How to Handle “Not Interested” Objections
I was prospecting for new business leads with my usual loosely organized script last week. It’s a tried and true recipe for getting into conversations and blowing away my number, but lately I had reached… somewhat of a plateau. Oh, I was still getting more than the required amount of leads, but not gaining ground the way I like. Then I had an epiphany: What if every time I talked to a prospect and they told my they are not interested,
I asked “So what WOULD interest you?”
It’s amazing how people responded! I know what you’re thinking: this is a bold and somewhat risky question.
What if they take offense and tell me to take a hike?
What if it reflects poorly on my company?
On the other hand,
What if they give me exactly what I need to help them succeed? or..
What if they give me important ideas to shape my strategy for calling my next prospect?
Either way, at this point, what have I to lose?
This is a simple idea, and you’re probably thinking: why write a blog post about this? Here’s why: This is not just about how to handle not interested objections. This is about a potentially powerful mindset and approach to business that could make all the difference.
What if you were to apply this concept as a philosophy to your whole business strategy?
Instead of simply accepting rejection of your ideas or your proposals and going on to the next one, what if you stopped a minute and asked your audience: “so what WOULD interest you?”
Even if you never ask the question in those exact words, or if you never were to ask it out loud, what if, every time you failed to connect with someone, failed to get the desired result, or failed to get a sale, you were to ask yourself: “so, what WOULD interest them?” and how should that impact my strategy going forward? What if you made asking this question part of your own continuous improvement system?
What if all the customer facing people in your organization were to develop this kind of content feedback mentality? I suspect you would have:
A much better idea of what your customers desire
A much better idea of what you can do to help them succeed
Customers would begin to see your company as:
An inquisitive, motivated partner who has abandoned business as usual
A company that is breaking from the pack and listening closely to their needs
A leader in industry who is demonstrating an eagerness to help them reach their goals.
If you were them, would that interest YOU?…
Instead of thinking about how to handle not interested objections, what if you were to develop a strategy to prevent them next time by being inquisitive; by losing the cog behavior and using what your customers give you to build more value into the rest of your customer engagements?
Here’s some other interesting posts on how to handle not interested objections:
How to handle the I am not interested objection – Alen Mayer
How to handle the I am not interested objection – Salesopedia
When Prospects Say “I’m Not Interested” – Paul Castain’s Sales Playbook
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Great idea. Probably often overlooked through the horrors of cold calling.
This is a great post and a cracking idea, one which I will definitely put into practice next week. I will reposrt back with my results!
Brian, Tom,
Looking forward to hearing your experiences with this new perspective. Theories are nice, but data is king!
There are also times when “What part of NO don’t you understand?” will come up. This could be the fact they are living on a fixed income and simply cannot afford to make any purchase, so to persist at a time like this might do more harm then good. When getting this response, my response was to simply say ” No problem. If you decide that you do need my assistance in the future, you know where I am.” and let it go at that.
You’re right. There’s always a tipping point where your customer is clearly not tracking with you and it’s time to be polite and bow out. I listen for tone of voice and try and give them space before they begin to get agitated. Nonetheless, most sales people I know give up way too easy, when they could be a bit more inquisitive and gain more traction. They give up because they don’t like conflict. I can understand their reluctance, but more often than not, I believe they are leaving money on the table by accepting “not interested” and not taking an extra moment to try and ask a few more questions.
Wow. If said with the right inflection or posed as “what if I asked you… What would interest you?”. It will get them to at least pause and think.
My sales teams are performing a field blitz this Thursday. We will test it out.
Thoughtful conversation would be a great outcome; could lead to either more data to help this sale, or great data for next time, or both! You’re right, the proper attitude and tone makes all the difference here, because it could easily be taken the wrong way. Most customers I’ve talked to have been inspired to think as you say, and have thanked me for asking.
Look forward to hearing about your results.
It is essential for sales person to handle not interested objections in sales process. The information you have provided is really useful for sales persons. They can surely improve business sales after reading this information.
Yes. In my experience, almost all my customers object at some point. Many start out objecting! I wouldn’t get far without a well formed strategy for turning things around.
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Don, love that you shared this with the public. I use a similar, albiet a little different statement. The approach is the same. I ask: “How can I make this interesting to you?”. “Were you interested in the past? What made it so?”. “If you could make it very interesting for you, what would I do?”.
In other words, I do my best to help them clarify their own decision of ‘not being interested’.
Something to ponder … Cheer!
Well put. It’s tough to acheive that delicate balance… Polite persistence? But with practice, it can develop into a very equitable means of getting into really good conversations.