Dealing With the “Current Vendor” Sales Objection

Here’s a typical exchange between a prospect and a salesperson when this common sales objection is raised

Whatever you said right before the sales objection elicited the prospect’s response. Perhaps you said, “We specialize in offering a full line of whatevers.” Or maybe you said, “We’re a Minneapolis based consulting firm.”

For example, whenever I say, “I’d like to get together with you to find out how your company is handling your sales training needs,” the auto response is “We’re already working with xyz company.”

The key is to avoid getting in that situation in the first place!

It’s a different story if I say, “I see that your company’s sales have been stagnant the past few months. I have some ideas on how to increase new client acquisition.” With that opening line, I will never be told, “We’re already working with xyz company.”

So don’t tell people what your company does. Focus on the business objectives you address. Change what you say and you’ll change the responses you get.

© 2014 by Jill Konrath. Jill Konrath is the author of AGILE SELLING, Selling to Big Companies and SNAP Selling. As a sales accelerator, she helps salespeople close deals faster. She’s a frequent speaker at sales kick-off meetings and conferences. Her expertise has by featured by ABC News, Fortune, Forbes, The New York Times, Entrepreneur and Inc. magazine. Click here to get her free Prospecting Toolkit