"It's too time consuming"​ ..And other famous objections to a Digital Sales Approach (+ How to manage them)

"It's too time consuming" ..And other famous objections to a Digital Sales Approach (+ How to manage them)

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting a group of our LinkedIn Sales Solutions customers for a Program Manager & Sales Leader workshop at our Dubai offices. The topic was Managing Digital Selling Change, with Ahmed ElMowalad joining us as guest speaker. Ahmed takes care of the Oracle Digital Selling program in MENA, and won the Top Program Manager award across their EMEA org last quarter. In this article we'll cover the top takeaways from the discussion we had around objection handling & managing resistance to change.

"People will choose unhappiness over uncertainty." - Tim Ferriss, The 4-Hour Workweek

People not liking change is one of the top drivers of projects failing, and most leaders overestimate how much their teams want to change (45% of employees like to remain in the status quo). Psychology studies have shown humans prefer/have a higher opinion of things that have been around for longer, yet Apple thrived because they embraced change, while Blockbuster got comfortable and was trampled by new technologies.

If you've touched any project involving change management in the past, you've probably seen some version of the Kubler-Ross Change Curve.

In essence, what works at the start of introducing change won't work a couple months in. Recognize different people on your team will move through the cycles at their own pace, and ideally take advantage of it: when you have an early adopter who's already becoming an expert digital seller, and a new joiner in need of getting on-boarded, pair the two up.

The most relevant & credible source of information for a seller is always another successful seller.

A few things to keep in mind when you come across resistance:

  • Display confidence and determination. You can’t convince anyone else of a change you aren’t perceived to believe in yourself. The behaviour of leaders is mirrored by entire teams.
  • Use real-life examples. Success stories from peers are best. Avoid generic references to results from other companies/regions.
  • Show empathy, don’t dismiss objections. Even if you know better or observe an excuse, start by showing you understand the pain. Rejecting doubts only puts up stronger defenses. If you aren't/haven't been in a direct sales role yourself, ensure you understand the sales team’s challenges, key dates, and targets, so you can relate.
  • Last resort: The ”what do you have to lose” argument. Can be risky - Be prepared to offer enough support to ensure they see results, and are turned around (or you may end up with an even more passionate naysayer).
  • Think of all program elements as a whole - You can paint a pretty vision, but without showing people what they can gain, and giving them the tools to succeed, announcing change only stirs up confusion & anxiety.

However.. Even if you do all the above right (and regardless of your team's level of digital maturity) you will likely encounter some degree of resistance rolling out modern sales approaches. It's human nature.

What about tackling specific objections you might come across?

“My region/industry/target market is different, what worked for them won’t work for me.” 

Use data that shows how their target market is rich with digital interactions (# of LinkedIn members, internet/mobile penetration, buyer behavior stats). Leverage real-life success stories from your region/ territory/industry as proof of impact. 

“I only have a handful of customers, I know them already."

Ask if they follow their family/friends on social media, and as a result gain updates of their lives they wouldn’t have been aware of otherwise? Perhaps you know 10 pieces of information today, would 20 not be better? No matter how close you are to your customer, getting automated, real-time insights is always valuable, and ensures you don’t miss key events just because you didn’t happen to catch up. It's humanly impossible to arrive to work every morning and google each one of your contacts & accounts - you need a system that delivers this data to you proactively.

“Lead generation is the job of Marketing.” 

If they have only heard the term ‘Social Selling’, it may have mislead them to see this as a social media/ marketing concept. Ensure it’s understood that a digital sales approach is not simply about Lead Gen, but about building a strong professional brand for yourself as a seller, strengthening & expanding relationships with existing customers, and uncovering opportunities at scale. Here's our latest eBook to give you more ammo.

“I tried it and it didn’t work.” 

First validate why it did not work, and whether the cause was a wrong approach (if it’s about InMail response rates, ask to see a sample message used – was it personalized or a generic template?) Is their view based on outdated information? Educate on the latest Sales Navigator features/new investments your org is making in digital transformation. Explain how now is different from before, and commit to providing the required support to help them get results this time. 

“I’m already achieving my target.”

More is always better – if you are at 120% now, would you not want to be at 150% and take full advantage of your accelerators? 

“This won’t bring be enough business to hit my quota.” 

It’s unlikely any one channel will bring in all your revenue, and also risky to put your eggs in one basket. A digital, proactive approach can however ensure you nurture your prospects & customers scalably, and can make up for lost pipeline/uncover opportunities you weren’t aware of before. 

“It’s time too time-consuming.” 

Avoid judgement (”You seem to have time for X”). Show empathy and that you understand their constraints. Validate what ‘too much time’ means for them/what time investment they perceive is required – it may be inflated. Give examples of workflows that will in fact be accelerated/ simplified. Sellers don’t see customer meetings/calls as time-consuming because it's clear to them how they help generate results – Share success stories that show cause & effect of digital due diligence and closing business. 

And the most important principle of all:

Non-tackled objections don’t die, they grow & spread.

If you get a question you don't know the answer to/don't have the data to support your argument with, don't run away from it. Commit to finding the answer, and always follow up with your entire team in copy. If one person had the concern, it's likely shared by others - consciously or unconsciously.

Any other objections you've heard, or great comebacks you leverage? Myself & Ahmed would love to hear! If you'd like a summary of the above, get one here.

Laura Lamard

Global Marketing Manager @Henkel, Running Best-in-class Marketing Campaigns in 30+ countries | also works with engineers to capture the technical bits

5y

thanks Gemma for the tag, to the team, must read: Marc Fantano Mark Ziehm Marie-Anne Caye (for the maturity change model that could help us), Peter Biermann Phil Liaboe Jason Kyker Kate Eidam Sarah Goodall Felipe Torres Rossi Ps Julia Sulonen love the cover picture with this blog ahah!

Gemma Hurley

Head of Global Enablement | Sales Transformation | Yoga 200hrs | The Access Group

5y

Laura Lamard Jeremy Woodrow  Alberto Martinez Velasco Aoife Murphy- this is the blog you guys were interested in reading on objection handling :) 

Khurram Maniar - Business Relationship Manager

Setup your business in the UAE - Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (Government Of RAK - UAE) | +971527652578 - m.maniar@rakez.com. Inbox me for a FREE CONSULTATION to learn more.

5y

Digital selling is the future . Remember the time we never had emails or google? Few years down the line, majority of people will only use digital media to build and expand their network to reach out to markets not possible today. Change never comes easy but those who don’t adapt, cannot survive/thrive in their business.

Leah Caseley

(She/Her) Sales Performance Consultant, Coach & World Traveler - Empowering Sales Professionals to Reach for the Stars

5y

Great article.  Love the break down of components regarding thinking of the programme as a  whole !

Ashish Mehta

Marketing Head | Marketing Practitioner | Helping Businesses to Unleash the Power of Digital | Ex - IBMer, Oracle, Accenture

5y

Good insight, The above quoted challenges exists in many organizations and tactic to deal with them on an on-going basis to bring desired transformation is key to success!

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