18. A more relational way to handle sales objections

Most sales training treats objections as obstacles to be conquered. This episode introduces a radical shift in how we perceive and respond to the hesitation we encounter in sales conversations.

Listen to hear more about:

• A surprising approach that treats "objections" as valuable information that points to a direction of genuine service rather than obstacles to be overcome
• The subtle but powerful distinction that guides every sales conversation
• How to honor both the mind and body wisdom in decision-making
• Why prioritizing relationship over conversion creates more sustainable success

You'll discover a decision-making framework that not only transforms your business interactions but can illuminate clearer paths in all areas of your life.

Transcript

Hey everyone. You are listening to Liberatory Business and I'm your host, Simone Seol. Welcome back, or welcome and thank you so much for listening.

So, you know what I've been thinking about lately, is how we can completely reframe the way we think about sales objections. Here's what I mean, most sales trainings treat objections like enemies. Combat this objection, overcome that resistance, but it's all so combative. What if we saw those moments of hesitation as our chance to show true caring for individuals?

So today, that's what I'm sharing, a completely different approach to sales. One that no course ever taught me that I had to figure out on my own. I'm talking about how to deal with objections as a form of radical care for people who follow your work. This approach has not only transformed my business relationships, but it's created a community of trust that honestly feels like the most valuable thing I've built where people feel safe with me.

Let's talk about that moment when someone's deciding whether to buy from you, specifically when they have all the information they need, and they're just in that emotional part of the decision making process. I'm gonna share the one thing that I listen for that guides how I respond and why it matters so much for building authentic, long-term, sustainable, trusting relationships with one's audience.

The Crucial Distinction in Sales Objections

So here's what I have learned over the years when someone's on the fence about buying something from me and it's not an information gap, 'cause information gaps, I can bridge like, "oh, what about this? Do you do that?" I can just answer plainly, but when there's an emotional hesitation, I'm listening for one crucial distinction:

Is there a body saying no while their mind is trying to talk them into a yes? Or is their body saying yes, but their mind is trying to talk them into a no?

This distinction is everything and changes everything about how I respond. Let me break this down a little bit more.

When the Body Says No, But the Mind Pushes for Yes

When someone's body is a no, but their mind is trying to talk them into being a yes, you can kind of hear it in how they talk. If you really pay attention to the energy underneath the words, they'll often say stuff like, "Oh, this is the last time you're offering this, right?" Or, "If I don't sign up now, I'm afraid I'm never gonna do the work," or, "Everyone else seems to be doing this program. I feel like I need to do this if I wanna get X, Y, Z."

So I had this client, actually, this conversation happened many times, but this one particular instance I remember with someone in my community who reached out about Truth or Dare, my course that I'm running right now. And throughout our conversation she kept saying things like, "Is this the last time you're running this program? When does it close? And you know, I feel like I'm stuck and I just need a breakthrough."

And I was listening to her, but I could just feel that something was off. Her words were pushing towards a yes, but her energy felt hesitant, almost like forced. And so I gently pointed this out like, "Hey, I'm noticing something here. I feel like it's maybe stressful for you to make this decision. And I want you to know this course isn't going anywhere. After the live run is over, you can always get the self-study version, which is gonna have a lot of the live Q&A archive included as part of it. So you are not missing out by waiting. Plus, I have so many amazing free resources and there is no rush. You can take your time and please take this course at a time when you feel like it's a peaceful decision, and I find that everything works out better when you make decisions when it can be peaceful."

And I swear I could hear her literally exhale with relief. She was so grateful and she said, "You know what? You are right. I've been stretching myself so thin with other commitments and I was trying to talk myself into this course outta fear of missing out, outta fear that I'm just gonna lose momentum if I don't sign up. I wish more people approached sales this way in business."

'Cause sometimes people tell you they want to buy from you, but what they're saying doesn't feel like excitement or genuine enthusiasm. It comes from that icky place of scarcity, FOMO, external pressure, internal pressure, and that dreaded word "should," and you can feel it when you're really paying attention.

When the Body Says Yes, But the Mind Pushes for No

And then there's the flip side. When someone's body is a yes, but their mind is trying to talk them into a no, it sounds totally different. That's when you hear stuff like, "Oh, I probably can't do this." Or, "Who am I to invest in something like this?" Or, "You know, I don't finish what I start anyway. I'm probably just wasting my time. I can't afford this." It's a lot of "can't" and "don't deserve," or some variation of that. "I don't trust myself."

And let me be absolutely clear about something: sometimes not being able to afford something is 100% real and I wanna say a big fuck you to any sales teacher who tells you that's never a reason and don't believe people when they say they can't afford it. 'Cause sometimes they really fucking can't. And economic realities are real and that's manipulative garbage.

