{"id":35850,"date":"2019-10-30T20:11:51","date_gmt":"2019-10-30T16:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/?p=35850"},"modified":"2022-04-21T16:50:50","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T12:50:50","slug":"handling-msp-sales-objections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/blog\/handling-msp-sales-objections\/","title":{"rendered":"Handling MSP Sales Objections"},"content":{"rendered":"

No one enjoys making a cold call. Yet, people associated with MSPs have no escape from it. Cold calls just continue to be an effective strategy for MSPs despite the occasional horrendous feedback or experience.<\/p>\n

Now, to take away some of the resistance associated with it, experts use many other terms to describe cold calls. Discovery calls, client prospecting calls, and so on. That hardly changes the basic characteristics or alters the intention.<\/p>\n

Cold calls<\/a> remain what they are: unsolicited calls to check out a prospective client. This basic feature brings with it many of the associated characteristics that make cold calls so detested an activity. Facing objections is one of them. And those objections can be of many types.<\/p>\n

Avoid Scheduling Faux Pas<\/h2>\n

The timing of your calls considerably impacts the outcomes. Avoiding typical scheduling errors to amp up your conversion rates.<\/p>\n

Most salespeople make their calls in the last month of a quarter<\/a>. Don\u2019t be a part of the herd. Schedule your calls from the last week of the first month and beat your competitors.
\nWhy the last week of the first month? That\u2019s to grant your potential client some time to recover from the onslaught of cold calls in the previous month, that is. You will improve your chances of getting a better response just because you\u2019re connecting at a time when your prospects have more mind space.<\/p>\n

Target the first two hours of the workday to make your cold calls. You\u2019re much likelier to find your prospects in a receptive frame of mind during these hours.<\/p>\n

Even after taking these precautions, there will be snubbing responses. We euphemistically refer to them as objections. Here are some tips for dealing with them.<\/p>\n

\n
\"WP<\/div>\n
\n
MSP Sales Pitch: 6 Tips from a Real MSP<\/div>\n
Create a dedicated sales pitch that will keep prospects engaged and your sales team focused on the task at hand.<\/div>\n
\n\"CTA\"<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI Don\u2019t Have the Time to Talk to You Now\u201d<\/h2>\n

That is one of the most likely rejections you may hear. But it may not really be the dead end.<\/p>\n

You could always respond with: \u201cI totally understand. When would be a good time to call you back please?\u201d It is totally possible that the recipient is simply saying this to avoid talking to you. By asking for a time, you at least stall the immediate hanging up. The next response could well be, \u201cI really don\u2019t know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t give up yet. You can always revert with: \u201cFair enough. Could you please tell me which part of the day or week is comparatively better for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

The trick is to be ready with the next question immediately before the person on the other end of the line can hang up. The other thing is, practice asking questions that don\u2019t allow yes\/no responses. That\u2019s critical to try and engage the call recipient in a conversation, no matter how brief. It might have a different framing, of course: \u201cNow\u2019s not a good time.\u201d It\u2019s the same thing, but you could articulate your responses differently. \u201cYou mean, to talk at all, or to talk about IT solutions?\u201d<\/p>\n

There could actually be a whole different possibility in the \u201cnow\u2019s not a good time\u201d refrain. If you\u2019ve done your research well, this might just be the space where you throw in, \u201cYou mean everything that\u2019s happening after the recent discovery of the fraud by one of your trusted employees? I totally understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

In such a scenario, you actually have the perfect entry line. \u201cWish I had called you before. We provide our clients with super-efficient fraud detection software, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea is not to write an imaginary script here. Scripts on tutorial websites hardly ever play out exactly like that in real conversation. We trust you to write your own script around the few tips we offer.<\/p>\n

So, four takeaways so far: First never give up with the first snub. Second, ask questions that don\u2019t permit yes\/no answers. Third, keep your next question ready to throw it in before the call receiver gets a chance to hang up on you. Fourth, and most important, sniff out the opportunity in every objection.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe Already Have That\u201d<\/h2>\n

