Ask Kathy: Keep Selling

By Kathy Sisk

In the last issue, we talked about how to use the Restate or Agree and Probe technique. This was useful to reconfirm that you clearly understood the objection and then probed to narrow down the objection to ensure there was nothing else standing in the way. Once this was accomplished, we covered how to overcome the objection with more features and benefits.

Another method used to overcome objections is the Keep Selling technique. This method is ideal if you have previously received a “yes” response in your presentation. You can refer to your prospect’s “yes” response when you use the Get Reaction in Step Eight of your presentation. (Refer to the Twelve Steps to Successful Telemarketing and Sales in previous articles).

Using the Keep Selling technique keeps your prospect accountable to what they agreed to earlier in your presentation. For instance, you might say, “How valuable would this be to you?” to remind them of their positive response. Here is a format to follow:

“I understand, Mr. Prospect. We talked about many benefits. You liked the fact that __, and the idea that we can give you __. One of the areas we haven’t talked much about is __. Mr. Prospect, how important is that to you? [or] How valuable is this to your company?”

This gives you an opportunity to do additional selling; however, it also provides some flexibility. If you don’t want to move into selling them something else and prefer to see what may be standing in the way of their agreement, you can change this format slightly:

“I understand, Mr. Prospect. We talked about many benefits. You liked the fact that __, and the idea that we can give you __. What other concerns do you have in allowing me the opportunity to validate this further?”

This will encourage the real issue to surface so you can deal with it, using a different technique to overcome their objection.

Next time we will discuss how to overcome resistance when you get a negative response in your Get Reaction step.

Email your questions to ksisk@kathysiskenterprises.com.

Kathy Sisk is founder and president of Kathy Sisk Enterprises Inc., located in California. Kathy is a trainer and consultant, contributing thirty-five years of expertise to the telemarketing, sales, and customer service industries. She is a published author with many manuals and books, including Overcoming Objections and Successful Telemarketing.

[From Connection Magazine September 2013]