This is not a quick fix, a short cut, or a silver bullet. This is an on-going educational game plan you can follow to eventually master the art of Objection Handling. Everything in this article was created by or influenced by my CEO, Grant Cardone.

Start Here:

Imagine a quarterback throws an interception in a game.

Step 1 He would watch the game tape to identify what went wrong.

Step 2 He would learn how to execute the play without an interception in the future from an experienced coach.

Step 3 He would drill what he learned in Step 2 over and over again until he didn't have to think about it, and could execute a completion live in the same game time scenario.

Step 4 Repeat.

The same process is being used below for Objection Handling in the Retail Sales Environment.

Step 1 | Objection Recording

Why do elite Athletes like Brady or Lebron watch game tape? Why would Tiger place a camera behind him on the driving range? One of the top reasons is so that those athletes and those coaches can identify tendencies, as well as specific areas that need correction.

Objection recording is the simple process of recording every objection that you hear and are unable to overcome on the retail floor, or on the phones. This will be used in Step 2 and 3 below.

These objections should be recorded in a notebook, or a smartphone.

If you're a manager you can ask your associates to turn in their objections in a sales meeting and white board them.

At some point, you will run out of objections to write down and find there is a finite number of ways a customer can say "no".

Step 2 | Daily Training

The Objection Recording completed in Step 1 can now be utilized to determine which training should be consumed on a daily basis to have the largest impact on performance.

Daily Training is completed in the morning (before interacting with customers). The training is delivered onto any device at any time, and members learn from short video-based lessons with testing.

Training should last no more than 15 minutes, and notes should be taken inside the system or on a notepad to maximize focus and retention.

Example:

Recorded Objection: "I'm Just Looking"

Train On: "Just Looking" Rebuttals in Cardone University

Goal: Learn How to Respond to the Objection

Additional training is prescribed to members of Cardone University, where they dive deep into the theory, the strategy, and the tactics.

• Types of Objections
• Steps to Determine Valid vs. Invalid Objection
• How to Listen to and Acknowledge Objections
• How to Isolate Objections
• How to Validate Objections
• How to Determine the Type of Objection
• Mistakes in Handling Objections
• Objection Locations and Categories
• Root of Buyer's Objections
• List of Buyer's Fears and How to Handle Them
• Hard Questions
• Rules of Handling Objections in Negotiations

Step 3 | Role Play

A great coach would NEVER let their players practice during the game. Role play will assure you never practice on your valued customers, and that you are ready to handle anything that comes your way.

Proper Steps for Effective Role Play:

1. Break up into pairs.
2. Each partner should ask the other partner what they need the most help on that day.
3. One person in each pair will play the customer role for 5-10 minutes, and the other will play the sales professional.
4. The person playing the customer will verbalize the objection the other person needs the most help with at that time.
5. Any time the role play no longer simulates what a real conversation would sound like with a customer, the customer or the sales professional need to flunk each other and start over again. Fake role play will not help you.
6. Pair should rotate roles after 5-10 minutes.

Step 4 | Repeat

Repeat this process daily, rotating in new objections.

As you advance, you can use this same process to role play greetings, fact finding, presentation, closing, cold calls, follow up, etc... using Cardone University Bootcamps for Structure.

Recap

Step 1 | Objection Recording: Record all objections you receive.

Step 2 | Daily Training: Train on material that specifically handles the objections you have recorded.

Step 3 | Role Play: Role Play Objections daily in Pairs, simulating a real customer interaction.

Step 4 | Repeat: Repeat this process daily, and rotate in new weak points as you master old weak points. This can extend into all areas of the sales process.

(Photo: Cardone University Bootcamps)

If you would like me to run a free sales meeting on this topic for your Sales Team, please reach out. I would love to invest the time to make sure all of your players are ready for game time!

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