The Abe Lincoln Unhappy People Solution
Andrew Wood
Every problem contains within itself the seeds of its own solution.
—Stanley Arnold
Every now and then you will get prospects who have heard something from a disgruntled customer, the rumor mill, an ex-employee or, more likely, a competing company. They will raise a question about how happy your existing customers are.
As with all objections, you don't want a protracted discussion about this; you simply want to quickly and concisely answer the concern and go back to your sales presentation.
Objection: I hear not all of your customers are happy?
Solution: Really, Bob, I'm surprised to hear you say that. But as Lincoln so aptly said, “You can please all of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time. Wouldn't you agree?”
Now think about it, who is going to argue with Honest Abe? By using this well-known quote, you simply help the prospect align with a concept that most people agree is a universal truth.
Abe Option Two:
Objection: I hear not all of your customers are happy?
Solution: Really, Bob, I'm surprised to hear you say that. But as Lincoln, so aptly said, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. Wouldn't you agree?”
You can follow up with:
I suppose there will always be people who are unhappy about something at some time but our recent customer surveys show our satisfaction levels are higher than any other vendor in our industry, and we're always trying to further improve our service.
Most of the time either approach will work. If the prospect persists, casually ask for an example of what the prospect means, for example: Is there something specific you've heard that I might address?
Make Abe your ally in dealing with “unhappy questions” and
you will quickly remove the objection and get back to the sale!
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