Five Customer Objections that Must be Overcome

Every few years, we do a survey on what are the top customer objections that our clients face in the Graphic Communications Industry. They are consistent with any industry. Regardless of the range of objections, we have found they always fit into one of five categories. The number one objection we always hear is the “price” objection. But there are more.

If you are launching a new product or service or entering a new market, it would be time well spent to ensure every salesperson can address objections in each category.  

Handling customer objections is fundamental to success.

We have found most sales are lost on a consistent and small number of objections. Anticipating these objections and providing credible answers will improve the success rate of salespeople. Here are the five categories of objections:

1. Objections related to the need for the product or service

“We are not interested in changing”

These objections can occur at any time but often are heard at the beginning of the sales process. These will be centered on the general statement, “I do not see the need your offering….”

Some additional objections in this category include: We are happy with our current direct mail pieces”, “We do not see any financial benefit in changing our current method of printing”, “We do not see any advantage of unifying our digital and print communications.”

Salespeople should be able to quickly articulate a specific benefit to the customer’s business in framing an appropriate answer. The benefit to the customer should focus on providing details of how other companies have improved their operational, financial and technical efficiencies or how they have reduced costs or generated more business.

If a supplier is selling a new product or service, they can be assured that they will encounter “need” objections at various points in the sales call. Having case studies, customer testimonials and other proof sources will aid the salesperson in moving the sales forward.

2. Objections related to the specific product or service

“We have looked at personalized and cross-media printing and we do not think it will help our business”

Sometimes objections can be focused on a specific product or service. The goal for the salesperson is to find why there is an objection to the product or service.

These objections can arise when the product in new to the market, the customer views the product negatively or the customer afraid to take a risk on change. It is a common objection for customers to be concerned with the security of moving documents through the web to print and across networks due to security concerns.

These objections can be handled with solid evidence of how the product has helped other similar companies improve their performance. Additionally, examples, references, third party testimonials help build support for new products or services.

Much of the resistance to cross-media communication platforms, personalized printing or packaging, web integration, graphic services have been driven by customer’s lack of knowledge, fear of change or the supplier’s inability to establish an agreeable ROI.

3. Objections focused on the viability of the supplier

“We have not comfortable moving to web fulfillment with a small company such as you”

Here the customer challenges the capability of the supplier due to lack of experience, limited customer base or size.

The salesperson must specifically probe to determine exactly what is driving the objection and meet it head-on. Building a relationship with the client through initialing a small project or demonstrating through a “proof of concept” is an excellent way to demonstrate a company’s capability to a new or existing customer.

Perhaps the most common objection is “I am happy with my current supplier”. Here is where the salesperson must concede that virtually all new customers have an existing vendor but perhaps this is an opportunity for the customer to review and compare other solutions.

4. The price objection

“Your price is too high”

This is the most commonly cited objection from our clients. All sales will face a price at virtually every stage of the sales process. In more complex sales, suppliers can be sure that the price objection will be the strongest at the beginning of the sales cycle and again very strong at the close.

Here is where the salesperson must completely understand the value versus the cost of their services. The answer to the objection, “Your price is too high” must be internalized and well-rehearsed by the salesperson.

The price objections are the most challenging customer concern that new salespeople face. At our sales training workshops, we spend the most time practicing handling price objections. This takes practice and confidence.  

Often many buyers will offer a price objection to disguise other concerns. The salesperson must probe to determine if the price is really the issue or is it a smokescreen for something else.

5. Bandwidth Objection

“We do not have the resources internally to make the change

With many new products, software, and services, the customer is often required to re-engineer their own internal work process. For instance, to move to web fulfillment, outsource graphic services, move from offset to digital, integrate digital and print invoices and statement on a single platform may require significant discussions and agreements among multiple departments within a customer. 

