Anyone who has ever been involved in sales has dealt with the feared objections. BUT, our sales guru, Tibor Shanto says that we need to really listen to what the customer is saying. We believe they are objecting, but the objection may not really be what IT appears to be.

Sales people, managers and senior leaders spend too much time and energy worrying about "buyers' objections"; what's worse is that much of that time and energy is spent on trying to avoid "buyers' objections".

Now there is a way to avoid objections, but like the drug ads, I must warn you of the severe side effects, including lack of revenue, shrinking market share, and potential bankruptcy. The way to avoid objections every time, is to not go on or make sales calls. Surprisingly, many sellers have chosen this method, and have maintained employment with some lackluster companies.

But since the primary objective of a seller is to drive revenue, it is better to learn how to manage and leverage objections in a way that moves the sale forward.

Central to driving revenue is engagement, a dialogue between buyer and seller; during that dialogue there is a give and take, it is part of change and growth. Many sellers want to pretend that that dialogue will go in a straight line. But a sale usually unfolds in what can be described as three steps forward, one step back. Visually, think of bull market stock chart, the overall trend is up, but there are down days. These corrections are a healthy part of the upward move.

Think of objections in sales as being just that, an opportunity to correct things as you go along, one question at a time, and with each objection handled, you have an opportunity to move forward. It is a necessary part of success; the alternative would be to handle all their concerns at once towards the end of the cycle, not advisable. Better to encourage objections right through the sale, and use them to educate the buyer and build credibility and solidify the sale.

Objections should and do come up throughout the cycle, but present the greatest risk at two critical points in the sale cycle, when you prospect an new buyer, during the dreaded cold call. Second is at the end of the sale, just before the commitment.