This is another of the commonest objections you will come across as you make cold calls to sell your MSP: \u201cWe already have that arrangement.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the previous three tips fresh in your mind, you know you can\u2019t just say, \u201cOh, I see! Nice talking to you anyway.\u201d More importantly, this one actually needs you to find out some details. That will determine your next course of action. You might just discover that the company is too small to be viable for you. More on that later. Let\u2019s get the first bit out of the way first. How do you keep this conversation going?<\/p>\n

There are many things you can say, but your aim is to find out what arrangements they have in place. So, you could respond with: \u201cYou mean you have an internal IT team? Or, do you mean you have a different MSP in place?\u201d<\/p>\n

Notice that the questions are still open-ended, to invite conversation. That\u2019s one never-to-forget cue where cold calls are concerned. Now, just suppose the next response is: \u201cNeither actually.\u201d Where do you go from there?<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you mean you only call in someone when you need? Or, is there one internal person who looks after all the needs?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, we just call a local IT guy when we need him.\u201d<\/p>\n

That will be a good opening for you actually. You can shoot right back with: \u201cSo, you\u2019re not sure when your company did the last overall health check for your IT systems? In these days of data fraud and cyber-crimes, that\u2019s a major risk, you know. We do a wholesome health check for all our clients\u2019 IT systems once every 3 months.\u201d You might just end up creating an opening there.<\/p>\n

Suppose the response is: \u201cWe have an internal person who doubles up as the IT expert.\u201d You need to engage the person on the other side in a conversation to figure out the number of computers they have. You might discover that they are too small to be viable for you.<\/p>\n

If the response is affirmative about an internal IT team, do not read this as the end of the road. You can always ask: \u201cAnd how often do they need to seek external support? Could I explain how we\u2019re helping several companies with their internal IT deal with the tech issues they\u2019re not familiar with?\u201d If they are already working with an MSP and seem happy with them, do not immediately cross this contact out. And do not end the phone call.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow often do you overhaul\/upgrade your systems? We do that once every six months for all our clients. It is not safe to reduce the frequency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Or you could be a little more dramatic and ask: \u201cSo, you are sure that you will suffer like your competitor XYZ did, when 60% of their computers were affected by a lesser-known virus?\u201d The focus is on getting your prospective client to talk a little about their current MSP. You need to learn something about them to showcase why and how you are better.<\/p>\n

Remember that sometimes, there\u2019s just no opportunity. For instance, your prospect\u2019s response could be: \u201cYes, we do have a contract with an MSP. My brother-in-law runs that.\u201d Now, this is when you say, \u201cAh, I see. Do let me know if you\u2019d want a look at our price catalog anyways. Nice talking to you.\u201d Hang up and move on.<\/p>\n

Further reading<\/span> MSP\u2019s Guide to Targeting Prospects with Internal IT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/a>\"CTA\"<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

Nothing Else Should Stop You<\/h2>\n

Other than your prospective client\u2019s current MSP having a close relative at the helm, you should not actually give up on any other count. Do remember that the first call is really not a selling call. That\u2019s not your target and should not be your pitch.<\/p>\n

The first cold call really is a discovery call: to check out if there is a synergy between what the client needs and what you have to offer. It is also your chance to establish some degree of rapport with your prospective client.<\/p>\n

That will save you from making another cold call. You will be able to transfer this one into a warm calling scenario.<\/p>\n

So, focus and speak. The target is to keep the conversation going until you get a firm action point. That could even be a time and a date to telephone. If you can get that out of the first cold call, you\u2019d have achieved something. And for that, you need to work around objections, not balk at them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No one enjoys making a cold call. Yet, people associated with MSPs have no escape from it. Cold calls just continue to be an effective strategy for MSPs despite the occasional horrendous feedback or experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":35853,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[877,884],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-articles","category-msp-business-articles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35850"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53694,"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35850\/revisions\/53694"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}