Whitney Carmichael 00:00:00  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, you want to close more sales. Hey there, I'm Whitney, content director for Jasmine star and social curator, and in this short episode of The Jasmine Star Show, you'll learn not only how to handle the five most common objections, but also how to use them as opportunities. Oh heck yes, let's listen in.

Jasmine Star 00:00:20  Let's go over five of the most common objections and how to handle them. I'm going to name them first before diving in. Let's start with objection number one. I don't have time. What a prospect really means is I don't know if I could fit this in my schedule. I don't know if this fits in my life. And on a much deeper level, they're really asking, do you have any ideas that can free up some time for me so I can do this? Now? They're not saying this. What people are often saying specifically, if you are making an offer that is a solution to a problem, if people are in the problem, they have a hard time believing anything will work.

Jasmine Star 00:00:59  So I never take it personally. I will present a solution. And the solution is you're not making enough money with your digital offers, and you really just need a systemized way of doing it. And people say, okay, I agree, I want that, but I have barely any time right now. How am I supposed to fit this in? Okay. When you're handling this type of objection, you want to focus on the features of your product or service that can end up saving time in the long run and share strategies that help it fit in their schedule. So how are we doing this? Well, if somebody says, I just don't have time to put together a proper launch, well, we knew that this was going to come up. So we're like, great, our solution is done for you. We provide swipe copy, we provide email automation like we're saying. We know you don't have time, which is why you haven't been able to execute. So here are our time saving mechanisms.

Jasmine Star 00:01:48  Now like to pull away. Let's use a different example a new entrepreneur. Let's call her Brit. She's interested in hiring a marketing agency. But the marketing agency requires three short form videos every week for their social media strategy. Now, Brit shares she's a little bit concerned about the time commitment required to create the videos. So the marketing agency owner comes up with a batch content plan so Britt can record all 12 videos for the month in less than two hours. The agency owner not only addressed the time constraint, but also provided an efficient and manageable solution for Britney's schedule. So just like myself saying, here is how we say you will save time and get it done, an agency provided a content batching schedule that directly addressed some of these. Objection. Okay. Moving on to objection number two. I don't have money. Now. What a prospect really means is how might I afford it? Like, help me find a way to afford it? Because here's the thing. If somebody says no, then it's a no.

Jasmine Star 00:02:53  But the vast majority of people are going to be on the fence. I am talking about the vast majority of people are going to be on the fence. So if they didn't say no, but they say I can't afford it or I don't have money, we need to hear that question is, how can I pay for this? And we address that straight out. They might be saying, are there any payment plans available? Do you have any ideas how I can come up with money? Or have you experienced anyone else who didn't have money to invest at first? But then they found money and then they were so glad they did. Okay, when you're handling this type of objection, you'll want to focus on how your product or service can end up saving them money or making them more money in the future. Or you can share ways they can come up with money without making huge sacrifices. So how might this come out in like an example? Well, let's introduce Andrew. Andrew wants to attend a personal development workshop, but he expresses he's not sure that he can afford the $200 ticket.

Jasmine Star 00:03:50  On the call, the workshop facilitator asks if there's any small recurring cost or indulgences that he can eliminate for a short amount of time to afford it. He replies that, you know, he goes to Starbucks Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to get a latte. The workshop facilitator then suggests, hey, there's a couple of things we can do here. One, we could eliminate the Starbuck runs altogether, and then you're going to save $50 a month, and in four months you can afford a ticket. Or number two, if going to Starbucks is more of a ritual or it's a break for him to get out of the house and he really enjoys it, cool. No problem. Well, instead of getting a $6 latte, Kenny opt for a $2 coffee by suggesting these solutions. Andrew feels excited that he can go to the workshop, and because the facilitator remains sensitive and like, you know, really judgment free in the conversation, he feels understood. He's not embarrassed or talked down to and like, hey, he wants his daily rituals.

Jasmine Star 00:04:45  They're not easy to give up. And now we found a happy medium. We're addressing that now. There are times that maybe I'm just hard wired, and I think it probably comes from the fact that I grew up really poor my whole life. I couldn't afford things like factually, like when there is no money, there is no money. My parents is sat in a seminar of getting debt free and I will never forget I was 5 or 6 years old and we sat in an office and my father cracked open his wallet and my mom opened up her oversized pleather purse with a bunch of creases and like, bread crumbs and cookie crumbs and just a sticky hands in it. They brought out their credit cards, and he handed them each a pair of scissors, and they cut up their credit cards and they put them in a clear glass container. I don't know why that was just such a gnarly visual for me as a child, that I have grown up into the person who doesn't take on debt. I mean, we have debt for our house, like we haven't paid off our house, But by and large, the things that we are buying, we are buying in cash.

Jasmine Star 00:05:51  But there are certain experiences in my life that I couldn't afford, and so I just started getting creative. If I couldn't afford something, I would simply ask, how can I access that? And so there were times where I would want to go to events like Andrew, you know, in our example, he's like calling the facilitator and saying, like, I don't have money. I would call the facilitator and I would simply say, like, do you need a personal assistant that day, or do you need somebody checking in, or do you need somebody to facilitate the breaks or the lunchtimes, or do you need somebody writing copy for your website? When I became a photographer, I was like, can I take photos of your event? And you will have a full gallery up by the next day? Like I was doing whatever I could. Whenever I hear and I see people doing the same thing. I went on a 25 city tour throughout the United States as a photographer, and I was teaching photographers, and we'd have these events and it was called The Fix, and it was really amazing.

