What's the most important skill a sales professional should have? It's a question I'm frequently asked.

I always respond, "There are two: Overcoming objections and closing. You can't get the deal if you can't ask for the order."

I love that today's economic meltdown is separating the ‘order takers' from the ‘sales professionals.' Professional sales people stand apart when the purse strings tighten. That's when the real selling begins.

‘Real Selling' means overcoming objections and closing the deal. Two parts. The first part can be a little tricky. Unless you have the best tools….

Take, for example, one very common objection: "That's more money than we've budgeted." Dr. Alan Weiss offers constructive advice, but he fails to provide an easy to use tool that enables clients-to-be to reconsider their statement.

Let's pull back. What are objections, any way?

They're reasons to buy. Think about it: Every time anyone expresses they don't want to play with you, the door opens for you to ask why. What a gift! Stalemates only come when people don't say no. The key is to listen carefully. When your spouse says, "I don't want you to go golfing with the guys for a week during Spring Break." She may be saying to you, "I don't want you to leave me with the kids when you and I should go someplace sunny and rekindle our relationship."

Too close to home?! Let's try a business example: "We don't have the money right now." Listen. Then break it down. "Right now." Did they have money in the past? Maybe. Do they think they many have money in the future? Maybe. But what we do know is that each and every one of us—even in business—has spent money we thought we didn't have on something we believed would provide value. And that's a very useful fact in sales.

First, acknowledge what you're hearing. Say "yes." Or "absolutely." Then hook them with a rephrase of their objection in your own words. When your client-to-be reveals that they don't have the money right now, you say, "Absolutely. Things are in flux."

With just this short sentence you've proven to your client-to-be that you're listening to them, you understand where they're coming from, and that you can be trusted.

Then, state your mandate and what's in it for them. Try stringing a couple of benefits together, like this: "Our objective is to ensure you're on a strong footing in 2010, and continue to prosper throughout the decade." Whatever the two benefits, we call this a ‘reassurance statement.' The test of success is whether they're slightly nodding their head—subconsciously saying "yes."

Then follow up with your ‘resume' statement—your reason for the call. "Let's take no more than 15 minutes to determine if there's a fit between your company and ours." This is your ‘closing' statement, which in our opinion is really a ‘bridging' statement. All human must move up six Levels of Interest before becoming raving fans of your solution or you. You must continually ‘close' your client-to-be, moving them from one Level to the next, eventually Level 5 Buy, and then to Level 6 Believe.

Rephrase. Reassure. Resume. The Three R's.

But in the immortal words of Ron Payne, one of our top strategists, don't confuse simple with easy!

On average, you'll need 30 minutes to develop an effective ‘rephrase' for the top 10 objections you meet every day of your selling life. It takes 45 minutes to an hour to develop just three ‘reassurance' statements that compel your client-to-be to consider your pitch when you ‘resume' the point of the conversation.

And it requires at least two hours of your devoted attention to develop nine closing statements that inspire clients to move up the six Levels of Interest, where they will buy, and buy again.

TheRevenueBuilder® is a selling system that helps companies and individuals resolve any issue relating to sales. Clients experience surprisingly positive results.

Based in the proven science of behavioral psychology, it is a holistic approach to marketing, sales and customer service, ensuring that clients buy and buy again.

www.therevenuebuilder.com