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Many salespeople struggle when objections are raised. Yet, overcoming sales objections is critical to establishing trust and closing deals. In fact, a salesperson who effectively addresses objections significantly increases the odds of converting a customer. 64% of customers are more likely to purchase when objections are countered effectively.
In today’s sales environment, you need resilient sales teams who are tech-savvy and leverage the latest tools in every aspect of the sales process. AI tools can help you navigate the sales process and provide you with the information and training you need to handle objections efficiently.
Here are eight winning steps you can leverage AI tools to increase your closing rates.
Step 1: Understand Common Objections
If you’ve been in sales for a while, you know the most common objections and why they usually don’t tell the whole story. For example, when someone says your product or service is too expensive, you know that’s really a prospect’s way of saying they don’t believe the value you provide is worth what you are charging. When they say they don’t see a product fit, it’s often because they don’t yet understand how what you’re selling solves their problem.
Before you effectively counter these sales objections, you need to know what’s likely to come up in conversation and have ready answers.
How AI tools can help
AI sales tools can analyze past interactions to identify common objections, create follow-up questions to uncover the underlying reason, and help create logical arguments to overcome them. With this knowledge, you’re better prepared to handle concerns and deliver a winning argument.
Step 2: Prepare with Data-Driven Insights
42% of sales reps feel they don’t have enough information before making contact. Yet, this information is often critical to understanding the type of objections that may come up.
Gathering relevant data on prospects, industries, and potential pain points gives you a considerable advantage. Letting you think about a tailored approach to presenting offers.
How AI tools can help
Leveraging AI tools to aggregate data on customer behavior, preferences, and potential objections can better prepare you.
Step 3: Listen Actively and Empathize
Really listening to a prospect’s concerns and taking the time to understand them is a skill most salespeople have to learn. When sales presentations become conversations and focus on what prospects are saying, they’re more effective.
Empathy is the ability to imagine yourself in someone else’s position. It’s the foundation of consultative sales. Empathy helps create rapport and more importantly, keys in on specific pain points.
How AI tools can help
AI sentiment analysis can assess the emotional tone of the prospect and adjust the approach accordingly, providing better scripts and recommending actions for further understanding.
Step 4: Frame Solutions Around Value
Designing and presenting solutions should always focus on value. When you can show how a particular product or service solves a prospect’s specific problem and demonstrate a clear ROI, you’ve got a winning argument. Your message will be more impactful.
How AI tools can help
Based on industry, features and services, and historical interactions AI can create personalized presentations or proposals that highlight value based on the prospect’s unique circumstance. Anticipated common objections and countering them with value framing can reduce friction in the sales process.
Step 5: Provide Evidence to Back Claims
95% of purchasing decisions are subconscious according to Gerald Zaltman, Professor of Business Administration Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. It’s believed that most decisions are based on emotions rather than facts. Yet, it’s the facts that often provide the justification necessary to finalize a sale.
Until a prospect believes you can deliver on what you’re saying, they haven’t yet been sold on your solution. Proof helps establish trust. When you demonstrate that others had similar concerns and your solutions solved them, you can provide the proof they need to move forward.
How AI tools can help
AI tools can identify and create relevant case studies, reviews, or product data that align with specific sales objections. This gives you the evidence you need to develop trust.
Step 6: Practice Objection-Handling Scenarios
During real-time conversations, you need to be flexible and adapt quickly when objections are raised. Role-playing and scenario-based training are great tools for sales teams to practice scenarios before having to deal with them the first time in front of a prospect.
You can use various sales frameworks to refine your approach. A common one is the 3 Fs: Feel, Felt, Found. Empathizing with the prospect’s feelings, sharing how others you’ve worked with felt the same way, and how what you offer provides a solution. Another approach is what’s called the 3 Steps to Yes. This involves carefully listening to the issue, repeating it back clearly to ensure you understand the issue, and then solving it — confirming you’ve done so before moving on.
These are just two common frameworks. You may find others that are more effective.
How AI tools can help
AI sales tools can simulate objections and provide feedback on your approach, suggesting alternatives or more effective responses.
Step 7: Follow Up Strategically
Today’s buying cycles are longer. Yet, 44% of salespeople give up after a single follow-up attempt. Yet, it can take eight attempts or more just to get an initial meeting.
You need an efficient system to follow up and nurture prospects to keep them engaged and overcome objections.
At the same time, B2B sales are increasingly including more people involved in the sale process. Buying committees, for example, typically include cross-functional team members — each looking for different information. CFOs may be focused on ROI while an operations manager is looking more closely at efficiency and accelerating production.
A generic follow-up doesn’t address concerns. You need to customize your contact with information that aligns with their role and focus. This can be challenging to do, especially when salespeople are juggling a significant number of prospects.
How AI tools can help
AI tools can help in several ways here. First, you can develop automated follow-up sequences, schedule touchpoints, and create role-specific content to highlight relevant information. You can also track prospect engagement to track which type of content and information makes an impact. Machine learning algorithms can help refine your approach over time for greater success.
Step 8: Analyzing Performance
You can spend a lot of time on strategies and approaches that don’t work. Top salespeople learn over time what’s most effective so they can focus their energy in the right way. Analyzing performance and uncovering the key points in the sales process and what best overcomes objections can help ensure your sales team is emphasizing winning arguments.
A McKinsey study shows that organizations that leverage customer behavioral insights outperform their peers by 85% in sales growth. Evaluating your strategies and outcomes on a continuing basis is key to improving outcomes.
How AI tools can help
By examining sales funnels, stages, and tactics, AI can find best practices and strategies that increase the likelihood of success. These tools can also uncover areas where improvements need to be made, such as objections that derail the sales process and ways to get them back on track.
Overcome Objections More Effectively
These eight steps can help you overcome sales objections more effectively. Leveraging AI sales strategies can refine your responses and increase conversions.
Learn how to turn every objection into an opportunity with cutting-edge AI strategies. Take control of your sales conversations, overcome hurdles, and close more deals confidently. Unlock the power of AI today.