This week’s coaching topic was about Overcoming Objections. In my free time, I like to try new hobbies and careers. This gets me into trouble with my calendar but I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Since the spring I’ve been trying my hand at being a wedding planner part time. Part of my role is to sell wedding packages to brides and their families. How lucky am I to have had TrainerTainment style sales training?
We’ve talked about objections this week and everyone is always talking about price. At the first hint of a price objection, untrained sales people will try to find ways to drop the price. But, price is most likely not the real issue, my friends. Think about yourself, if you want something, really want it, isn’t there a good chance you’re going to find a way to make that purchase? And if you can see the value in the product, won’t you buy it sooner than later? We know our product’s value, and you know what it can do to help people, so it’s our job as sales people to show how we can help our customer.
I recently met a lovely couple who wants a September wedding for 85 people. Before going into what my venue has to offer, we sat down and talked about the day in their minds. Asking the right qualifying questions is the best way to overcome objections…before they happen! Find out what the perfect event for their darling (groom, spouse, fundraising group, birthday boy, bachelorette) looks like in their minds. Then, sell them that.
The bride’s first answer to my question about what they saw for their big day was, “budget.” When you get this, resist the urge to launch into your prices or ask the dreaded “what’s your budget?” questions. Your price is always too high and their budget is always too low if discussed in the beginning of the meeting. Gone is the day when your customer tells you, “anything my little darling wants, the sky’s the limit! Spare no expense!” Of course there is a budget, and you most likely have something that will ultimately fit it. However, hear what your customer is telling you. She’s not telling you she wants the cheapest package (though she might), what she’s really telling you is that you need to show her the value of what she’s buying. Keep this in mind for your presentation, because you’re going to need to be clear.
Once we got to the packages, planned the event in their mind (it’s a beautiful wedding, I can assure you), the groom started to worry a little that he didn’t have all the information to make an informed decision. Enter the stall. “Well maybe we need to talk it over a little before we decide.” Resist the urge to bow out right away and give up!
But, be careful not come on too strong. Few things turn a prospective customer off like overly pushy sales people. You want to 1) be respectful, “I absolutely understand, what questions do you have that I can answer?” and 2) find out more “how are you feeling about the event?” Both are great questions to try and get to the heart of the objection. I learned that my bride and groom wanted the time of our middle package but didn’t have enough to still provide the meal that they wanted. So I had to qualify a bit more, find out what kind of meal they were really looking for and I was able to offer an appetizer menu that met their needs of menu variety and saved a bit on the cost. By listening, and being genuinely interested in their experience, I was able to present them with options that met their needs. It’s not just about the actual dollars, think creatively in terms of dates and times, meal options, game play, etc.
Sometimes the stall can turn into the subtle objection – we don’t get the booking on the first call and have to call them back. And then email. And then call them again. Are they ignoring us? It’s hard to know, but some tips are to set up a time to reconnect BEFORE the initial meeting is over. Then if you’re forced to leave messages, give times when you will be calling back if you don’t hear from them. Be polite and positive always. Sometimes, as we talked about this week, we have to be clear and say, “thank you so much for telling me that, if you were going to sacrifice a little on price, quality or service, which one would it be?” Many times it will be price, but if it’s quality, you might be able to offer less food options, reduced game play, if it’s service, well maybe you can offer to throw a drink on them. Kidding! But you might have a rental type offering.
Sometimes when I make a sales mistake that makes me kick myself 100 times is my failure to appropriately handle “The Quiet Game.” To me, there is nothing worse than going on and on about how much fun everyone’s going to have at this event, to then pause and look expectantly at my prospective client and have him say…nothing. Not a word. I have had to teach myself and REMIND myself not to transition into word-vomit mode. Do not fear the silence! It’s not a date! You don’t have to worry that he’s not going to think you’re interesting if you don’t fill every moment. Smile, pause, count to ten if you have to. Then to five more. THEN, instead of re-presenting, say something like, “I’ve talked a lot, I’d love to know your thoughts…” and then wait. They’ll usually tell you! And from there, you’ll be able to know what’s holding them back from booking their dream event, and you can help them.
My couple, they ended up booking an evening wedding for 85 people, went with the top of the line appetizers and the middle wedding package that we offered. Don’t you just love marrying the right package with the right people? I DO.
As always we we would love to hear your feedback below or on Facebook!
Sherry Howell
Project Manager/Trainer
