1. Zero in on the ‘true objection’

Most objections boil down to something the salesperson has heard a number of times before (e.g., price, timing, have better offer, no compelling reason to make a change, etc.). But beneath the surface there’s often a more specific reason why the prospect isn’t agreeing to move forward.

It can be helpful to go back to the initial sales call and recall why the prospect agreed to meet in the first place. Were they unhappy with their current supplier? Were they interested in a specific service you offered? Did they feel like they could receive a better return on investment?

In many cases the answers prospects provide early on are connected to their subsequent objection. Thorough salespeople look back at their notes from the initial sales call, so they can determine whether their value proposition provided enough urgency for the prospect to agree to meet.

2. Be a resource first, salesperson second

Today’s salesperson is expected to partner with prospects, acting as a consultant whose solutions can help generate additional profits.

That’s why a lot of successful salespeople become students of the game – joining industry associations, attending seminars and subscribing to trade journals.

That way they’re in a much better position to negotiate a win-win outcome when prospects raise a red flag. They’re also more in tune with industry terms and emerging trends, which boosts their credibility and helps build additional trust with prospects. That puts them in a better position to not only deal with objections, but also anticipate and (in some situations) avoid them altogether.

3. Sell measurable results

In most markets, there are several products and services that offer prospects similar benefits. A salesperson who can provide clear evidence of the long-term advantages of doing business with him or her is much more likely to win a prospect’s business.

That could mean showing how a product/service can increase productivity, decrease labor costs, lower overhead, increase profits or help the prospect identify new revenue streams.

Some salespeople keep a file of customer testimonials that explain how using their products and services helped grow other businesses.

Prospects are much more inclined to be swayed by evidence from their peers. They may be additionally persuaded by the notion that top competitors are saving costs or generating revenue by using a resource they haven’t.

Based in part on “Pulling Out of a Sales Slump,” by Jim Kasper, Salesvantage.com

The impetus for the move came in the form of a recent report titled “Broken Laws, Unprotected Workers: Violations of Employment and Labor Laws in America’s Cities.”

The report was based on face-to-face interviews with about 4,000 workers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. It was published by the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the National Employment Law Project and the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment.

A sample of the study’s findings:

• 76% who had worked overtime the previous week claimed they were not paid time-and-a-half for it.
• 26% said they were being paid less than the minimum wage.
• 75% of those interviewed earned less than $10 an hour.
• 69% of workers who were entitled to a meal break said they received no break at all, had their break shortened, were interrupted by their employer or worked during the break.
• 20% said they had made a complaint to their employer or attempted to form a union in the last year; of those, 43% said they’d experienced some form of retaliation — such as getting fired or being threatened with a pay cut.

So the violations that jumped out at DOL involve OT pay, minimum-wage violations, denied breaks mandated by law and illegal retaliation.

The study found that minimum-wage violation rates were most common in apparel and textile manufacturing, personal and repair services, and private households. Violation rates were substantially lower in residential construction, social assistance and education, and home health care.

Women were significantly more likely than men to experience minimum wage violations, and foreign-born workers were nearly twice as likely as U.S.-born workers to suffer a minimum-wage violation, according to the report.

Click here to see the full report in PDF format.

Manpower, the employment services company, compiled the lists using what’s called the “net employment outlook” (NEO) for listed cities. It’s a figure derived by taking the percentage of employers who say they’re going to be hiring and the percentage of employers who say they’re going to be laying off, and subtracting one from the other.

So, for example, if 20% of employers in a city said they’d be hiring and 11% said they’d be laying off, the NEO would be +9%. If 10% of employers said they’d be hiring and 15% said they’d be laying off, the NEO would be -5%.

Best for employment

• Lincoln, NE, NEO +17%
• Kennewick-Richland-Pasco, WA, +11%
• Columbus, GA, +10%
• Rochester, NY, +10%
• Waco, TX, +10%
• Lafayette, LA, +9%
• McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX, +9%
• York-Hanover, PA, +9%
• Anchorage, AK, +8%
• Sioux Falls, SD, +8%

Worst for employment

• Flint, MI, -17%
• Detroit, MI, -14%
• Salinas, CA, -15%
• Dayton, OH, -14%
• Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA, -13%
• Las Vegas, NV, -13%
• Myrtle Beach, SC, -13%
• San Juan, PR, -13%
• Bakersfield, CA, -12%
• Stockton, CA, -12%

Just 48% of participants in a recent Gallup Poll expressed approval of labor unions. That’s down from 59% in last year’s survey, and the lowest level of public support since Gallup first asked the question in 1937.

To put the numbers in perspective: In that first poll — held right after the passage of the National Labor Relations Act, which gave most private-sector workers the right to join a labor union — the approval rate was 72%. That benchmark was bested in 1957, when the number rose to 75%.

The previous low? A 55% approval rate in both 1979 and 1981.

Hopeful sign for employers?

The poll results couldn’t come at better time for employers feeling threatened by the prospect of  EFCA’s passage — whatever form that might take. Even if the pro-union legislation makes it into law, it seems there’s a dwindling number of Americans who feel the labor unions are playing a positive role in the national economy.

For a look at the full poll results, go here.