Objections can break a burgeoning sale—or lock it down. It all depends on your timing.
During the discovery meeting, it’s imperative to uncover hidden objections your prospect might have and address them preemptively.
The discovery meeting is step 2 of the 5-Step Process to Closing an MSP Sale. Sitima Fowler and Ray Green, MSP sales experts who teach this process, explain the how’s and why’s behind asking guiding questions, designed to get prospects to sell themselves, while getting you the information needed to put together a winning proposal.
If you missed the previous installment on how to discover a prospect’s true buying criteria during the discovery meeting, read it here.
Don’t Fear Objections
Objections are intimidating, no doubt about it. But instead of fearing them and waiting for the prospect to bring up their issues at the end of the meeting, handle the most common ones early on.
He Says: There are three to five common objections you’ll encounter: price, incumbent relationships, your competition’s service offering, the prospect’s decision-maker, and time frame. These account for 80% of all objections. If you strategically get ahead of them, you’ll position yourself much better. If there is a silver bullet to overcome proposal objections, this is it.
She Says: This way, the prospect isn’t thinking about their concerns the whole meeting rather than listening to you. That’s the purpose of objection handling—to uncover hidden objections that will kill the sale later.
He Says: Right. Also, know objections aren’t always bad. Don’t shy away from them. If you address objections proactively, they’re handled differently than if you wait until the end. People aren’t as defensive.
Common Objections: Price and Included Services
This is a topic most people are afraid to bring up, but without discussing prices ahead of time, it’ll be much harder to put together a winning proposal.
She Says: To transition to this line of questioning from the previous topic of your prospect’s technology use, try this soundbite: “I appreciate the information; it’s definitely helping me understand what issues you have and what’s important to you. Now I just have a few more quick questions.”
From there, ask about their arrangement with their current IT company; how much they’re paying and what’s included. If they’re being vague, keep probing until you have the answer. If they don’t know what they’re paying monthly, ask about their total spend last year. And don’t forget to dig into what is and isn’t covered in the contract–including projects, on-site visits, ransomware recovery, and employee onboarding.
He Says: It’s also important to remember that prospects may not know what’s included in their own monthly price. They may think it includes everything when it doesn’t. This is your chance to uncover that and get ahead of price objections later on.
Don’t Be Afraid to Drop the Numbers
A key component of this sales strategy is to float your price often, so prospects aren’t surprised when they get to the end.
She Says: Use this soundbite: “Something everyone wants to know is how much our services are, so I’m going to give you a ballpark. Without a technical assessment, I can’t say for sure what any potential projects would cost, so please don’t hold me to this, but for ongoing support and maintenance, a company of your size, with your technology, is going to run between [YOUR MONTHLY FEE RANGE] per month. Is that in line with your expectations?”
If they’re shocked by the price, don’t get defensive, arrogant, or disrespectful. Remain confident, and say, “I can appreciate your concern. We’re not the cheapest IT company, but we’re also not the most expensive. We wanted to be the best at what we do, not the cheapest. That costs more. We decided we would rather explain our prices once, than apologize for poor service forever. Does that completely put us out of the running to be your IT company?”
He Says: If you break this down, you’re being empathetic, not defensive. You’re not apologizing for your prices; you’re explaining why they might be higher than what they had in mind. The other advantage is that you’re not giving the prospect a concrete number to say no to. You’re giving them a range, setting expectations, and creating a reference point for later.
If your price range isn’t in the prospect’s expectations, it’s better to hear a no early on, before you invest energy and effort. So no matter how uncomfortable it is, work to get that information out in the open.
Check Their Decision-Making Power
You don’t want to be blindsided later on by learning that the person you’ve been talking to doesn’t have the power to sign your contract. Confirming that you’re speaking with a decision-maker early on is key.
She Says: That said, you don’t want to ask, “Are you the decision-maker?” That’s confrontational and demeaning. Instead, say: “When you make decisions like this, who else do you discuss it with?” If they mention someone who’s not in the meeting ask, “What would be the best way for me to connect with them, to find out what their priorities and specific needs are?”
He Says: This question also works great if the person you’re talking to isn’t the core decision-maker, but is part of the deciding team. Asking at this part of the process helps you get access to the other decision-makers, engage them in the process, and get their perspective as well.
Again, delivery is key. It isn’t about memorizing the exact words here; it’s about empathy, understanding, and explanations that appeal to their common sense.
She Says: If the prospect won’t let you speak to the decision-maker, you have to make a judgment call. Do you want to continue the process with somebody who may not be able to move the sale forward? If they’re truly an influencer, you’re basically asking them to champion your pitch forward to the decision-maker.
Disarming Will Fire Up Your Sale
By addressing the prospect’s core objections before delivering the proposal, you get the chance to take the bullets out of the gun before the prospect can shoot you down–and instead, turn any objections into your own silver bullets to win the sale. Check out the role-play video below to help perfect your technique.
