Top Management Story

Writen by Alan Fairweather

Do you ever meet with resistance from other people - I bet you do! It might be a customer, a colleague, a member of your team or even someone in your personal life. Dealing with resistance or objections is one of the biggest challenges faced by business people; so let's consider why we get resistance and how we can handle it. I'm going to talk about customer contacts but the same rules apply whether it's a colleague or even someone in your personal life.

Well there's good news and bad news - first the good news. When someone says - "You're too expensive" or "We already deal with someone else," or "I don't agree with you"- then they may not be telling the truth.

The bad news is - most of them won't buy what you're selling anyway, but don't cut your wrists just yet because - there's more good news.

If you can find out exactly what your potential customer means when they say - "No" then you have a much better chance of improving your success rate, getting more sales and more agreement.

What we need to realise is that, there is no smart answer to a customer's objection. Sales people are always looking for the "things to say" that'll deal with an objection. How can you possibly have an answer if the customer isn't telling the truth is the first place?

Many sales people believe the customer when they say - "You're too expensive". They then start offering discounts or walk away from the sale, complaining that their product or service isn't competitive enough.

So why do customers say "No"?

Well I don't want you to burst into tears but the First and most important reason is that - they may not like you! That doesn't mean that they dislike you, it just means that they don't know you and they haven't built any trust or built a relationship with you. So firstly - get them to like you, sell yourself, be trustworthy, be a great listener, smile, be friendly.

The Second reason could be that they haven't understood what the heck you're talking about. Maybe you haven't spoken clearly enough or you've used too many technical terms or jargon. This can make you seem like a real "smarty pants" so, that takes us back to our First reason. The answer should be simple enough, use language the other person can understand and keep checking by asking questions.

The Third reason may be that the customer wasn't listening. They might have been distracted by something or somebody - your big blue eyes or the fact that they're tired, hot and need a comfort break. The trick is to keep checking when you're making you're sale or dealing with someone else - "Did you understand that last bit, Mr Customer or did I make it confusing?"

Fourthly, they may not be the right person. The person you're speaking with may be telling you - "We have another supplier" - however they may not be the decision maker. To make sure you're speaking to the right person, be brave and ask the question - "Is it you who'll make the final decision or do I need to speak to someone else?"

The Fifth reason could be that they don't like change. Sometimes our potential customers like to stay in their comfort zone and they don't want some salesperson telling them they have to change their way of doing things or their supplier. Even although they could possibly save money or make their life easier; people are generally reluctant to change.

It's therefore important to outweigh the customer's reluctance by emphasising the benefits of your product or service. Also, keep selling yourself and appeal to the customer's emotional side, don't be too logical. Always remember that human beings will almost always allow their hearts to rule their heads when buying something. So appeal to the customer's emotions, keep telling them how they'll feel when they're using what you're selling - How good they'll look or how others will feel about them.

Lastly, it may just be that the customer genuinely doesn't want or need or have the money for what you're selling.

The only way to find out which of these Six points is the truth, is to keep asking questions, listen carefully to the customer and watch their body language.

Always remember that - "You're too expensive" could mean. - "I haven't understood a word you've said" or "I'm going on holiday tomorrow" or "My son-in-law works for your competitor."

When a potential customer raises an objection, make sure you know what they really mean before you deal with it.

"You can close more business in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you" - Dale Carnegie

Discover how you can generate more business by motivating your team! Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Sales by Motivating Your Team" This book is packed with practical things you can do to get the best out of your people . Click here now http://www.howtogetmoresales.com/Motivating%20Your%20Team.htm

Writen by Azriel Winnett

When executives see themselves as solely responsible for the overall success of their enterprise, subordinates can hardly be blamed for acting according to predictions.

Let's look at a familiar scene in classical American - if I may use the word - mythology.

Panic and terror have brought all normal activity to a standstill in some pioneering settlement in the Wild West. A bunch of bad guys have been scaring the pants off the innocent, helpless and disorganized townsfolk.

Then an imposing masked figure rides up on a white horse. He arrives just in the nick of time.

With the right blend of courage and cunning, he vanquishes the bad guys by being just a little quicker, smarter and tougher than they are. Then, satisfied that everything is under control, he stoically rides off into the sunset.

The Lone Ranger has saved the day again.

But as the adrenaline levels of the grateful townsfolk gradually return to normal and they prepare to resume their mundane tasks, they may or may not realize that they are now no wiser or better prepared to deal with the next big problem.

When faced again with a major crisis, they'll just have to hope for a return of the thundering hoofbeats, signaling another last-minute rescue by the daring hero.

In their book Managing for Excellence, David Bradford and Allan Cohen write that they often begin their workshops for managers with an illuminating exercise that simulates a top-management team.

Bob Young, CEO of a manufacturing company, is faced with a problem. More and more customers have been complaining about defective gaskets, a crucial component in the company's key product. A worried Bob has called a special meeting of the operations committee.

