There’s not much worse in life than cutting into what looks like the juiciest avocado, only to find…it’s brown and moldy on the inside.

It’s no wonder you see all kinds of ripeness tests going on in the grocery store…prodding, squeezing…even rattling (just me…?). But it’s not just avocados people worry about buying, there’s an inherent risk to everything we buy as consumers. 

And in the same way people question an avocado before throwing it in the cart (definitely brown now if it wasn’t already), our prospective clients are also going to be asking a plethora of questions about us, our program, and about themselves before deciding to buy from us. (All of which are effectively reasons in their heads not to purchase.)

Despite people following us, watching us, and learning from us, they don’t truly *know* us. And because our companies aren’t quite as big as Apple or Amazon (yet!), the perceived risk is a bit higher. Our buyers want to feel certainty in their decision. And it’s part of our job to help them find that certainty. 

Here, we’re looking at how to identify what your customer’s true objections are (it’s not always as it seems on the surface) and the best ways to respond to them so that they feel confident in their purchasing decision.

Common Sales Objections

1. Price

I’m sure we’re all familiar with people saying, “I just can’t afford it right now.” But price is very rarely the real reason people don’t buy. You could be selling something for $7, and there will *still* be people that don’t want to pay that. 

And so overcoming that price objection is not a matter of decreasing your price, it’s about digging a little bit deeper and figuring out what the real objections are.

People often go to price because it’s the easiest answer that they can give you. But if someone wants something bad enough, they will always figure out a way to buy it.

College is always a great example of this. It can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and yet there’s no guarantee you’re even going to get anything valuable out of it. You might not even get a job afterwards, but people are willing to make it work, and parents will find a way to pay for their kids to go to college. If people see the value in something, they will purchase it. It really is as simple as that.

So when you’re speaking with prospects about why they didn’t purchase, it’s important to specifically ask: “Aside from price, what were the other issues or concerns that stopped you from purchasing?” Now, they are prompted to come up with another reason, which is where we start to uncover some of the gold.

And while you can certainly send out surveys, as much as possible, you want to also have conversations with people. When people answer surveys, they answer them quickly. Plus, some people are just more likely to answer surveys than others—but there’s still lots of valuable insight in the group of the people who don’t ever answer surveys. So if you can, get on the phone with people who haven’t purchased to find out what their additional reasons were.

As you talk to people, you might realize that some of them aren’t actually your ideal customer. If it wasn’t the type of person that belongs in your program, then it is okay for those people to walk away. 

2. Trust

There are also going to be objections around trust—not only in trusting that your program is going to do what it says, but also whether they trust themselves to actually get the results.

They might think, “Sure, other people can get those results, but what about me? Am I going to be able to get these results?” So there’s almost a crisis of confidence when it comes to you and your program, but also when it comes to themselves and their ability to to execute on what you give them.

3. Time

People will talk themselves out of buying your program if they think they “don’t have time” for it right now. But they’re essentially waiting for a “perfect time” that doesn’t really exist. And so showing them how they can incorporate this program into their busy lives can be very effective. 

One of the ways we do that with our copywriting program is by saying, “Hey, do this 15 minutes a day with your cup of coffee!” It shows them that it doesn’t have to be something additional and that you can actually integrate into something you would already be doing anyway.

4. Readiness

It’s exactly the same with the idea of being “ready” to tackle your course. We have to shift their mindset to make them realize you don’t have to *feel* ready (and in fact, you might never feel ready), but if you are invested, committed and able to take action, then you ARE ready for this program.

People recognize that they want the result you’re offering but also that they’re probably going to have to get a little outside of their comfort zone. Telling them all the ways you’re going to support them and make it as easy as possible for them to get results will boost their confidence. All they have to do is commit to showing up.

Overcoming Objections

Those were just some of the most common examples of factors that might pop into people’s minds before buying. But figuring out what these objections are specifically for your business is key.

Once you identify what they are, you can use that information to update your messaging and make sure that you’re addressing these objections to give people every reason to invest in your program.

Be transparent

Once you know the core objections for your offer, you should specifically call them out in your messaging and in your sales story. People want to hear you saying the same things that are already in their heads. For example, you could call out, “Maybe you’re thinking this is a pretty big investment” and then respond to that objection appropriately in your messaging.

A lot of business owners are hesitant about calling out objections because they worry they’re highlighting a reason not to purchase that their customer may not have even considered.

But that’s really not how it works. Here’s why:

1. Somebody is already thinking it and you will validate their concern by mentioning it and then be able to overcome it
2. They haven’t thought about it yet, but they will at some point, so it’s better to bring it up sooner and overcome it. 
3. It’s something that just doesn’t apply to them. In which case, it’s not hurting you at all to bring it up and overcome it because it just doesn’t matter to them. 

