How to Handle Some Common Cold Calling Objections

How to Handle Some Common Cold Calling ObjectionsHow to Handle Some Common Cold Calling ObjectionsWhen you make cold sales calls, you soon become familiar with the experience of prospects who will do anything to get you off the phone. Prospects can get downright creative coming up with ways to get rid of you that dont require them to just say no and hang up. Of course, you also run into plenty of people who have no problem doing the latter, but at least in those situations, you know that the prospect is definitely not interested. On the other hand, prospects who keep coming up with objections but never come right out and say theyre not interested can keep you dangling for days or even weeks without actually having a chance of making a sale. Here are some common objections you might hear while cold calling and a few ideas for handling them. Send Information This is one of the most common get-me-off-the-phone objections youll hear while cold calling. If you just say OK and send the information as requested, your chances of making a sale are extremely low. Instead, try saying something like OK, once youve read through it, how long will you need to make a decision? And when the prospect gives you a timeframe, say, Great, then Ill give you a call in whatever the timeframe was. That way youve gotten permission to reach out to the prospect at a set date and finally get the sale moving. An even stronger response to the information objection is, I dont want to waste your time, so before I send you that packet I just need to ask a couple of quick questions. Then proceed with your regular qualifying questions. Need to Talk to Decision-Maker First Its not uncommon for prospects to use this objection to essentially pass the buck on rejecting you. However, it can also indicate that the person youre speaking with is a gatekeeper and really is not authorized to make a decision. Youre better off taking prospects at their words and assuming the second possibility is true . You can say something along the lines of, Thanks, but just to make sure Im not wasting his time Id like to ask him a few quick questions. Can you connect me now? If the gatekeeper counters by saying that the decision-maker is not available right now, ask for their direct phone number or extension or at the very least get the gatekeeper to connect you with voicemail. Youll have a much better chance of actually getting to speak to the decision-maker if you can address them in your own words rather than depending on the gatekeepers interpretation. Put That Quote in Writing Its easy to see this as a buying signal, but its much mora commonly a brush-off. Its highly unlikely prospects will be so intrigued by a two-minute cold call theyll be considering the purchase. Rather, the prospect is probably trying to give the impression of interest so you will happily hang up. The mere fact that they asked for a price so early in the relationship is a red flag. Try saying something like, Id be happy to send you a quote. Youre confident that this would fit in your budget? That encourages the prospect to be a bit more forthcoming. Another approach is to say, Sure, and youll be ready to proceed with the purchase once you have a formal quote? That puts some pressure on the prospect to either reject you up front, in which case youll save some time, or seriously consider the purchase.