The four other members of the committee are apparently aware of the source of the problem - a change in suppliers and inspection procedures. But the strong feelings - positive and negative - they have about each other and about Bob Young, prevent them from talking openly about the subject.

The workshop leaders ask the participants to plan how they, as Bob Young, could run the meeting so that "the problem gets solved while building a stronger team". Participants then take turns to assume the role of the CEO.

As each simulated meeting gets under way, Bob Young's subordinates - the personnel on the operations committee - go on the defensive and start sniping at each other. When he sees this happening, says Bradford and Young, the "Bob Young" in command almost invariably begins a heroic attempt to solve the problem single- handedly.

In the most frequent maneuver, Bob Young takes over the meeting and starts playing a detective-like version of the Lone Ranger. He cross-examines each person in turn about what he knew, what she had done, and what he saw as the problem. By his tone, posture and questions, the aspiring CEO conveys the message: "I am going to get to the bottom of this!."

But as Bob Young proceeds with his solo-rescue mission, those playing the four subordinates instinctively get even cagier and more snide with one another. They either try to push the blame off on each other or cover up, so they will not be exposed in front of each other.

Even the odd "Bob Young" who is so good at playing Lone Ranger that he manages to extract all the facts, is hard pressed to build any team cooperation to solve the problem. Once he finally grasps the sequence of events that led to defective parts slipping through, he is stuck with trying to find a solution that can be implemented by estranged and embarrassed subordinates.

Bradford and Cohen surmise that the classic showdown of the old-fashioned Western movie - in which everything depends on the hero's nerves of steel, complete command of the situation, agility, and guts - still dominates the fantasies of present-day managers. After all, they grew up on cowboys and Indians, war movies and tough, individualistic male heroes - and even many women who have made it into middle management tend to think in these heroic terms.

It hardly occurs to these people that their image of the Western frontier of old may not be historically accurate.

Presumably, the taming of the West demanded a highly developed collaborative spirit. Mutual assistance and team work, rather than flamboyant individualism, must have been the hallmarks of the pioneering communities. The picture is hardly one of a helpless society.

But when a leader views others as helpless (like the townspeople), or evil (like the bad guys), his prophecies may indeed be self-fulfilling.

If a manager sees himself as solely responsible for the overall success of his enterprise, subordinates will retreat to their narrow piece of turf. When people a little lower down in the hierarchy are treated as weak and as unable to cope, they shrug their shoulders, gradually lose motivation and act in accordance with the predictions.

This, in turn, only "proves" to the boss that more "help" is necessary. Those treated as untrustworthy or incompetent also begin to behave accordingly, since they are excluded from everything, anyway.

In all these cases, upward communication grinds slowly and inexorably to a halt.

So what can we do about it?

Well, let's go back to the case of the defective gaskets, and see how another Bob Young, with a rather different management orientation,handles the meeting with his subordinates of the operations committee. After outlining the problem, he tells his people:

"You are the guys who best know the situation; you know what caused it, and you know what the best solution looks like. Therefore, I want us in this meeting to come up with the best answer."

Now, no matter what objections his people might have had to Bob's previous style, at least they had learned to live with (and around) it. Before jumping in and accepting his new statement, they test the waters very carefully:

"I don't know, Bob. You know the operations inside and out. What do you think the best solution is?"

Bob replies:

"This is the kind of issue we need to tackle together, because then we'll be sure not only of getting this problem solved, but we'll be able to prevent similar dilemmas in the future."

A long silence follows. The subordinates hope they can outlast the CEO and force him to take over. When this strategy doesn't seem to be working, the head of production glances over to the quality control manager and turns back to Bob:

"Bob you are busy getting us major contracts. We don't have to take up valuable meeting time going around and around on this issue. Roy and I will meet and come up with the solution, and I'll let you know tomorrow."

Bob is not quite satisfied with this. He knows that, despite its appearance of a willingness to assume responsibility, it is actually an attempt to hide dirty linen from him.

He knows that the problem is far more than a technical one; after all, the complaints about the defective product isn't news to any of them. It is also a managerial problem, for the matter should have been resolved by now. He therefore responds:

"Don, I'm sure you and Roy could come up with something, but I also want all of us to improve our collective ability to solve problems. To do that, we need to work on it together, since everyone's involved."

Eventually, the group manages to uncondition itself from the defensive approach and settles down in problem- solving mode. One member proposes a good solution, another points out logistic difficulties in implementing it, and they work out ways to get round these difficulties. Problem solved.

But today, the little group has achieved far more than a specific solution to a specific problem.And the manager remains a manager; he has merely adapted to the needs of the times.

Azriel Winnett is creator of Hodu.com - Your Communication Skills Portal. This popular website helps you improve your communication and relationship skills in your business or professional life, in the family unit and on the social scene. New free articles and tutorials added almost daily.

Top Management Story