Why is speaking to the objections of your prospect so important?

We spend so much time talking about our product and service offerings, and even going further and talk about who our prospect is (what we sometimes refer to as an avatar). By understanding who we’re talking to, we know how to speak to them. But the biggest question isn’t their demographics, but “what are their objections?”.

Let me tell you a story.

I was speaking with a client, who was frustrated that she wasn’t getting more clients who were willing to sign up for her group coaching. Many were willing to sign up for one on one, and were willing to pay a higher price tag, but why weren’t they willing to engage in group coaching, at a lower price point? She had hit her breaking point. One on one coaching is rewarding but tiring. Group coaching allows her to reach more clients at one time, and ultimately bringing in more revenue. She tried to transition her existing clients, with no luck, and she tried to bring new clients into her group coaching model, again with no luck. So what went wrong? She knows her client, she’s extremely successful, what was the missing piece?

She wasn’t considering the objections of her clients.

Let’s dive a bit deeper into what we know about her clients:

–Late 40 to early 50 year old women
– Successful with their career
– Have children who have either left home or are less dependent than they used to bern– Are in the midst of a separation or divorce from a long term partner
– Have had infidelity at some point during their marriage
– Are struggling with self-esteem

What are their concerns when contemplating group coaching?

– They are embarrassed that they lack self esteem given how successful they are in their career
– Very few people in their inner circle know why their marriage broke down, and the stigma of infidelity is tough to overcome
– Sharing does not come naturally to them, and opening up to a coach has been difficult enough, let alone other strangers
– Their former spouse may hold a prominent position, and they have mutually agreed to keep each other’s privacy

The objections that her clients may have to group coaching may seem very obvious, and our client has made the group coaching experience extremely confidential. She’s made every reasonable attempt to ensure the privacy of clients.

What our client needed to do, was to reframe her copy to not only speak about the benefits of her group coaching program, and what her clients would gain from participating, but to speak directly to their concerns, and address them head on. In essence, talking more about them, then taking about herself. Sometimes this is best achieved with story telling or talking about your insecurities. It’s taking the extra step to speak to the outside influences of your clients/prospects to help make the decision to move forward with you, for them.

What are the concerns, or objections, your prospects may have that are holding them back? How can you use your website, blog, or social media to speak directly to those objections?

by Peggy Murrah, Founder of PMA Web Services