RESPOND to the Objection, “Not Interested.” Strategy 1 of 5
Objection 1 of 85: Not interested.
When does it usually occur? Initial contact.
Probable Cause: Prospect does not believe a need exists.
Objective: Establish a need.
Previously we discussed six ways to PREVENT this objection from ever entering the prospect’s mind. We then looked at five ways to PREEMPT it if the competitor analysis shows that it's already there (competitor's strengths). Now we'll turn our attention to learning five ways to RESPOND to it.
The general strategy to respond is first to make sure you understand the objection using your "Active Listening Skills." You'll want to make sure you understand the basis for it and which Buyer Belief is missing that’s causing it. What don't they believe that's causing it? In this case, you can see that this objection is typically caused because the prospect doesn't believe they need it.
Second, you would start your response with a transition sentence to support them without agreeing, prevent arguments, and help them save face.
After all that, you can answer the objection with new or redefined information usually revolving around one of your Unique Selling Points (USPs).
Finally, you confirm their agreement with the answer you provided. You can use a rhetorical question or statement for confirmation, such as, isn't it, wasn't it, or that makes sense.
Here’s a sample objection response template you can use. We'll start with the transition sentence.
"That's just what I said when I heard about this; then I found out why companies who ____ (state process you impact) could get ____ (state USP Benefit), which would solve ____ (state problem solved by your USP). And that should make sense for your process. (wait for agreement)”
Using the previous generic FAB:
- Feature: Plastic containers (parts, or whatever)
- Advantage: Won’t rust, have greater strength than metal, and have UV protection
- Benefit: Eliminate replacement costs due to rust
Prospect says, "We don't see a need to change what we're doing now, so we're not interested."
Sales Rep replies, “That’s just what I said when I heard about this; why would anyone need to change? Then I found out that companies who use metal containers here on the coast could significantly reduce their budget to replace them when they rust by switching to plastic containers, which of course, won’t rust, have greater strength, and UV protection. Let’s take just a couple of minutes to talk about how that could impact your operation. Make sense?”
You might want to rewrite this a few times using your own FAB, even changing which you talk about first, second, and third (F or A or B). For example, "That's what I thought. Then my manager pointed out that the most expensive challenge we see here on the coast is the fact that metal containers rust, and constantly replacing them can get expensive, no matter how cheap the metal containers are to get. Now how would not having to replace your containers due to rust impact your monthly budget?"
If you don’t have a solid answer, you’ll need to use the “Negotiate the Unanswerable Objections” technique we covered in Blog # 27, 2020. Select the "Blog List" button to locate this and other previous blogs.
Resources:
This blog's content comes from Chapter 6: Strategies Specific to Each Objection in the Objection Free Selling book.
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