When I was in executive management, I had the opportunity to meet with salespeople who were presenting their solutions to my company. In many cases I was in the “investigation stage” of a solution. I knew my company needed a better way to address a problem, but I didn’t know what was available to me. I had no objections at this time; however, I had my share of perceptions. My business was going to go to the first salesperson’s company that could solve my problem while being congruent with my perceptions. Throughout the various presentations, I was rarely listened to, yet I continued to volunteer all the information needed for the salesperson to make a recommendation. Still I had no objections, and one would think that it was clear sailing to the sale. But then it happened. The salesperson began telling me how their features were so much better than ABC Company and XYZ Company. Little did he know that I wasn’t even aware of ABC Company and XYZ Company’s existence, let alone the features they offered. As a matter of fact, XYZ Company sounded very interesting, and I made up my mind to look into their offerings. Beyond the normal objection of the salesperson being unprofessional by criticizing someone else, I had a new objection going forward. Now armed with competitive information, I wanted to look some more. And you can bet that XYZ would scare up a few objections that I’d never thought of as well.

Who created these objections? The world of selling is hard enough without salespeople creating more hurtles. Oh yes, there are thousands of techniques to address every detailed objection known to mankind, but why take the chance? No need to add objections. Why not nip them in the bud by not creating them in the first place?

Sometimes it’s not what you say, but what you assume that creates objections in prospects’ minds. Take the example of references. When you give a prospect an unsolicited reference, what you are trying to say is, “My product is so great that it is used by ABC Inc.” You’re assuming that they will be impressed by the reference and sign on the dotted line. But what does the prospect think of ABC Inc.? Do they respect them, or think they are nothing like their company (i.e. bigger or smaller)? If their perception of ABC Inc. is not creditable then you just hitched your wagon to a submarine and created an objection. The ball player Pete Rose was a well-respected icon for years. He was featured in a great deal of advertising, creating the message that if Pete Rose is behind a product, then you should be, too. But when Pete got accused of betting on ball games, the advertisements suddenly disappeared.

Another example of unknowingly creating an objection is the concept of customer tours. I realize that many salespeople are proud of their office facilities, and it’s a notion that I’m quite happy with, to tell the truth. However, I’m left wondering what they are trying to accomplish when their prospect visits them. Do they have a specific purpose and goal in mind that they would like to accomplish? Really think about it and ask yourself, “Does my office help or hurt that mission?” Maybe a customer’s site would suit the mission better, especially if you were to perform a demo there. Many a tour through an unfamiliar, cluttered and untidy technical area gave a prospect the “Can I entrust my work to these people?” feeling. Walking in the door there was no objection, but walking out was a different story. Just make sure there’s a purpose behind your strategies and that your action plan adds value to that purpose.

There was a startup software company that was quite proud of the expensive sign they had hanging outside of their office. It was truly a good looking sign. In fact, they were so proud of the sign that they took a picture of the building’s exterior, and made this image the major presence on their website. The only problem was that the building was small and located in a strip mall, yet they were looking for customers who would commit to their one million dollar software product over several years. This minor decision created an objection that the company might just be too small, and might not be around in the long haul, which was then broadcasted all over the World Wide Web. But you can’t assume you know your customers’ beliefs and opinions. You must truly know these invaluable pieces of information, or else everything you say or transmit is like rolling the dice.

At this point you are probably feeling like everything you say and do has an affect on creating objections, and you’re walking on eggshells. Well you’re partially right. Everything you say and do does have an effect on your success. But walking on eggshells is your choice. If you’re willing to take a “ready, fire, aim” approach, go ahead and step about freely. If you land on a couple of shells, you can try to do damage control, and handle the objection with one of a thousand pre-spun phrases. But if you are truly interested in avoiding the eggshells, thus avoiding the chances of dealing with the damage control/objection handling issue, then understand what affect your words will have in each situation. Try “ready. Aim, aim, fire”. There are plenty of monsters out there, and as salespeople, we should try not to bring any more to the table.