Responding to a customer’s strong objection with one simple question

On the latest episode of Straight Talk, host David Lewis, President of David Lewis & Associates, tells you how you can get your point across and get the customer’s permission to do something that would normally be out of bounds.

Lewis shares how to respond to a stupid or out-of-line objection by the customer with this one question, “can I make a sarcastic comment?” You may have had opportunities, where you wish you could say what was really on your mind.

In nearly every case, a customer will agree and then you can make a response suited for the kind of offer the customer has made. This lightens the atmosphere and gives you an opportunity to tell the customer what you really think of their offer.

At first, this might seem like a ridiculous thing to do and a bit risky to the deal. Lewis says there are times where you need to speak your mind. This allows you to do that and keep things professional on both sides of the desk. He says people appreciate it when you’re honest and open and you’re trying to do your best to be professional during a business negotiation.

If you’ve been showing the customer respect in the way you have handled your sales presentation, they should show you respect in return. Lewis believes this gives you the opportunity to snap things back to reality and get things back on track.

When push comes to shove, people can’t just be dealt with and you can let them go, knowing you did your best to put together a reasonable offer and they just couldn’t see it.

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