It's actually pretty common for prospects to lie to salespeople. Many otherwise upright citizens justify this practice by telling themselves that salespeople are all liars, so it's OK to tell a few lies in return. Here are a few lies that you'll hear quite often from prospects, and how you can respond in a productive way.
1. “I can't afford it”
Sometimes a prospect really won't have enough of a budget to buy from you, but the majority of the time this prospect simply doesn't think it's worth the money. He's already allocated his spending to something else that he thinks is more critical. In a few cases, prospects will declare that they can't afford it as soon as you give them a price, strictly as a bargaining tactic to see if you will offer a discount. The cure is to find out his pain points and then show how your product with relieve them while standing firm on price – and in most cases he'll suddenly find the cash he needs.
2. “Send me a brochure and I'll get back to you”
This lie is one you probably hear every day – because it's a favored tactic prospects use to get salespeople off the phone or out of their faces. The response is simple: don't bring a brochure or marketing material along. Tell the prospect you just need five minutes of his time to ask a few questions and see if the product is a good fit for him.
3. “I can get this from Company X for half the price”
Often the prospect won't actually know what your competitor is offering; he's simply trying to squeeze a better price out of you. If you've been doing your competitive research, you'll know immediately whether it's true or not. But don't call him on it or you'll lose the sale anyway. Instead, show how your product is better than the competitor's and how you're really selling a better value.
4. “Mr. Smith can't come to the phone right now”
Gatekeepers will do their best to protect decision makers from annoying salespeople like yourself. So whether or not the person is available, if the gatekeeper realizes you're a salesperson she'll route you straight to voicemail. In any case, you have to act like you believe it because anything else will simply make the gatekeeper hostile (and all but ensure you'll never reach the decision maker). Ask what would be a better time to call, and leave a strong voicemail for the decision maker. The best solution, rather than forcing or tricking your way in, is to intrigue the decision maker into calling YOU.
5. “I usually get substantial discounts on these kinds of purchases”
This is a big lie, but it's quite common with hardened negotiators – especially in the B2B sales industry, where you're often dealing with a professional buyer. Don't even think about giving in on this point. Stick to your guns, explain that you always offer customer the best possible price, and wrap up by touching on the product's value and how it will repay the prospect in the future.
6. “I'm the only authority on purchases”
It's very rare for one person to be entirely responsible for purchases. In B2C situations, there's usually a spouse or significant other, and possibly children, parents, roommates, etc. in on the decision. In B2B, unless you're talking to the CEO of a privately owned company, there will definitely be other weighing in on the purchase. Prospects usually tell this lie because they want to stress their own importance. You can extract more information without directly challenging him by asking things like, “Who will be using this product day-to-day?”
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com/
1. “I can't afford it”
Sometimes a prospect really won't have enough of a budget to buy from you, but the majority of the time this prospect simply doesn't think it's worth the money. He's already allocated his spending to something else that he thinks is more critical. In a few cases, prospects will declare that they can't afford it as soon as you give them a price, strictly as a bargaining tactic to see if you will offer a discount. The cure is to find out his pain points and then show how your product with relieve them while standing firm on price – and in most cases he'll suddenly find the cash he needs.
2. “Send me a brochure and I'll get back to you”
This lie is one you probably hear every day – because it's a favored tactic prospects use to get salespeople off the phone or out of their faces. The response is simple: don't bring a brochure or marketing material along. Tell the prospect you just need five minutes of his time to ask a few questions and see if the product is a good fit for him.
3. “I can get this from Company X for half the price”
Often the prospect won't actually know what your competitor is offering; he's simply trying to squeeze a better price out of you. If you've been doing your competitive research, you'll know immediately whether it's true or not. But don't call him on it or you'll lose the sale anyway. Instead, show how your product is better than the competitor's and how you're really selling a better value.
4. “Mr. Smith can't come to the phone right now”
Gatekeepers will do their best to protect decision makers from annoying salespeople like yourself. So whether or not the person is available, if the gatekeeper realizes you're a salesperson she'll route you straight to voicemail. In any case, you have to act like you believe it because anything else will simply make the gatekeeper hostile (and all but ensure you'll never reach the decision maker). Ask what would be a better time to call, and leave a strong voicemail for the decision maker. The best solution, rather than forcing or tricking your way in, is to intrigue the decision maker into calling YOU.
5. “I usually get substantial discounts on these kinds of purchases”
This is a big lie, but it's quite common with hardened negotiators – especially in the B2B sales industry, where you're often dealing with a professional buyer. Don't even think about giving in on this point. Stick to your guns, explain that you always offer customer the best possible price, and wrap up by touching on the product's value and how it will repay the prospect in the future.
6. “I'm the only authority on purchases”
It's very rare for one person to be entirely responsible for purchases. In B2C situations, there's usually a spouse or significant other, and possibly children, parents, roommates, etc. in on the decision. In B2B, unless you're talking to the CEO of a privately owned company, there will definitely be other weighing in on the purchase. Prospects usually tell this lie because they want to stress their own importance. You can extract more information without directly challenging him by asking things like, “Who will be using this product day-to-day?”
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com/
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