One of the most common objections MSP owners struggle with during sales conversations is, “We’re fine.” This objection is often a surface response that masks deeper concerns or a lack of understanding of the MSP’s value. In this blog, I want to share strategies that have helped me and could help you too.
Understanding The Objection
When you’re talking about overcoming, “We’re fine” as an objection, you need to understand that it’s a marketing objection. So you use things like educational direct response marketing for MSP lead generation and provide useful information instead of leading with or pitching IT support and services. This approach is about changing the conversation from a sales pitch to offering value through information and education. For example, instead of calling prospects up and saying we have marketing services, we invite them to a webinar or offer a new report. This strategy shifts the focus from selling to educating, thereby lowering the defenses of potential clients.
The Role Of Educational Marketing
In educational marketing, we don’t call prospects up and pitch them marketing services. What we call and offer them is either the ultimate guide to MSP marketing, a new resource, or a new webinar. This method is more effective because it doesn’t directly sell but instead offers something of value. When TMT is lead generating, we’re selling that appointment where we’re going to give you our proprietary marketing roadmap that’s helped over 10,000 MSPs get more customers, better customers. By offering something valuable upfront, such as a roadmap or a guide, you’re more likely to get a positive response than with a direct sales pitch.
By focusing on providing value first through educational content, you can more effectively engage potential clients and overcome the “We’re fine” objection. This approach not only opens the door to deeper conversations but also establishes trust and showcases your expertise, making it easier to handle objections when they arise.
Handling Objections Effectively
A lot of objections are sometimes brought on because of the salesperson wandering off the path. You might oversell, overtalk, or pitch too early. It’s essential to stick to a structured sales process. Like in The Wolf of Wall Street, where he talks about the straight line, every sale is the same. It’s a straight line. This means guiding the conversation and ensuring it doesn’t veer off into irrelevant territories. Your job is to gently move the prospect back onto your path, which is how we close the sale. Every interaction with a prospect should increase their confidence in your capabilities. Every interaction you have with a prospect is either increasing their confidence in your competence, in the trust that they have with you, or it’s decreasing it.
A lot of objections you run into are manufactured; you created them by the way you behaved. To overcome objections, it’s crucial to address, investigate, and resolve concerns. It’s not just about dismissing them; it’s about engaging in a dialogue. For example, if a prospect expresses concerns about growth or contracts, it’s an opportunity to discuss and reassure.
Differentiating Between Objections And Obstacles
Objections happen truly after you have presented an offer, a solution, a price, and you’re asking them to buy. However, an obstacle is something that they say early in the sales process. But that, you know, is going to be a problem later on. It’s essential to identify these obstacles early.
I’ll give you an example. We listened to our internal calls, and there was this prospect who said, “I work with another marketing firm… my wife just had a baby, and we’re small, and I don’t want to grow very fast.” These are obstacles. When a prospect sort of lands something on you early on in the sales process and you know it’s going to be an obstacle later on, what you want to do is you want to air it out. Don’t ignore it, investigate it by asking questions and, finally, resolve it in a non-emotional, logical way.
Real-World Examples And Scripts
In real-world scenarios, using tailored scripts can be beneficial. For instance, if a decision-maker is hesitant to meet, you could explain the importance of their involvement in decisions regarding risk, cyberattack tolerance, downtime, and regulatory compliance. For example, “In my ten years of doing this, I’ve never met a CEO who didn’t want to get involved, at least some level in the decision about who they outsource their IT to.” Tailoring your response to the prospect’s specific context and concerns is key.
Conclusion
Successfully overcoming objections and obstacles in sales is about understanding the prospect’s concerns and addressing them effectively. It involves a combination of good communication, a structured approach, and the ability to adapt your strategies to each unique situation. Remember, every interaction with a prospect either builds or erodes their confidence in your capabilities. Therefore, handling objections is not just about countering resistance but about engaging in meaningful dialogue to understand and address underlying concerns.