Jasmine Star 00:06:41  But what we needed and tickets to best my recollection, I think tickets were like $400 a pop and it was like a three hour event and people would be coming. And we realized as we got to each town, we would need a crew of like 5 or 6 people to, you know, do the door sales and pour wine, things like that. And so it was always the people who had a little bit of bite who would email JD and say, I want to volunteer in this city and exchange for volunteering. They got to come for free. When people say, I don't have money, what they're really asking for, is there any way that I would be able to get in? And as a business owner, it is so smart for us to figure out, is there a way to make this possible for people? And as we launch this course, we knew it was going to be a high ticket offer. And, you know, that's not available for everybody. And so we discussed what payment plans might look like.

Jasmine Star 00:07:31  How might we get somebody to say yes? Okay. So when we think about these like, you know, big objections, the third most common one is I'm just not sure if it's right for me. This can also be worded as I've had bad experiences before. I've been burned. I don't want to do this again. I'm not that dumb this time. Okay, okay. But what they're really, really deeply saying is, how is this the solution to my unique problems? How is it different from things I've bought in the past? What is the common drop off rates? And I don't want to be a part of it. What's different about what you're doing than anybody else? How can I trust that I won't have the same experience I did, what they had to offer, or what features of your product or service are going to help me to where I want to go? Like, these are all real simple and really complex questions that get in the way of people. And in this objection, the prospect is basically asking for more specific information.

Jasmine Star 00:08:23  In the simplest terms, they just want to know that you or your team hear them and see them. And you can handle this objection by asking questions to go deeper with their specific problems and then share success stories that are similar in the transformation that they're looking for. Number one, when people say, how is this different? I've been here before. What they really want to know is, do you see me and do you hear me? Will we get across that finish line? Help me get crossed that finish line. Do you see me? Do you see that this is going to be a big, scary investment for me? Okay, so let's use an example. Let's say an esthetician has a consultation with somebody and let's call her Lashonda to help her reduce their appearance of acne. Okay, so Lashonda has acne. Lashonda mentions that she's leery because, you know, she's tried a lot of products and treatments in the past without success, and now she's nervous about investing in another solution that might not work for her.

Jasmine Star 00:09:22  Now, the esthetician would mention how she's worked with clients dealing with persistent acne before, explain how it helps with acne specifically, and then she could share before and after photos of the improvement after the treatment. And here's the best part if the esthetician could offer a guarantee or a trial period that would make Lashonda feel better about her investment, she would be so much more likely to make it happen. By doing this, the esthetician shares social proof, all while easing lashonda concerns. We're using past as case studies, hearing specifically her objections, addressing them straight on. Now the first objection was I don't have time. The section objection was I don't have money. The third objection was, I'm not sure if this is the right fit for me. And the fourth objection is I'm not ready to commit right now. What the prospect really means when he or she says, I'm not ready. What they really mean is, what do I lose if I don't decide right now? Is there a lower commitment option to start with? Right.

Jasmine Star 00:10:25  They didn't say no. They just said they weren't ready. Well, if you're not ready like are you incentivize me to make this decision. Now can I test the water somehow? Okay. The cause of this objection could be that they're overcommitted. Maybe they've tried things in the past and they just became spread too thin. Maybe they let themselves down and they don't want to feel that way again. It can also mean that they don't feel that they need to make a decision right away. So, you know, they should just take their time with this objection. You can offer free trials, lower commitment, phased in options that are more self-paced. Now, I've also seen this happen with very strong salespeople, and I don't think that one is right or wrong. But when we're talking about facing objections, what I've seen people do in the past would be like, well, you have to make a decision by this time or else. Or the pressure to say, this is the time, don't wait another day.

Jasmine Star 00:11:20  This is now. And that becomes very pressure selling. And the approach I like to take is, well, let me just address the objection because if I address it, that will close the sale, not me selling harder or faster. So an example, let's say Stephen, he wants to join a decluttering membership to be more minimalistic. He isn't sure he wants to commit right now, and then he tells the owner that he'll talk to his partner about it first. The owner then offers the membership free of charge for seven days so that he and his partner can try the membership together. By offering this, the membership owner builds trust and rapport with Steven and helps get him and his wife to experience a week of decluttering wins. Now, how many times have I seen when somebody says, oh, I need to talk to my partner? That is an absolutely valid, valid justification for not making that decision or making that transaction. But what hurts me more than anything is when somebody says, I need to talk to somebody and I'll get back to you, the chances of closing that sale, they decreased by over 50%.

Jasmine Star 00:12:24  So what I love in this example, and the reason why I used it is don't let somebody off the phone. Don't let somebody out of your office. Don't hang up the zoom call before you get a commitment where you take all of the responsibility, like you take all the risk. This membership owner looks at Stephen, and Stephen is like, I need to talk to my wife. And instead of saying, yeah, talk to your wife and get back to me, he says, you want to know what, Stephen? Why don't you give me your name, your information? All set up a profile. What's your wife's name? We're going to get her set up. And this is on me. Complimentary, no strings attached. You're going to get access for seven days. What did he just do? He closed that client. He got their information. He could put them in a sales funnel. He could follow up with him on day four and day six and day seven, and he could show up for these people and learn about their decluttering wins.

Jasmine Star 00:13:06  And he doesn't have a fan and he doesn't have a client. He has an evangelist. That, my friends, is overcoming an objection. Frontward and forward. Let's go!

Whitney Carmichael 00:13:15  You are now fully equipped to handle objections, head on, offer tailored solutions and ultimately guide prospects towards confident decisions. Thanks for listening to The Jasmine Star Show. Until next time.