Classify an objection

1. Where this starts

Advertising lets people know about what you sell. Once a person shows interest, selling begins. Closing, the part that matters most, starts after you have asked the prospect to buy. If you do not close, you do not make money.

Everything on this page happens after the ask. The closes on SOP 100 are designed for the moment after the prospect says no.

2. An objection can be a decision being avoided

The money is in the maybes. SOP 98 — Qualify with the four-letter test, section 1, sorts the people your advertising brings in into yeses, nos and maybes. The maybes struggle over the decision. They have too little power to influence their own decision one way or the other, so they waffle, and because of that they avoid deciding altogether. They think "maybe yes and maybe no", which is neither. That avoidance is the whole focus of closing.

"No" and "I avoid deciding" look the same, and are not. It seems that people either buy or they do not. They do not work that way. The two look alike only because neither ends in a purchase. Think about your own buying: sometimes you are sure of your no; other times you are not. In one case you knew you did not want the thing. In the other you had trouble deciding, so you avoided the decision. Of the people who might buy, some do not, and they almost always get swept into the no bucket. That mistake costs businesses a great deal of money.

Closing is how you tell them apart. How do you tell somebody who does not want your thing from somebody who is avoiding the decision? Closing. People who struggle with a decision lack decision-making power, and closing gives them that power. The goal is not to get them to buy. It is to give them enough power to get past avoiding the decision, and to make one either way.

You win either way. Close properly and, at best, they buy and are glad they did. At worst they do not, and you are spared an unqualified purchase, which is costly. Feel fine about yeses and nos. Feel bad about letting anyone stay on the treadmill of avoiding the decision: everyone's time is wasted, nobody benefits, and the prospect ends up worse off. So give people the power to decide.

What giving power means: three things.

1. Get a good understanding of what they want, in the early part of the sales conversation. (The rest of this item is not established on this page.)
2. Put what they want next to something else; what it is set beside: not established on this page.
3. Make sure they come to a genuine decision.

The bottom line: people with enough power can decide.

The condition of use. The method is stated to be powerful enough to get just about anyone to do just about anything, so it comes with three assumptions for everything that follows:

• the product will get them to their goal, the way they want to get there;
• you, and others, will support them;
• it will work for them, not just for everyone else.

And a reminder: the difference between help and manipulation is intention.

3. Follow the blame

If a person avoids a decision because they lack the power to make it, where did the power go? Follow the finger of blame.

People avoid decisions they could make by blaming things that look reasonable, but that do not make much sense on a closer look. If blaming something has helped them avoid a tough decision before, they will keep doing it. So dealing with these false reasons lets people make a genuine decision for themselves.

People blame a million and one things. But experience here, over many thousands of closes, is that almost everything fits into one of three categories. Seek to understand the categories, not to memorize them. If you do, you can have useful closing conversations about almost anything.

Category	The belief underneath	Or else…
1. Circumstances	I must get what I want. I must not get what I don't want.	…some circumstance is to blame
2. Other people	I must be treated fairly and kindly.	…some person is to blame
3. Self	I must be perfect and do well, and I must get what I want.	…some trait of my own is to blame

Part of the first belief is not established on this page and is not carried here.

If you know what people blame for their bad experiences, you know why they avoid decisions about them. By pointing that out (carefully), you can give them back their power to decide.

4. The onion: expect more than one

The three categories are drawn as an onion of blame: circumstances, other people, self. The picture is there to prepare salespeople for prospects to say no more than once. That is not the salesperson doing something wrong; it is expected.

• People often blame more than one thing.
• Be patient and give them the information that returns their power to them.
• Be ready for them to swap one objection for another. When that happens, you are closing correctly.
• Keep peeling back the layers until the prospect has the power to decide.

It is normal for someone to give three or four reasons why they cannot do something before they buy, so prepare for that. Once you have removed the reasons they cannot decide, you are talking to someone in power who can. That is the goal.

