Articles

Dartnell's Overcoming Objections
Your personal guide to success in selling

Salespeople are constantly looking for different ways to overcome customers' objections. In Alan Vengel's new book, The Influence Edge: How to Persuade Others to Help You Achieve Your Goals, he discuses how you can harness push and pull energies to overcome objections.

The push, pull and push/pull energies are a system of energies that exists between people in conversations. But before you can apply these energies, it is important to understand them.

Push Energy

According to Vengel, the push energy is "direct, forceful and persuasive." You assert your needs and make specific suggestions to others about how they can meet your needs. For example, a prospect calls and tells you exactly what he needs from you (which product, price, delivery, etc.). Vengel warns against being too aggressive or the other person may "resist, withdraw or even push back."

Pull Energy

Vengel says this energy "requires listening attentively and asking questions to draw others out and engage them." You use the pull energy to get feedback. Pull energy also helps you build a strong, productive relationship with a prospect. For instance, you talk with a prospect about a product you're sure will benefit her company, but she is hesitant to buy. You'll want to ask open-ended questions to get her feedback about the product. The more questions you ask, the more interested she becomes. Then the prospect is ready to buy. The pull energy is effective when you encounter an objection.

Push/Pull Energy

Push/pull energy is a combination of both energies. Vengel suggests using push/pull energy at “those times when it's appropriate to be not only direct and forceful, but also inclusive, motivational and considerate of the other person." It offers the other person an incentive to act on your needs.

To handle objections, the best energy to utilize is the pull energy, according to Vengel. When a prospect presents an objection, Vengel states that it is the "beginning of a signal of opportunity to influence." Use the pull energy to probe deeper into the prospect’s concerns.”  Vengel suggests you empathize with the prospect and really listen to the objection. Then you'll want t take some time to mull over the information before you attempt to overcome the objection.  Vengel warns, "Do not come up with an answer too quickly. The prospect may feel that you didn't listen to him and that you had a generic answer ready for his problem.”

Use push, pull and push/pull energies for not only objections, but for every aspect of your sales calls. When these energies are used correctly, you can persuade others to help you reach your goals.

Alan Vengel is a professional speaker and president of Vengel Consulting Group, Inc., a full-range organizational learning firm. To order his book, call (800) 929-2929.