Do you need help overcoming sales objections? Do you sell
computer networks, or other IT-related products and services
to small businesses? This article provides tips and hints so
you can be overcoming the most common sales objections heard
when selling networks to small business prospects,
customers, and clients.
The problem generally begins when you start talking about a
network upgrade. Around the time, many small business
prospects, customers and clients will dwell on cost.
These small business prospects, customers and clients often
neglect to consider the soft costs of not properly investing
in a network... such as lost employee productivity when
imprudent corners are cut, downtime when fault-tolerance is
an afterthought, and service costs from computer consultants
when difficult-to-support or "dead-end" solutions are
selected primarily because of their low price tag.
No matter how thorough your initial consultation, IT audit,
site survey and network design reports, some unforeseen
client objections may pop up just before you get the
client's authorization to proceed (generally a signed
contract and retainer or deposit check).
Why Overcoming Sales Objections is SO Crucial
Because one relatively minor concern might threaten to
derail the entire sale, you need to gain the critical
business development skills for overcoming sales objections,
with some of the biggest small business network deal-closing
obstacles.
Empowered with these strategies for overcoming sales
objections, you'll be much less apt to get emotional,
defensive or just plain annoyed. You can then stay focused
on keeping your eye on the ball and figuring out the best
way to solve the prospect's or future client's problems...
and of course, close the sale. Remember, your company isn't
in business to solve prospects' problems; only those of
paying clients.
Overcoming Sales Objections: Apathy
I hope you get a good night's sleep before this sales
objection rears its ugly head. You need a powerful force to
overcome apathy.
If small business decision-makers have an apathetic outlook
toward the prospect of implementing a network, your
decision-makers might take weeks, months, or perhaps even
years before feeling a sense of urgency about your proposed
network project.
However, once you discover the roots of this apathy, you'll
be better able to push (or at least nudge) the approval
process along.
Here’s a typical example you’ll find in the field: The small
business owner sees no problem with their existing peer-to-
peer network. One or two seemingly innocuous foul-ups,
however, can cause the small business owner to see the
"light".
With a Microsoft Windows peer-to-peer network, for example,
the "server" seems perfectly reliable until the person
working on the PC functioning as the server inadvertently
hits the reset button with his or her knee.
If you need to be overcoming more of the common sales
objections, you must be very adept and recounting these
kinds of cautionary tales with the right timing, delivery
and empathy.
Using Network Reliability to Overcoming Sales Objections
PC/LAN network reliability can also get called into question
when the user of the peer-to-peer server inadvertently
performs an unannounced, unscheduled shutdown and restart
because a software setup program prompted a reboot.
With peer-to-peer networks, protecting data is usually also
an afterthought. If the peer-to-peer server isn't protected
with fault tolerant hard drives, a reliable tape backup
drive, a server-class UPS, and updated antivirus software, a
peer-to-peer server becomes an accident waiting to happen.
So while any of these factors can turn apathy into your
opportunity, sometimes a little divine intervention steps in
to help you in overcoming sales objections.
One day a lightning storm and blackout pushes your client's
"server" over the edge. When power's restored, the server
cannot even boot up to its welcome or logon screen. So now,
the small business owner is scrambling with the internal
guru at 2 a.m. trying to restore the company's corrupted
contact management database, which contains 25,000 records
and three years of data.
Fear of Catastrophic Data Loss and Overcoming Sales
Objections
Situations such as catastrophic data loss, although horrible
tragedies for those affected, are great motivators for
combating apathy and overcoming sales objections. All of a
sudden, the small business owner becomes extremely receptive
to your suggestions about your proposed networking solution,
which of course features centralized security and data
protection.
Discontinued technical support is another powerful
counterforce for overcoming apathy-rooted sales objections,
especially when you're talking about vertical, industry-
specific software, such as niche applications designed for
accountants, attorneys, physicians, realtors, auto body
shops and restaurants.
After a certain point, the independent software vendor (ISV)
selling vertical, industry-specific software draws a line in
the sand and stops providing technical support, annual
updates, and patches for older versions of their product.
So if your client is an accounting firm that needs updated
tax tables (they'd basically be out of business without
them), your client is forced to upgrade the tax software,
which often in turn forces an upgrade of the server. This
results in a call to your firm to upgrade their server (and
several related highly lucrative product sales and service
opportunities for your firm), all as a result of the "domino
effect" from an ISV calling the shots.
With this kind of scenario, you don’t even need to do much
of the work in overcoming this sales objection. Your
prospect’s, customer’s, or client’s vertical ISV has done
the "heavy lifting" so to speak in overcoming sales
objections.
So besides fears of unreliable systems and vendor-mandated
upgrades, you can also overcome apathy by discussing your
prospect's, customer’s or client's competition (without
naming names, of course). If you work with many small
businesses in the same industry, and you're seeing a
software or more general technology trend that drastically
alters the competitive landscape in your prospect's or
client's industry, by all means call this to your prospect's
or client's attention, as a means of overcoming sales
objections.
The Bottom Line
If you sell and service IT-related products to small
businesses, you need to develop your sales skills for
overcoming sales objections. This article introduces you to
three different major categories of small business IT sales
objections and helps you understand simple anecdotal closing
strategies for overcoming those sales objections... and most
importantly, closing more big-ticket sales.
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About the Author
Joshua Feinberg is a 15-year veteran computer consultant and
an internationally recognized expert on computer consulting.
He has appeared in dozens of business and IT trade
publications including CRN, VARBusiness, Microsoft Direct
Access, TechRepublic, American Express OPEN Platinum
Ventures, Entrepreneur, Inc, and USA Today. To get more of
Joshua’s proven strategies for overcoming sales objections,
visit http://www.lan-wan-integration.com