5. What each kind sounds like

Nobody says they are suffering from a distorted view of reality and would like to be educated. They say "I don't have time right now", "I need to think about it" or "that's too expensive". In sales, the things people blame are called obstacles or objections. Here is how each category shows up.

1. Circumstances. Buying this stops me doing other things I would rather do, or buying other things I would rather buy. So I avoid it by claiming that something outside my control stops me, when it does not.

• Time: "I don't have time for this right now." "I'm too busy."
• Money: "This is too expensive." "I can't afford it."
• Fit: "I don't like this detail about the product or service." "Not right for me." "I need something different from what you offer."

2. Other people. Someone else does not trust me enough to make purchases on my own, or I do not trust you enough to buy from you.

• Authority or permission: "I need to check with [someone] before deciding." Underneath: my partner does not trust me to buy things.
• Trust or skepticism: "I've been burned before." "Let me think about it." "What makes you different?" Underneath: I do not trust you enough to buy.

3. Self.

• Fear: "It might work for them, but it won't work for me." "I'm scared to repeat my past mistakes."
• Avoidance: "I need to think about it." "Send me a brochure and I'll email you tomorrow."

Flag: the same stall under different categories. "Let me think about it" is listed under trust, in the other people category. "I need to think about it" is listed under avoidance, in the self category. The words are close, and the list does not say how to tell them apart on a call. This page does not settle which reading is right.

Flag: fit lines under another kind of blame. The fit lines above, the disliked detail and "Not right for me", are listed here under circumstances. The self-blame closes file nearly the same lines under the prospect's own preferences. Read as circumstances, the prospect blames something outside their control. Read as self-blame, the answers on SOP 112 — Handle I don't like this specific thing apply. This page does not settle which reading is right.

6. First, check it is an objection at all

Before you classify anything, make sure it is an objection.

• Do not assume an objection means they will not buy. This happens more times than you might think. A remark like "it's expensive" is not an actual objection; sometimes it is just an observation. You can answer "I agree", or let them process out loud.
• Unless they say they do not want to buy, do not assume it. Sometimes people just think out loud, and you are only the audience.
• Price shock is not a no. Unless someone tells you there is a problem, assume they are processing their thoughts out loud.
• Expect no, and plan for it. It is not failure; it is expected.

7. Where each kind is handled

What they blame	Where it is handled
Anything that is not a yes	SOP 100 — Run the reason close, which has lines for money, time, authority and avoidance
Money: a discount request	SOP 96 — Answer a discount request and capture payment
Money: someone else is cheaper	SOP 102 — Handle the competitor-price objection
Money: the price looks too big	SOP 103 — Handle the it's-too-much objection
Other people: a spouse or partner	SOP 104 — Handle the spouse or partner
Time, or not enough resources	SOP 105 — Handle time and resourcefulness objections
"I need to think about it"	SOP 107 — Handle I need to think about it

A prospect who was burned by another product is SOP 111. A disliked detail is SOP 112, which files it under self-blame (the flag in section 5). Other closes for fit, trust and fear are not covered on this page.

8. What this page does not decide for you

• Which category a stall belongs to when the words fit two (section 5). This page does not settle which reading is right.
• The rest of the first two of the three things in section 2. Not established on this page.
• How many rounds to go before you accept a no. This page gives no figure for it; the onion says keep peeling until they can decide.

9. The checklist

Question	The answer
When does this start?	After you have asked for the sale
What can an objection be?	A decision being avoided, not a no
Your job	Give them the power to decide, either way
The three categories	Circumstances, other people, self
Circumstances	Time, money, fit
Other people	Authority or permission; trust or skepticism
Self	Fear; avoidance
More than one objection?	Expected; keep peeling the onion
"It's expensive"	Maybe an observation; agree or let them think out loud
The condition of use	The product gets them to their goal their way; you and others support them; it works for them, not just for everyone else

10. What this page does not cover

The closes themselves are not covered on this page: the reason close is SOP 100, and asking before you say something blunt is SOP 97 — Get permission before getting real.