Mastering Objections with Giulio Segantini

To get us started, how do you perceive objections when prospecting?

Okay, so the first thing to remember would be that if they're not giving an objection, they're probably not the right people we want to target in the sense that objections are typically a sign of interest because if I'm really not interested, I can always hang up, right?

So when someone gives an objection, it's like a test. 

That's the way you should think about this…”Is this person trying to test me or not?” That would be the first thing that crosses my mind.

What is your mindset towards Objections?

When it comes to objections, the thing to remember first is the only person who can change someone's mind is the person themselves, I can only help them change their own mind.

So my approach is probably a bit different from most people because I'm not gonna arm wrestle them. 

Instead, I'm going to ask them questions to get them to think about whether or not they might actually need what I am offering.

When you get an objection from a prospect what is your go-to approach to handle it? What has continued to work best for you?

The acronym that I use is a play on ABC, so it's A-P-C.

It stands for Accept Permission Clarify.

The general logic is that whatever the objection (it doesn't matter what) the first thing you need to do is accept it, for example, you get the objection…

You accept that, and you'd say, “That's great to hear, I would be surprised if you didn't”.

So, by accepting, you're breaking down some barriers. 

The person is expecting you to try to sell them something, and you go the other way around.

So you always accept objections first, no matter what. 

Then we move to permission.

This is a crucial part of APC because most people typically take an objection and then try to wrestle with it, and we want to avoid this at all costs.

Instead of wrestling with it, accept it with, “Okay, that makes sense. Do you mind me asking a few questions?” Get permission.

Then, I'll ask questions that lead back to the original problem and the type of help I can provide, which brings us to clarify.

What this might sound like with the “we’ve got a supplier list objection” is…

This is you clarifying the objection.

More often than not, they'll say.

“Well, no”. 

Then, you have a way in because you can ask follow-up questions, start to build out how you can help the prospect, and continue to clarify the original objection.

A-P-C - Accept Permission Clarify.

This should be an easy-to-implement and useful framework to start using immediately to help you better navigate common objections from prospects. 

Where do you feel recruiters often go wrong when navigating objections with prospects? 

Recruiters mainly go wrong when they try to have an intellectual wrestling match with the prospect, and no one wants that.

Instead, the best approach will always be to accept, relax, and ask a question to help the prospect answer their own objection. By doing this, you already stand out from everyone else.

The standard response will always be to try to fight the objection, so the moment you act differently from every other Recruiter, you automatically differentiate yourself from the masses.

Can you help us understand how you would overcome or respond to the most common objections that recruiters face?

📞 We handle recruitment internally / we have an internal talent acquisition team.

For this my approach would be…”do you mind if I ask a question? Does that mean they cover 100% of the rolls in a timely manner?”

The typical response we are looking to get from this would be to get the opportunity to work alongside them, and this would hopefully open the door for that conversation.

📞 We don't work with external recruiters.

That is quite a tough one, but what I would probably say is…

“I'm assuming that’s an internal policy. Do you mind if I ask a question? is that because you don't like recruiters, or every time you work with them, it always sucks?” 

There could be one example, but I want them to pick an option I can work with, and then we can move the conversation on from there.

📞 We don't have the budget.

I typically take a little bit of a different approach for this one; I'll be like…

“Oh, it must suck to have no budget for this. Can I ask a question? When you say you don't have any budget, how much is this position being open costing you?”

This will get them thinking in a bit of a different mindset about the role and give you an opportunity to sell your service.

📞 We have no open vacancies.

As we always want to target the problems, for this would say…

“When you do recruit, what are the common problems you face?”

This will get them going back to problems, which will give you plenty of opportunities to explain how you might be able to help with those.

What else is fundamental to becoming world-class at overcoming objections as a recruiter?

Well a lot of people will hate me for this, but it is to make more phone calls. You’ve got to get the practice in by doing as many reps as possible; it’s as simple as that. 

More practice, more practice. More practice!

If our readers implement just ONE THING tomorrow in their prospecting calls what would the ONE THING be?

So, the first thing is to accept the objection, no matter what it is, even if it's a pretty nothing answer like “ok, far enough” or ‘Yes, that makes sense”.

Just something to give you a chance to breathe, and then you can go ahead and ask permission to ask a question, which gives you more time to think.

By the time you say yes, you have like 15, 20 seconds to decide what you're going to say and then go from there, use any of the examples we spoke about before.

Good luck!

Practical Resources To Check Out From Giulio To Improve Your Cold Calling

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