When completing a transaction, many of us in Direct Sales or Network Marketing programs often fear when the prospect objects to purchasing what you are selling. Even though most of us have heard such clichés as “the sale doesn’t begin until they say no”, when the prospect actually does say anything other than “yes”, our spirits fall. We think that’s it.

Here’s a secret: The number one reason that more business is lost in this country every day, the number one thing that keeps companies up late at night brainstorming, is “How do we teach our sales force the difference between a buying question and an objection?” It appears to be a huge ordeal, a massive step that would require years of training and practice to master.

Here’s the good news: it doesn’t take years and years of practice to “get it”. It isn’t an overnight process, and that’s because the way we can detect the difference between a buying question and an objection is primarily in the prospects voice.

You see, when a prospect says “I’ve got to talk to my wife before I buy this”, it could be a buying question or an objection. The difference is how it is stated. Buying questions / buying statements expect and welcome an answer. An objection is stated flatly. That’s the difference. A buying question simply requires an answer, more information, more explanation, etc. An objection requires a completely different process altogether.

The kicker is that if you answer an objection as a buying question, you will lose the business. If you answer a buying question with a rebuttal for an objection, you will lose the business. This is what terrifies companies. This is why tons of business is lost every day. If you answer a buying question with a rebuttal, you will actually raise skepticism in your prospects mind, you will force that prospect to object, at which point, you have very little recourse. You shot the sale, and it’s over. And if you answer an objection as a buying statement, you will simply frustrate the prospect, as they are looking for a solution to overcome the objection, and are not looking for simply “more information” or an elaboration of what has already been explained.

Developing the sense of being able to differentiate between buying questions and objections makes the difference between doing business and losing business. It is not some magical skill, but simply a skill that develops with use, just like anything else. The more it is practiced, the easier it becomes. The rough part is in starting out, because it’s tough botching up a sale, and having to go back and review it, find out where it went wrong, correct it, and then try it again.

But for those who are willing to go through that process, and are willing to develop the skill set necessary to answer buying questions and objections effectively, they are the people that will generate and income that will require the help of future generations to spend it all. For anyone attempting to grow a business from scratch, developing the ability to discern between buying questions and objections is an absolute must.