It's NOT an Objection - So Answer The Question!!

Pet peeve time. The whole concept of “Objection Handling” has always really bothered me. This started when I was a first-time SE many (many) years ago, plus sitting through multiple sales training since then – all from people supposedly teaching me how to handle, absorb, deflect and occasionally answer an objection.

My concern – as an SE – is well over 90% of the questions you get from a customer are not actually objections. That’s right – the customer asks you a question because they just want an answer! I think “Objection Handling” makes it a very confrontational affair – and one best left for salespeople. It’s NOT about defeating the customer in a battle of wits, it is about working with the customer so they see the value, simplicity and uniqueness of your “stuff”. It’s one of the reasons I teach “Answering Customer Questions” instead of “Objection Handling”. Certainly the classics like “I can’t afford it” and “We already have a product that does that” are objections, but questions such as “why does it take so long to..” or “do you interface with X” and the "how can I.." should be handled as questions. And no-one ever teaches you how to answer questions, you are just taught how to defuse an objection. As SE's that's missing the mark and certainly not setting you up as a trusted advisor.

There are all kinds of techniques out there for answering questions, and mnemonics that go along with them. I’m a fan of LACE – Listen, Accept, Communicate, Execute. Yet I keep coming back to the fact that as an SE your intent matters more than your ability. As both a former IT exec and a former presales leader, nothing used to irritate me more than watching someone tie themselves up in knots by NOT answering my question.

So – the next time you are asked a question by a customer, go through the standard routine of pausing, making sure you understand the question and why it is being asked – and then ask yourself … is it a question or is it a blunt objection? I think you’ll be surprised at what happens.