Let’s talk market research so we can better understand our audience, our potential leads, our future clients, and more. Without proper market research, someone call fall into a trap of seeing someone as a wallet to tap into versus a person who you fully understand and can support them with your service. Tap into their needs, show them how you can benefit them, and use messaging from truly ideal potential clients to connect and potentially convert them.
First and foremost, you have to understand the 5 main objections so you can create an argument for each of these to be prepared, but also ultimately allow people to say no if they do. Objections aren’t a way to convince someone from a no to a yes, but to further explain anything that they may not fully understand.
Objection 1: Budget
The most obvious and common objection of course is “do I want to spend my/our money on this?” It’s important to find someone’s budget so that 1) you don’t waste their/your time on something out of a certain range and 2) you can respect their desired spending.
Objection 2: Time
The 2nd most common objection is whether or not someone has the time to dedicate to your offering. They’ll be assuming what kind of time commitment is required of them, and assumptions are typically worse than the truth. Share with them what time is necessary of them, and be honest about it so they can account for what’s required of them in your service as well.
Objection 3: Readiness
This objection of “readiness” can mean two things: Is their business at a level in which now is a time they can appropriately activate this service? -and/or- “Even though their business is ready for this, is this really the right time for them to activate?” (PS. Activate = involve themselves in the service and be a prepared/connected client with you). Our potential clients absolutely are responsible for knowing whether or not their ready, however we can’t ignore how loud mixed messages can be in the B2B / B2E space. We also bear a responsibility to help them vet what decisions are right for them, because someone who is not ready may 1) waste your time 2) distrupt your process 3) take a spot from someone who is ready and willing to activate.
Objection 4: Trust
Sometimes you will find that people: 1) Have the budget 2) Are ready for the time commitment no matter how small 3) Are ready for the service you offer and they still say no. This typically means that they are either dealing with this objection of trust, or the next objection (listed below). For instance, if a business owner is in dire need of Instagram Management Services, they have the time to onboard you properly, and they have the budget for that investment, what reason would they say no? It’s almost always: Trust. Do I believe this person can do the job?
Objection 5: Invitation
Finally, the least common objection but also the most overlooked, is that sometimes people simply need an invitation. They know you. They trust you. They have the proper budget/time for your offer. But why aren’t they saying yes? Because they need an invite. For those who are more timid, or new to business, or maybe have a personality that makes them anxious about invading someone’s space, they’ll need an opportunity to be invited to say yes.
For some people, this sounds baffling to them. “But I offer photography services, surely nobody needs to be invited to book me.” False.
An invitation doesn’t mean a handwritten card delivered in the mail to your audience. It means saying things like:
“I have 3 open bookings for August, and I’d love to work with you! Here’s where you can learn more”
“Are you someone looking for x, y, and z? I got you. Let’s chat because I’m sure I can take some work off your plate!”
“We love working with individuals who are a, b, and c. Is that you? You’re our people. Come see if we have a service that’s right for you”.
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