That said, sometimes our brains tell us, "Oh, I can't afford it" because it's the easiest way to brush away a new opportunity when a new purchase might threaten old, familiar patterns. Our brains are wired to protect the status quo, even when the status quo isn't working for us.

How to Respond to Each Scenario

So how do I respond to these two different scenarios?

When Body Says No, Mind Says Yes

As you could guess, when I can tell that someone's body is a no, but their mind is trying to talk them into a yes, I tell them not to buy. I give them reassurances about trusting themselves and their own timeline, and I really believe this by the way that sometimes we can make decisions that are congruent for us, but contain a little discomfort. But generally we wanna experience decisions from a place of peace and abundance.

And I personally like to build further safety by not closing courses. Once the live run is over, you can always buy the self-study later and nothing I do expires. There's no missing out. And if it feels appropriate, I'll point them to a free or lower cost resource that might help them with the same issue in the meanwhile. The goal isn't to make a sale today. It's to build a relationship that's based on mutual respect and trust.

When Body Says Yes, Mind Says No

Now, what about when their body's clearly a yes, but their mind is trying to talk them out of it? In that case, I talk to a part of them that's wiser than their inner critic. I might say something like, "Hey, I hear that there's doubt here, but we all have doubts from time to time, but I'm curious. What part of you was excited about your creative dream and what part of you is connected with your power and capability? What does that part know about this?"

And we take the conversation from there. And that usually makes things pretty clear. And you're not manipulating, you're not convincing or persuading, you are helping them reconnect with their own wisdom. You're helping them reconnect with what their body already knows.

Why This Approach Is Different

Okay, and this whole approach is so different from the way most sales trainings are taught, right? Because they teach you that objections are obstacles that you need to bulldoze through. And that's because conventional sales programs always prioritize closing that sale right now and all these tactics of persuasion to get you to pull out your credit card now. And success is all about conversion rates. And so if someone says no, well, if we fail to convert, that's failure.

But what I'm talking about is completely different. It's about prioritizing relationship. I look at hesitation as valuable information. It's telling me something important, and I care way more about what that information is telling me about how to best serve the person in front of me than squeezing out every possible sale.

I measure success by how it feels for people to be in my world, whether it feels safe and whether they feel respected. And all of that affects whether they wanna stay in my world month after month, year after year. And when someone gives me an honest no, I don't see that as failure at all. I see that as a chance to show that person my respect for their agency. And I see that as an opportunity to build trust.

So here's another really important thing for you to understand. Someone can absolutely love me and my work and be a perfect fit for my work in general, but still not be ready for a particular offer at a particular moment in time. Because the thing with me is that people do love my free teachings and like this podcast and all the other things I do. And I am pretty good at marketing if I do say so myself.

So I often find people wanting to say yes even when their body is actually screaming no and helping them recognize their inner no. And I listen to them and I say, "Hey, actually I get that you love me and I get that you believe that everything I do has great value, but I feel like this isn't the right timing for you. I feel like this isn't exactly what you're looking for right now." And when I point that out, that is the most valuable thing I can do for them and for our relationship long term. Because no business that lasts is built on anything other than deep trust.

And the thing is that when I tell people not to buy, they come back. They buy later, they send friends my way. They become my biggest cheerleaders. Why? Because they can tell that I care about them as human beings, not as a resource to extract money from.

Apply This to Your Own Decisions

So I wanna offer this to you as well. I really think it's so useful to use this as a filter for so much decision making in your life. Think about something where you're on the fence about it right now. Maybe you're considering signing up for a course, or launching a new offer, saying yes to some collaboration that came your way and you're conflicted.

Ask yourself the simple question: Is my body saying no while my mind is trying to talk me into a yes? Or is my body saying yes while my mind is trying to talk me into a no?

I'm telling you this little question has saved me from so many bad decisions and misaligned opportunities. And I use it with my community members all the time, and they're always amazed at how clear the answer becomes once they actually tune in.

Okay, this exercise is self-care and it's community care because when you make decisions that truly align with your body's wisdom and what your body knows about what you're ready for and what timing works for you, you show up more powerfully for everyone around you.

And look, if you've taken other sales courses and they never taught you to approach sales from this angle, I don't know that I would trust anything else they told you either because sales either prioritizes immediate conversion or it prioritizes care. You cannot have both at the same time, and you do not have to do sales in a way that makes you feel gross.

It does not have to be about pushing through objections. It can be, and I really believe it should be, about showing care through deep listening, genuine connections, and respecting that the person in front of you knows what's right for them better than you ever could, and knowing that their body knows what's best for them even better than their brain knows or you could know.

This is how you build a business where you're not just making money but practicing community care, which also incidentally helps you make more money in the long term. That's how you build something you can be proud of.

Alright, my friends, I hope that was helpful and I'll catch you next time. Bye.