Handle Sales Objections The Smart Way With Diplomatic Transition Phrases

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

You've contacted someone and opened the sales call with these words:

"Hello, this is Gary Goodman with Customersatisfaction.com…"

And right at this moment the prospect replies, "I'm not interested!"

Rude, don't you think?

Here you are, at the very beginning of what you hope will be a pleasant give-and-take, and they cut you off before you can give anything!

So, how can you respond, presuming they haven't hung-up?

You can do the intuitive thing, which is also the most defensive, and that is to argue with the prospect:

"How can you BE interested; I haven't even said anything, yet!" This is guaranteed to earn that hang-up, for you.

You can try to ignore it. This was my Aunt Cecelia's approach. When you hear something you don't want to hear, pretend you didn't hear it.

She swore by that one, but I assure you, it won't work on the phone in a selling situation.

Or, you can reply, diplomatically. This is the way to go, believe me.

A transition is a word bridge that enables you to gracefully travel from their interruption back to your presentation. Here are some examples:

(1) Well, I understand that, but…

(2) Well, I respect that, but…

(3) Well, I appreciate that, however…

(4) Well, I'd be surprised if you were at this point, but…

So, let's revisit the dialogue at the top of the page, adding a timely transition phrase:

"Hello, this is Gary Goodman with Customersatisfaction.com…"

"I'm not interested!"

"Well, I appreciate that, but the reason I'm calling is recently we sent out some letters and brochures, and I was wondering, do you recall seeing one of those by any chance?"

This is an after-mailing opener, if you were wondering, and it works quite well.

But my point is you can't get to this opener unless you have a diplomatic bridge.

Try them, and tell me how you do!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.