One of the toughest parts of overcoming objections is doing so in a way that shows respect for your prospect. By responding to an objection, you're often forced to disagree with what the prospect has just said – after all, you can't just agree when she says “Your price is too high” or something similar! The trick is to disagree in a way that's not confrontational.

The salesperson's automatic response to such an objection is often something like, “No, our price isn't really too high, and here's why...” The problem with this response is that it begins by telling the prospect she's wrong.

At best, this is likely to irritate the prospect. At worst, she'll quit listening altogether. Either way, she won't be listening too closely to your explanation.

Many objections stem from a misunderstanding on the prospect's part. For instance, the “your price is too high” objection may come from several different sources. Perhaps she got a much lower quote from a competitor on a product that seems just like yours. Perhaps she hasn't shopped for a product in your industry for several years and doesn't realize how much costs have changed. Or perhaps she fears she can't afford the product and is reflexively blaming your product's price tag.

In each of these cases, getting to the root cause of the objection will help you understand how best to address it. So instead of explaining why the prospect is wrong, ask a question in return. Try something along the lines of, “Really? Can you give me a little background on that?” If she asks what you mean, say, “I wanted to know what brought you to that conclusion.

For example, is it based on a price you saw somewhere else?” Her answer will probably illuminate the source of the original objection.

Once you know where the objection is coming from – for example, the prospect responds with “Company X makes the same product for half the price,” – you can resolve the objection without alienating your prospect. A response like, “That's true, because Company X's product doesn't have this, that and the other feature,” will explain the discrepancy without actually disagreeing with your prospect. If you can give the customer some options, so much the better – a response like, “We also have a product like that for a comparable price, if you don't need those additional features I mentioned...” gives the prospect a feeling of control, and it also makes her feel better about you because you're making a concession to the issue she raised. As a result, you're more likely to end up with a closed sale and a satisfied customer.

Another non-confrontational way to resolve objections is to find a way to agree with the prospect. Since you can't agree with the objection, you can agree with something related to the objection. For example, with a price objection, you might say, “I agree that it's important to know all the facts before investing your money in something, so with your permission I'll explain why we set that particular price...” and then go into specifics.

Above all, don't go into a presentation without arming yourself with plenty of facts. If you don't understand why your product costs more than a competitor's product, you can't possibly answer that objection in a non-confrontational way. Your only option in that case is to take refuge in vague answers like, “Our product is higher quality so it costs more.” Objections usually stem from the prospect's fears, and a generalization is only going to make those fears worse. But if your product knowledge and understanding of your industry allow you to back up your statements with hard facts, the prospect will feel much more comfortable putting a little of her trust in you.