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I’ve always wanted a Jeep Wrangler. When visiting the Jeep dealer I discovered Wranglers get an average of only 18 MPG. A Jeep is what I really wanted but it uses 33% more fuel than another vehicle I was considering at another dealership. I decided that four dollar a gallon gas was going to make the Jeep a nonstarter. Writing a sales blog just doesn’t provide me that much additional lettuce.

What I didn’t know was that the sales professional who was helping me at the Jeep dealership was prepared for my cost-of-ownership objection.

“There are times when we need to put our sales skills to the side…”

She Goes to Work
She asked me to come to her desk. She said she wanted to show me some information. Here comes the generic sales pitch I thought. Instead, she asked me some questions, took out a legal pad and calculator and said, “Mr. Sheaffer do you know that the other vehicle you’re considering requires premium fuel at 10-15% higher cost? Based on the miles you drive and the difference in fuel costs, your additional cost to drive the Jeep, the vehicle you really want versus your second choice, would be only $68 per month.”

Sales Tips an Accountant Would be Proud Of
This was powerful stuff. With just some minimal information gathering she demonstrated that the 33% difference in MPG between the two vehicles did not mean that my fuel costs would rise 33%. Furthermore, did it make sense to let a net $68 per month increase in cost-of-ownership keep me from the vehicle I really wanted? She knew that sometimes customers just need more information in order to make a buying decision.

Customers Crave Knowledge
When it comes to emotional purchases, like a vehicle, this sales tip can be especially effective. However, it can be an equally useful sales tip whether we’re selling industrial products or telecom services. There are two important customer behaviors that come into play here.

1. Customers are lazy and won’t do the math themselves; we have to present the facts to them.
2. Customers frequently want to buy from us; we need to give them hard data about why their objection isn’t as big an obstacle as they think it is.

We occasionally forget the power of information in sales. When it comes to objections, sometimes just providing the raw data to a customer or prospect will move their buying apprehensions to the back burner. There are times when we need to put our sales skills to the side and focus on simply educating our customers with the facts.

Further reading: Here’s some fact-filled sales help about price objections.

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Tags: closing, negotiation, objections

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