Transcriptie van de podcast:
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:00:13] Hello and welcome to another episode of the podcast "Performance, Harmony & Commercial" , produced by PHCom in the "transforma bxl" studio using the techniques of "The Podcast Factory Org".
Nadia Ben Jelloun: [00:00:23] The "Performance, Harmony & Commercial" Podcast is aimed at marketing and sales managers, as well as company executives with commercial responsibilities.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:00:32] Every month, we share with you our best practices in finding new customers for business-to-business companies.
Nadia Ben Jelloun: [00:00:38] You can find each episode on the PHCom point be P.H.C.O.M website, and also on all good podcast platforms.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:00:48] You can support this podcast and promote its visibility by sharing it with as many people as possible via a like, comment or share.
Nadia Ben Jelloun: [00:00:55] The answering machine is always open so that you can leave us a message, which we'll be delighted to answer.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:01:00] You can also book an appointment directly with Nadia or Stéphane on phcom dot be.
Nadia Ben Jelloun: [00:01:06] See you soon!
Camille de Meeûs: [00:01:07] Hello everyone. Today, we're talking about a word that salespeople know well, a simple word, but one that stings: "no".
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:01:15] Yes, the famous "no", the one that makes you sweat, or pierces your heart like an arrow. The one that makes you say "Fuck it..." or any other swear word inwardly or, very loudly after a botched date.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:01:28] In fact, to hear him speak, some people turn into bulldozers and counter-argue with "Yes, but you're wrong...". Direct attack style. In short, we're talking about objection management.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:01:40] Exactly. And you'll see, an objection isn't a wall to be bulldozed, it's rather a half-open door, a field of possibility: a sign of interest, in any case, a springboard for progress. If the prospect objects, it's because he's interested, even a little, in what we're saying, or at least in what's in his head.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:02:02] When you're just starting out in prospecting, receiving a "no" is pretty violent, and you tend to take it personally. He rejects me, my value, my product, my company.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:02:12] In fact, let's consider that the "No" is not aimed at the person, it's aimed at the proposal. What happens is that the customer says "No" to what you're proposing now, in this way, but not "No" to you. In any case, if it's aimed at the person, you hand it over.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:02:27] Generally speaking, when faced with objections, we find the primitive in ourselves. Faced with the danger of "fight flight or freeze", some people bury their heads in the sand, pretending not to have heard the objection, change the subject, or worse, run away saying "Well, sorry to have bothered you". And now it's an abandonment of post.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:02:46] Yes, or else he's attacking in exactly the same way as you said, "But sir, you haven't understood". And then we go from salesman to polemicist, a bad idea.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:02:54] It may be useful to distinguish between objections received at the start of an interview, during an interview or at the end of an interview. At the start of an interview, at least in a telephone prospecting approach, there's a situation that everyone is familiar with.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:03:07] It's the "I get it" syndrome. The prospect thinks he's understood in ten seconds what took him years to conceive. How long did it take you to learn your pitch? How long did it take you to build this pitch? And then, in the blink of an eye, he understood everything and said "No thanks".
Camille de Meeûs: [00:03:24] You know what I think? "No thanks, I've got it," probably comes from throwing out a pitch that's too self-centered, too fast-paced and not focused enough on the other person. But it can also happen that we don't use the right words and aren't clear.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:03:38] Oui. Remember that the aim at the beginning of the interview is not to sell, but to create a space for discussion. And if you take an interest in the other person, with the right approach, and he perceives that, he'll give you that tone.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:03:51] A practical tip: record yourself, listen to yourself, and ask yourself, "If I were in his shoes, would I have wanted to listen to this?"
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:03:59] Then there are the brakes that can be applied in the middle of an interview. At that point, when the customer objects, I'd say that's a pretty good sign. He seeks to understand, to test your coherence, to see if he can trust you.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:04:12] Exactly. And this is where we can talk about the objection, which is a proof of interest. He wants to know more: the opposite of love is not hatred, but indifference. If he doesn't say anything, worry.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:04:24] So when someone says "I think it's expensive, I'm not sure of the result". In effect, he's saying, "I want to believe it, but please help me feel reassured.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:04:32] This brings us to the heart of the objections. During negotiations that lead to defeat, when we've proposed what we think is the best solution for the other party. Now I'm going to tell you something that's going to hurt you: "He who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind".
