen to work at HubSpot and I would have to say we have the most advanced sales and marketing alignment in B2B sales. We have a blog with 25k subscribers, we created a thought leadership university in our niche, we hold weekly webinars, we compile thought leadership reports on the state of our industry and we have a weekly E-newsletter. The great news for me and sales reps that work at sales and marketing aligned companies is that we can leverage this content in our favor and use it to handle objections.
Here is a strategy I have found very successful.
One of my major objections is establishing a sense of urgency and I’m constantly addressing this issue throughout my sales process. Many times, despite my best efforts at identifying gaps in a prospects business and the consequences of those gaps, prospects decide to delay or start showing the tell tale signs of delaying. That is when I will call them and send an email that has a very specific purpose. If I get their voicemail, I have a scripted voicemail that I use too. The email I send has a screenshot of some very compelling data from the demo and a link to a blog article from our company blog that highlights the top reasons not to delay. I usually include a link to a very relevant short video case study too. If anything is going to get the prospect off their behind it is this strategy.
The big takeaway here is that I’m providing value during the objection handling process at the same time I’m isolating and addressing the objection. The bigger takeaway is that I’m leveraging valuable content to help me sell and the prospect does not have to just take my word for it. This approach fosters a sense of trust, experience, and value that helps differentiate yourself from your competition and win more deals.
In the game of B2B sales all you can do is run a flawless sales pursuit and using great content helps you influence more deals in your favor and push more deals over the finish line.
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Chad,
I've certainly begun to learn a little more from this post about the importance of great content.
The business world is full of false promises, hype and solutions which don't improve the prospect's business. It's all about creating the invaluable content which justifies and support the credibility of the sales persons business.
Without that in place, it's not a surprise that many prospects will be left wondering if you really will give them the best product or service.
@Josh: I'm glad you had some nice takeaways from the post. The sales reps that go the extra mile by providing more value that is simple to understand will be very successful. If your company does not have a blog try compiling blog articles and one-pagers that you could use in your sales process. Then get on your management to have sales and marketing align. Keep reading!
Love it Chad, and really like your quote regarding:
sales reps need to see themselves in the business of creating content that sells
Dang good point bro. Ya'll keep rockin it up there at Hubpsot.
Chad- great article. More examples please!
Mighty stuff I enjoyed it. Someone else once said: A person who publishes a book appears willfully in public eye with his pants down.
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