Dealing
with Indifference
One
of the most common
objections faced by sales
professionals is one of the easiest for customers to use. It
generally comes up during the very beginning of a sales process
when a customer claims to simply have no
desire in a company’s product or service. This objection is
indifference. It is when a customer doesn’t care and sees no need
to change the status quo. What does indifference sound like?
“We’re
perfectly happy with our current provider and have no
desire to change.”
“Not
right now. Check back with me in a year as things may have changed
by then.”
“I
received all your material and have your contact information. Should
we review it and decide to proceed, we will give you a call.”
“We
already have a solution in place and don’t plan on evaluating any
new ones.”
“Uh…
I don’t mean to cut you off but we’re just not interested in any
right now. Thank you.” *click*
“Not
unless you can beat out my wife’s company for the business
and, at the end of the day, I have to go back home to her. No thanks!”
These
roadblocks are generally thrown up before you even get a chance
to hit your stride. Just when you finally get that elusive prospect
on
the phone, the door is slammed back in your face.
When
you hear a customer use indifference as an objection, what do you
do? We suggest you reframe the objection by helping the customer
understand the benefits
they will receive or the risks they face. To counter indifference,
you can also respond with evidence or information of which they
may not be aware. To reframe, you have to use the following four
steps:
- Question your customer to understand their reasoning or
to determine if they are open to discussing your
product or service
- Reframe the objection
via close-ended questions to put them back in the right
frame of mind
- Compare possible risks or benefits or use a FAB statement
to provide contradictory evidence or missing information
- Question acceptance using closed
questions
Here is an example of how this process
works:
Customer: “Look, I appreciate this call but we’ve got a great deal with
Kelso Manufacturing and don’t plan on changing suppliers.”
Sales Rep: “What information did you use to determine that their pricing
is the best
option for your company?” (Questioning)
Customer: “Well, from what I know, their prices are usually
the best.”
Sales Rep: “Would you be willing to share with me the actually cost per
unit?”
Customer: “I suppose it can’t hurt. They charge
us $37.50 per unit”
Sales Rep: “Are they requiring you to meet a specific volume
commitment to receive that price?” (Reframe)
Customer: “Sure. We have to commit to 10,000 per
quarter. That’s pretty standard.”
Sales Rep: “What if you could receive that same price, not face any drop-off
in component value and yet cut your volume commitment in half?”
(Compare)
Customer: “I didn’t think that was possible.”
Sales Rep: “Well, If it was possible, would it be of benefit to you to
explore another option?” (Question Acceptance)
Customer: “Yes, it would.”
By
asking a few simple questions and getting
a customer to open up, indifference can usually be countered.
If you can get them to talk to you before the phone goes off the
hook, questioning
can get you on your way. Remember that if you don’t have any key
data, you can’t uncover the true reason behind your customer’s objection.
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