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:04:44] In fact, we deserve the objections we receive. At the end of the interview, when you propose something, when you try to conclude, when you receive a "No", you have to understand what that "No" is! Why did it get there? And how can I avoid it next time? But don't let that stop us from sharing a tried-and-tested technique with you, and we'll start with the three types of objections that exist: the real ones, the ones that are real but based on a misunderstanding, and the false ones.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:05:11] The real ones are quite clear. He doesn't have any money, and you're trying to get him to spend it.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:05:16] In fact, it would have been better if you'd defused the situation directly, right from the start of the interview. If he doesn't have any money, he should be able to tell you straight away, and you shouldn't offer him anything - the discussion is pointless, you're wasting your time. If, at the start of the interview, you were sufficiently attractive, turned towards the other person, ready to respond to their needs, and they felt it, without knowing exactly what you were going to offer them, they were curious and wanted to know. Now, if you ask him if he has a budget, you'll get the real answer, not a fake beard. If that's true, then we're screwed. That's life insurance, anticipating misfortune.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:05:58] As for real objections based on a misunderstanding, I imagine it's more along the lines of "It takes twelve months to do that, so I'm not interested at all". "But no, it only takes 1 to 2 months", "Really? Okay", easy to defuse.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:06:11] Exact. And finally, the false beard, the false objection, is the one that masks something else. In fact, they're easy to spot: if you destroy one properly, there's another one right after it, and so on... Until we get to the real objection. Classically, these false objections are linked to a lack of confidence, unexpressed doubts, fear of change or a lack of information.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:06:35] And that's what this objection is all about. To our competence, our clarity, our credibility or just a need to be heard?
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:06:45] Before giving you the technique, a quick reminder of the pitfalls to avoid.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:06:49] Panic. Aïe! He objects.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:06:52] Conflict. "But no, you're wrong".
Camille de Meeûs: [00:06:54] The controversy? "Yes but, yes but".
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:06:58] Resignation. "You're right, excuse me".
Camille de Meeûs: [00:07:01] And the right reflexes to adopt!
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:07:03] Respond with assertiveness, neither passive nor aggressive.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:07:06] Use "Yes and" rather than "Yes, but".
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:07:10] And ask open-ended questions. "To what extent do you...", "How do you perceive this...".
Camille de Meeûs: [00:07:16] How do you get organized?
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:07:18] That's exactly where we're going. Let's get down to business and tell you how to deal with all objections. Just five steps.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:07:25] Please, Mr. Performance, the floor is yours!
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:07:28] No, no, no, no! Let's play, let's test with an example. I'm your potential customer, and after you've presented your offer, I say "Ok, thanks but I don't think it's the right time". How do you react?
Camille de Meeûs: [00:07:40] Mmmmmmmhhhhhhhh. One, I welcome positively, thinking "Yes and" instead of "Yes but". Two, I question and rephrase: to really get to the heart of the matter and save time for reflection.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:07:53] Right, those are the first two steps. And then come the next three: destroy the objection, if it's real, by maximizing all your assets and minimizing all your disadvantages. Fourth step: ask for agreement, "Does this really answer your question?". Fifth step: suggest what's next, "So we'll see you Tuesday or Thursday?"
Camille de Meeûs: [00:08:15] So even if you have a ready-made answer, let him talk. Often, the prospect needs to clear his head of all these objections before he can really listen to you.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:08:24] A little technique to integrate when it comes to destroying the objection. Do you know the "field, felt, found" strategy?
Camille de Meeûs: [00:08:32] Oh yes! In French, it means "to feel, experience and see". One, recognize the emotion. Two, to show that others have had the same concern as you. Three, present the solution found by these people.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:08:46] Case in point. So, the prospect says "It's too expensive for me right now"?
Camille de Meeûs: [00:08:51] First, feel, accept, as we were saying earlier. "I fully understand your concern about the price. It's a legitimate question to ask". Then, from personal experience, "You should know that many of our customers felt the same hesitation at first, and they were just as concerned about the budget as you were. And finally, share a credible experience "And in the end, they discovered that thanks to our solution or product, they were able to make long-term savings and increase their productivity, which more than justified the initial investment". In short, tell them "I understand you, others have felt the same way, and they've found that..."