The bandwidth objection must be taken very seriously. Many deals are lost due to constraints on the customer’s time and resources. An objection, “We do not want to move our files and data to another vendor” is a real issue for many customers. What makes these objections most challenging is that they are sometimes disguised in other objections such as “We are happy with our current program” or “Your price is too high” or “We do not have funding”.

The more complex the solutions and the larger the account the more challenging these objections can become.

Many salespeople view these objections as excuses or a stalling tactic. Top printing salespeople have learned to help the customer through internal blocks and politics to make substantial improvements to a company’s printing program.

Three Ways to Make Cold Calls Hot

Selling complex graphic communications solutions requires plenty of skill and knowledge. The biggest challenge for most print providers is how to get their message out and generate new prospects. It’s not enough to produce great products and services if customers don’t know about them. Persistent cold calling, email blasts and social media are not enough to create meaningful conversations with targeted customers.

We have worked with many printers to improve their sales process, and a key element has always been showing ways to generate new prospects. We find that salespeople and telemarketing representatives continue to primarily rely on cold calling to engage new prospects.

Over the years, three recommendations have proven to be very successful in creating conversations that greatly improve the chance of building new professional relationships, while at the same time shortening the sales cycle. Though these are not new tactics, even experienced salespeople neglect these three time-honored prospecting techniques:

#1 - Exchange customer information with peer salespeople

Salespeople spend an enormous amount of time and effort generating detailed customer information. This information includes such things as identifying key contacts, understanding their decision making processes and gaining valuable insights into a customer’s business. A great strategy is to network with salespeople who work in other types of businesses and exchange information with them. Potential partners could include salespeople that sell commercial insurance, computer hardware and software, commercial real estate and managed services.

For instance, one salesperson we know shares information with a local commercial real estate person. For one account, the commercial real estate salesperson was able provide information about management changes taking place as well as a new major company initiative. The result was greater insight which led to a new prospect for the printing salesperson.  Both salespeople had valuable information that the other could potentially  use in their sales efforts. This is a form of networking that can pay big dividends.

#2 - Always Carry a Story Board

It is not easy to clearly explain complex print products and services. Too often, customers are not able to understand or put the print seller’s offerings in context with their other communications channels.

Though most printing sales people bring a printed portfolio to their initial sales calls, we find samples are not enough. Additionally, many printing projects are part of a cross media campaign.  A data driven offering will usually involve workflows and analytics that a new customer may not easily comprehend.

The story board, booklet, infographic or oversized sell sheet should be able to depict in a creative and graphical way the workflow, the components and timelines of a project, as well as provide examples of analytical results. To save time, a template can be created which would allow information to be easily changed based on the interest of the specific customer.  If done correctly, there should be no confusion on the potential customer’s part regarding the print provider’s value proposition.

Having storyboards available also helps selling in venues such as trade shows. On a recent plane ride, we met a print provider who was able to share products and services with an easy to understand infographic. A creative graphic can often tell a story far better than words.

#3 - Share testimonials and gain referrals on every call

The most powerful selling tool available to any salesperson is a referral from an existing customer. Though often talked about at sales seminars, testimonials and referrals are rarely used on a regular basis. Positioning a product or service in the context of a satisfied customer scenario quickly gains the prospect’s attention.

Putting together great testimonials and referrals is well worth the effort. It is especially helpful when the entire company makes it a priority to gain customer stories. Salespeople should be able to obtain a testimonial, reference or positive online review for every sale they make.

One of the mistakes sellers make when using testimonials is that they are often much too broad. The more specific the testimonial is regarding a particular problem, details of the solution, and the results ultimately gained, the more effective it becomes as a sales tool. 

Like most successful techniques used by salespeople, these three examples take time and effort. Implementing just one of these strategies can pay off by gaining new customers and sales.

Joe Rickard is the founder of Intellective Solutions. Intellective Solutions (www.intellectives.com) is a consulting and training company. They work with printing and technology organizations to improve their sales, marketing and operational effectiveness. .

