How to Overcome Difficult Customers in Outbound Sales

When making outbound sales calls you will come across many different types of potential customers. Understanding the different types of personalities that you encounter will help you go a long way to being able to effectively overcome objections and find the correct route to a successful outcome – whether that is a follow up call or a sale – depending on each personality type. One way to ensure this is conducted as a consistent standard of sales calls is to hire a team of expert contact sales agents with experience in dealing with customers of all types, and for many different sectors and industries.

There are a few different common personality types that a sales agent will come across when making outbound sales calls, especially if they are completely cold when starting the conversation. The first of these is the type of potential customer who is interested in the product or service that you are offering them, but they would like to haggle with you over price or some other aspect of the service. In these instances it is vital that you have a complete understanding of whether there is any flexibility in price that can be offered, and if not, learn how to overcome these objections as you would any other sales objection (which can be specific to a company as well as general objection handling).

A tentative customer is another awkward call to handle as they might show a tiny bit of interest but are unwilling to commit right away. It never pays to be blunt and bold with these types of call. Instead take a softly-softly approach to the call, asking questions in order to find out what is most important to them and at what stage they would be more willing to hear more from you, or to make a decision. From there you can begin to overcome the objections and build a casual conversation that could lead to a positive outcome for you.

In some instances a customer will try to hang up the call immediately. Sometimes you won’t have any time to prevent them from doing so, but in any case you’ll only ever have a few seconds in which to make some play and prevent them from hanging up. Always ask them straight up why they are not interested in your product or service, and this could be the start of a conversation where you will have chances to explore the reasons why you could be of benefit to them, or a better alternative to their existing supplier. First impressions are always vital in any walk of life, but it is even more so in an outbound sales situation where the brand recognition and reputation can be tested or damaged with the wrong approach.

Find a contact centre service that will support your existing sales team to understand and overcome different personality types and objections when making outbound sales calls. It will go a long way to maximising the potential of your sales operation.