By putting all of this information out in the open, it shows that you understand what their concerns are and that you are being completely transparent. When customers feel like you “get” them, that’s a huge way to connect and build trust in your brand.

One of the things we found with our copywriting program, was that it was a little too nebulous in terms of what they were getting from the course. To overcome this, we created a video that was like a behind-the-scenes dashboard tour to show people what the course looks like.

That helped people to envision the end product and made it a little more tangible. And adding that to our sales page helped to increase our conversion rate because people had more trust that we would be delivering what we said they would get.

Validate Their Concerns

The first part of overcoming every objection should be to validate their emotions and say, “Absolutely, that makes a lot of sense that you would be concerned about that.” (Remember if you’re overcoming a couple of different objections, you’re going to want to vary that!) 

But you need to validate those concerns before you get into the next part of overcoming the objection. It will show that you understand them, you know where they are, and you can see things from their perspective. 

Demonstrate Value

As we mentioned before, trust is one of the biggest reasons why people don’t want to make a purchase. And so first and foremost when you’re handling this objection, you really need to demonstrate the value of your offer. This also pairs well with objections around price, as people will feel they’re getting so much value for the money they are paying.

On top of that, in order to trust you, it can be helpful to talk about other students who have had the same concerns as them. This can be a great place to bring in testimonials, especially if you have testimonials from clients who say they were nervous before investing.

Talking about the different elements that you’ve built into the program can help to overcome the trust issues people may have in themselves about following through and getting results. What do you have built into your program to ensure that people get the results that you’re promising? Maybe it’s the community aspect, coaching calls, or a really great customer service team. And which of those elements will help them to take action? For example, is there accountability because of a Facebook group? Are there milestones? Have you made it a step-by-step process? 

A lot of objections can come from lack of clarity if they don’t understand what your offer can do and what the end benefit is going to be. And it is our job to convey what that transformation is going to be all throughout our messaging, not just when overcoming objections. 

Differentiate Yourself From Competitors

It’s important to remember that we don’t live in a world where we are the *only* person providing what we offer. We all have competitors, even if they are more indirect competitors.

So we also have to explain what makes us different and better than our competitors. And if there isn’t anything, then frankly, we have no business being in business anyway because there *has* to be something to differentiate us. 

If we don’t explain what makes us different or better, people will buy from somebody else and they’re going to make decisions based solely on price. 

Why do they need us versus any of the other options that are out there? Why do they need us versus being able to do it on their own? 

With our copywriting course, for example, people who want to become professional copywriters have access to a massive amount of information. But it is a massive bargain for people to purchase our course versus trying to somehow pull all of those separate resources together, and figure out what is useful or in what order to do it.

Create Urgency

There’s also the need to make it clear that waiting and not taking action right now is going to delay their transformation.

Why does it benefit someone to buy this program at this exact moment versus waiting a month or a year or indefinitely? Adding urgency to your offer will help them visualize where they can be if they take action now versus if they don’t. 

It’s always funny how people say, “Oh my gosh, I want this problem solved yesterday!” But as soon as they see a price point, they say, “Oh no, maybe I’ll just wait.” That’s why we need to remind them why it’s so important to them that they get to the solution as soon as possible—and not only the benefit of getting to the solution as soon as possible, but the pain of waiting. What are they going to be missing out on if they don’t take action now? 

Clearing Limiting Beliefs

Fundamentally, overcoming objections is about helping people to clear away all of their limiting beliefs about why this program is not going to work for them. Instead, it’s up to you to show them exactly why it *will* work for them, encourage them to get started, and support them to keep taking action.

They would not be reading your emails if they didn’t want the result that you can give them. When people have objections about purchasing, it’s just them getting in their own way.

And so overcoming objections is taking away all of the stuff that’s getting in between them and purchasing the program that will get them the results that they want. It’s not a sales conversation at a car dealership. You’re not trying to “trick” anybody into doing anything. All you’re doing is helping them to see what the truth is.

So, if you haven’t compiled a list of objections yet, start by jotting down what you know people object to or what you’ve heard from people who haven’t made a purchase. Which reasons did they give for holding back? What were their fears? And then you can start to put it all in your sales materials and help prospects understand that they’re not actually valid concerns at all.

Read More

In this blog post, we explore how showcasing the value of your offer provides potential customers with greater insight and context, empowering them to make more informed decisions.

Watch More

In this Energize Your Online Business podcast episode, we learn that for as many reasons as there are to buy something, there are just as many reasons *not* to make a purchase. Listen in to discover some of the most common customer objections and the best ways to handle them so that customers feel confident in their purchasing decision.

Your Turn!

What are some of the most common sales objections for your offer? Let us know in the comments below!