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:09:29] A marvel of empathy and storytelling.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:09:32] One question: do we really need to go looking for objections?
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:09:36] Sometimes we have to provoke them, rather than suffer them. Say, for example, "Some of our customers have told us they fear that...". Then you defuse the situation before it explodes. It's always life insurance.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:09:50] But don't hold out your hand to be beaten, do it with control and confidence.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:09:55] I'd like to share with you an image I often use: the staircase. Each step is a small point gained. And at the top of the stairs, there's a corridor, and all along the corridor, there are lots of exit doors, the objections. On the other hand, at the end, there's a beautiful door, here's your sale, and this door is super-beautiful. It sparkles, it's golden. And in fact, what you have to do is get your customer to the top of the stairs, at the entrance to this corridor, to look only at that door. So, of course, the other doors are always there, he can look at them, it's sometimes worth opening them, or at least half-opening them. But above all, he has to be able to say to himself, "Rah, that door at the back, how beautiful it is! That's where I'm going."
Camille de Meeûs: [00:10:36] Let's get down to business. A few classic objections to put it all into practice, and how to answer them. Example: "Please send me some documentation".
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:10:46] "Of course, but documentation won't answer all your questions. What would you like to find there?"
Camille de Meeûs: [00:10:51] In that case, you accept and follow up with a question. Remember steps one and two, which we've just seen.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:10:58] And then we move on to stages three, four and five. So if we listen, we'll certainly find, in what he tells you, a good reason not to send him the documentation, but rather to propose a meeting. We'll see if he agrees, and then we'll suggest the appointment.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:11:14] Come on, one more: "I'm already working with a supplier, I don't need you".
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:11:18] Perfect! Why did you choose it? What could be improved? And once again, we listen, destroy, validate and propose. If he says, "Okay, when I chose this solution, it was perfect, this supplier was great on the market, but... It's true that over time, new solutions have appeared". "Yes, yes, and what are you thinking?". "There could be better site supervision! "Well, listen, if our company was created, it's because many of our customers are experiencing the same problem: having better site follow-up. So, from there, they discovered these other solutions, ours. They thought Ah yes, not bad at all. They set it up. Have you seen our solution before? See you next week". Now that's "thread, felt, found". Good luck to you, "It's too expensive".
Camille de Meeûs: [00:12:05] I understand. What's important is really the value that's perceived "What exactly do you actually want from this service?"
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:12:10] "That you bring me a 10% higher ROI than the current situation".
Camille de Meeûs: [00:12:14] "Okay, fine. But in this case, the ideal is the ABC formula, since all our customers who have been on this formula have all exceeded this 10% ROI. Well then, would you be interested in discovering this solution? How about a little video?"
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:12:28] Perfect, one, two, three, four, five. Well, one last one for the road: "I haven't got time".
Camille de Meeûs: [00:12:32] "I understand, time is really precious, but what is it? No time to work on this type of project or no time to talk about it today?"
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:12:39] Beautiful! If you've already acquired this reflex of greeting objections with an "Ok", and with a question to probe further, you've already gained a lot in terms of knowing how to move forward with your prospect.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:12:51] All in all, receiving a "No" is also proof that you've put something forward. I even read an article about how some sales managers set targets for the number of "No's" they have to get in a week. Because the more "No's" you get, the more opportunities you create.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:13:06] Nice idea. In fact, if you don't get any "No's", it's because you don't propose often enough. And if you get any "No's", that's a good sign that you're making progress.
Camille de Meeûs: [00:13:15] In the end, an objection is an incomplete conversation. This is not the end of a dialogue, but an invitation to continue it.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:13:22] And the right posture is calm, curiosity, empathy and structure. So: one, you accept, everything goes well. Two, you're trying to understand. Three, you propose an alternative or answer the objection. Four, you validate if this answer is well accepted. And finally, don't forget, five, you re-propose, that's the structure. Because in the end, objection is just a step along the way. To the golden door at the end of the corridor!
Camille de Meeûs: [00:13:55] At the top of the stairs. Thank you Mr. Performance for this exchange. And above all, thank you for listening to this episode. And if you like PHCom, don't forget to share, rate and send us your own objections.
Stéphane Depaepe: [00:14:08] And remember, "Performance, Harmony & Commercial" is sales, only better.
