I wrote a few weeks back about the fascinating study that the folks over at Gong.io have done about what actually happens on sales calls and how it relates to successful calls. You can see what I said here - https://www.apigroup.co.nz/news-notes/2018/5/24/what-does-the-data-say
Among the many points they make in the article, is that you should embrace objections. Anyone in sales has heard this concept, but I'm not certain that we really understand what it means. What they are saying in the article is that successful sales calls only happen when there are some objections raised in the conversation.
We all want to have sales calls where the prospect just says Yes and then asks where they can send the money. These happen from time to time and are your reward for all the other calls that you make.
The real test is getting your prospect to express "negative sentiment" as the Gong article refers to it. They are referring to real objections here, not the standard "I'm not interested" or "Too busy" knee-jerk responses we hear at the beginning of a call.
Their research suggest that these "negative sentiments" are signs that the prospect is listening to you and should be embraced by the salesperson. I wholeheartedly agree.
Again, we're not talking about the prospects who just want to tell us to go jump in a lake. We're talking about situations where you are presenting your solution and looking for a decision.
In fact, their research shows that you should inject some "negative sentiment" into your calls if the prospect hasn't already. Make it a game to ensure they are listening.
Our goal in sales, especially on the phone, is to get the prospect engaged and listening to us. If you are finding yourself having trouble closing sales, take a moment to gauge if you are getting negative sentiment in your calls and if so, how are you reacting to it.
The best way to do this is to listen to your own call recordings. The next best way is to have someone else listen to your call recordings. If you're not recording your calls, that's the subject of a whole other blog.