Transforming Objections into Sales
A Leading Leaders Inc. Advanced Sales Development Process
Designed and presented by J. Jeffrey Spahn
At the American Funds Distributors Retirement Plans' annual meeting Jeff Spahn, founder and president of Leading Leaders Inc., gave a presentation entitled "Transforming Objections: Not Just Overcoming Them."
Situation : "More sales now!"
The challenge facing financial advisors and sales people is generating sales in the short term without jeopardizing the long term value of deeper, richer relationships and interests of clients. In other words, figuring out how to seal a deal while further developing or expanding a client relationship.
Solution: Create a context in which your clients will convince themselves.
With the challenging economic times and the justified pressure to get business, sales people need to become more assertive without falling prey to the motives of desperation and fear. Clients smell desperation and it doesn't yield conviction in you or your products and services. Having confidence and trust in yourself and in your company will help clients make the right choices.
Opportunity
"Transforming Objections into Sales" equips sales teams to transform objections -- not just overcome them. "Sales forces" will rediscover and deepen their "sales sources," which are those intangible qualities of presence and poise that build relationships and results. Now it’s more important and more difficult than ever to listen with empathy to what you don’t want to hear and ask genuine questions and not make veiled statements. This presentation and subsequent modules challenges and equips even the most seasoned and successful sales executives to deepen confidence in themselves and trust in their relationships.
A Key Premise
We can only listen to others to the extent we listen to ourselves.
Take Aways
- Immediately applicable skills for actively listening without thinking of what to say
- 4 steps to build your client’s trust and conviction in you and your services
- 6 guidelines for leading your clients to convince themselves
- 4 moves for being candid and challenging without desperation
- A customized plan for developing your personal presence
- A 4-point strategy for attracting new business
Benefits
- Closing more opportunities more quickly while building trust at the same time
- Getting referrals
- Growing self confidence
- Gaining long term loyalty
- Attracting new business
Program
While drawing upon the personal success and failures of the presenter and the current real time situations of the participants, the following topics will be explored and actualized:
- Accepting objections as an opportunity to build trust and deeper richer relationships: Apply the creative principle of opposites. See the door in the wall.
- Awareness of own inner conversation: Can only listen to others to the extent we listen to ourselves. Finding the key.
- Asking questions that build understanding: Suspending judgment and getting to the place of genuine curiosity. Putting the key into the lock.
- Actively listening: Reflecting what others are saying particularly when it is not what you want to hear. Turning the lock.
- Articulating what you want in a manner that keeps the conversation open and builds trust. Opening the door.
- Attracting the business you want: How to turn business plans into reality. Finding new doors.
Format
- Pre-session interviews to introduce and customize program
- Keynote presentation
- Four 1-day modules per year (in Chicago)
- One personal coaching call per month
- One hour practice sessions twice per month to do exercises for building capacity for awareness
- Meet with a buddy once a month to review starts, stops and continues
- Determine sales manager’s role in providing ongoing accountability
This basic format can be fitted to meet the customized needs of a particular individual or group.