Rocky rejections: Climbing over sales obstacles

• I want to think about it.
• I don’t have the money.
• I don’t need life insurance anymore.
• I’m just looking.
• I have plenty of life insurance.

What do the above phrases have in common? They’re all objections. Every advisor has heard them and yet there never seems to be an easy way out. Often, when you try and calm the customer by reinforcing the reason, the client is out the door and the prospect of a referral is slim. Move past objections by addressing the three categories described by sales trainer John Boe:

1. Earn confidence. Building trust with your client is key to your long-term professional relationship. This means having an interest in your client beyond the sale.

2. Identify money blocks. Prequalification to discuss money is an appropriate route as long as it’s not a discussion of pricing. Remember, money builds trust; pricing builds suspicion.