Objections are part of the game and are to be welcomed. This resistance or the negative support or positive opposition may be genuine or fake. An objection raised may be a i objection or a flimsy excuse. Thus, a prospect expresses his financial inability, truly and openly it is an objection. Here, the intentions of prospect are very clear. He is willing to buy but do not have money to buy. Instead, he says “quality standard is too low”, with the intent of evading and avoiding the purchase, it is an ‘excuse’. That way, it is really very difficult to distinguish clearly between a ‘genuine objection’ and a ‘lame excuse’. However, these two terms cat distinguished broadly on six grounds.
1. Meaning:
An ‘objection’ is the expression of disapproval of an action taken by the salesman, the other hand, ‘excuse’ is a false objection raised by the prospect with the intent of esc without displeasing the salesman.
2. Nature:
A genuine ‘objection’ is raised by the prospect with the seriousness of the purpose manifests his honesty and integrity of a prospect. The purpose is to understand more about product, company and the salesman. Contrary to this, a lame ‘excuse’ is raised in a very loose and casual manner with the intent of avoiding the purchase somehow. The purpose is not to know more but to kick off the proposal.
3. Occurrence:
Genuine objections are raised once the sales talk is over where the prospect has reached some stage of understanding about the product, advantages and features. Any doubts and reservations are clarified by through objections. On the other hand, excuses are generally raised during the sales- talk before understanding the product. Silly excuses are raised one after another creating more blockades to the salesperson obstructing his sales-talk. The shock of objections can be absorbed and erased slowly but the shock of excuse is too swift and jerky that it can not be absorbed and erased. It lasts in case of objections while not in case of excuses.
4. Person Rising:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
A person to whom the salesman is presenting his sales-talk may be a ‘prospect’ or a ‘suspect’. A prospect can be converted into a customer or buyer and it is he who raises ‘objections’ in the course of being transformed into a customer from a prospect. On the contrary, a ‘suspect’ can never be a customer. Even, he may not want to reach the status of a prospect and it is this suspect who raises ‘excuses’ to avoid purchases.
5. Intentions:
A prospect that raises the ‘objections’, his intentions are clear, positive and are co-extensive. He is interested in furthering the talk before concluding it. It speaks of his genuine hunt for -ore information for making a rational decision. Conversely, a supposed prospect who raises excuses’, his intention are covert, negative and one of shirking than working. His hidden motto 3 to avoid or spoil the deal at any rate in cheap way.
6. Solution:
In case of genuine ‘objections’, efforts can be made to solve them and they can be overcome with alternative suggestions or clearing them by additional clarification demonstration and the like. Thus, if the genuine problem is short-term financial difficulty that can be overcome by meeting his motive of credit purchase possibility. However, in case of silly or lame excuses, there is no point in overcoming them at all as the prospect prefers to remain suspect. There is no solution for such casual objections or ‘excuses’ because they cannot be exterminated even if the salesman tries to clear these excuses disguised in the form of objections. It is a futile exercise of flogging a dead horse.