How Great Printers Manage the Halo Effect of Digital Media

Graphic communications salespeople have never had as many things to sell as they do now. Advancements in cross media platforms, e commerce, digital imaging and personalized printing help print-based salespeople generate powerful value propositions. As the economy improves, there will be additional opportunities to raise sales levels as customers look to invest in marketing and training initiatives that include print.

As exciting as all of this is, there remain persistent challenges for salespeople. No website or brochure can adequately inform or convince customers to use printing in their communications. Direct printing salespeople must be up to the task of helping their customers assess their marketplace and move forward with programs that involve print.

The good news is that printing companies are repositioning themselves and customers are finally re-awaking to the inherent value of print as an integral element of their marketing communications.

The Halo Effect of Digital Media

Convincing a customer to use print is often impacted by the halo effect of digital and social media. The term was first described by psychologist Edward Thorndike in 1920 and can influence a customer’s feelings of using print versus digital media.

The halo effect often makes it difficult to sell the benefits of printed products and services because of the perception of the overwhelming success, convenience and cost of digital or social media.

Printing salespeople must confront this human tendency. Though digital and social media can have obvious advantages, we are seeing signs and have proof that printing can offer a greater ROI back to our customers.  Case studies, ROI examples and models of successful campaigns that bring results to customers are required to minimize the halo effect of digital and social media.

Focus on goals and objectives

As a general rule, those salespeople that take the time to listen and learn the pain and opportunities facing each customer, will be better at breaking down their halo effect biases about print. At the end of the day, performance is what counts. Common negative perceptions of the environmental impact, cost and effectiveness of print must be met head on.

Beautiful and engaging printing, backed up by case studies of great ROI results, minimize the halo effect of digital and social media.  Salespeople cannot rely on customers to know this.

The Blind Spot(s) of Printing Salespeople

The challenge of overcoming the halo effect of digital and social media are often hindered by blind spots of the print salesperson. For example, it is not uncommon for salespeople to focus on selling a particular product or service without knowing the goals and objectives of the customer. Rather than concentrating on the needs of the customer, salespeople unintentionally commoditize their own offerings by the way they sell.

Blind spots become apparent to a customer due to poor selling habits, complacency, falling behind the times in technology, incorrect assumptions about customer’s requirements, too much information, incorrect assumptions or simply a lack of listening.

With the fast transformation taking place in our industry, it is critical to test and continually look for blind spots. Blind spots are often not realized by the salesperson. Many salespeople exhibit behaviors caused by blind spots over a long period of time.

Willy Loman, the iconic character of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman faced difficulty in keeping up with the times. He faced declining sales and income. His inability to deal with his blind spots led to his failure. Identifying and fixing issues is very difficult if a salesperson does not accept or know that they exist.

The sad part of this play was Willy’s unwillingness to deal with reality and change.

Finding Blind Spots

There are good ways to find your blind spots. Getting consistent and honest feedback formally and informally from coworkers, managers, customers, suppliers and industry experts, is a good way to identify habits and behaviors that are getting in the way of business. Another strategy is to review past account wins and losses to attempt to find patterns that may be caused by blind spots.

The simplest way to minimize the development of blind spots is to always strive for continuous personal and industry learning, regularly attending training sessions, and focusing on what the customer and their customers want and need to be successful.

If your blind spot is a lack of knowledge about how social media plays a role in your customers business, sign up to receive their Tweets, visit (and study) their FaceBook page, and learn how they are using media to get their message out. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be in a much better position to argue your case about including print in the mix.

Handling the halo effect and blind spots are behavioral issues that must be addressed by all printing salespeople. Energized and passionate salespeople can overcome many entrenched human barriers. A first step is being aware that the halo effect and blind spots exist. With an expected growth of the economy, this is a good time for salespeople to step back and take a look at what will potentially hold back their sales.

Joe Rickard is the founder of Intellective Solutions. Intellective Solutions (www.intellectives.com) is a consulting and training company. They work with printing and technology organizations to improve their sales, marketing and operational effectiveness.