By Troy Harrison – Sales Navigator
I heard something recently that made me stop and think. I was speaking at a company sales meeting, and one sales manager confidently stated to everyone, “You’re always going to have an objection from a customer.” After reflecting on this for a moment, I realized how fundamentally wrong this statement is. In my career, I’ve made countless sales without facing a single objection, and so have many salespeople I’ve trained and coached. You probably have, too, whether we’ve worked together or not.
The problem with this “objections are inevitable” mindset is that it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. It sets up an adversarial relationship with your prospect before you’ve even begun the conversation. This approach tends to come from salespeople who practice what I call a “back-loaded” sales process – and it’s costing them deals (and you, if you’re selling that way).
The Problem with Back-Loaded Selling
Back-loaded selling is common. Heck, it’s the way I was taught to sell, way back when I started my career in the car business. Back-loaded selling follows a predictable pattern: ask a few cursory questions, launch into your pre-planned pitch, then put all your energy into closing techniques and handling the inevitable objections. The emphasis is placed on the end of the process – hence “back-loaded.”
This approach creates several problems:
- It makes the Buyer’s Journey unnecessarily tense and unpleasant
- It positions the salesperson and buyer as opponents rather than collaborators
- It creates fear and apprehension in both parties
- It dramatically reduces closing ratios and increases sales cycle length
When salespeople expect objections, they often create them through their own approach.