I Object!

On this first day of the year, it is good to remember that we are all share the same profession.

• If you make your living from customers or clients who pay for your products or services, you are in sales...
• If you are a parent and want your child's room cleaned, you are in sales...
• If you see things differently than your boss (and want to do anything more positive than gossip) you are in sales...
• If you spend any time with non-profit organizations and want not to do all the work yourself, you are in sales...

A couple years ago, Selling Power magazine conducted a survey of about 1,000 salespeople. While not segmented by industry or other categorization, and not statistically representative, the results are helpful.

"The objection I encounter most frequently is..."

33% Need to think about it
20% Price is too high
21% Happy with current supplier
11% Don't have the budget 11%
4% Waiting for economy to pick up
6% Need to get approval
6% Considering other vendors

Here is the 60-Second Marketing lesson:

100% of the time, we haven't listened well enough to understand the current point of pain, and built a compelling case for the value of our proposed solution.

Live long and prosper [this year!]