Real sales objections, which arise when you’re trying to close the sale, can often be prevented by using effective questioning techniques earlier in the sales process. We get these real objections because we don’t present something the prospect wants in our sales proposal. Working with my sales teams, we’ve highlighted 3 sales techniques that will prevent these sales roadblocks from occurring and help you close more sales.

They are called real sales objections because they are true objections based on real concerns that the buyer has. The other type of objection is the smoke screen. A red herring objection is one that hides the real obstacle to the sale. For example: If you don’t capture the buyer’s interest in the presentation stage of the sales process, you often get vague objections like “Give me some information” or “I want to think about it.” These are vague, unspecific, and require different techniques than actual sales objections to prevent them from occurring.

Try these 3 simple techniques to avoid real sales objections:

1. Create an effective sales question stage in your pitch or sales process.

Use a structure that starts with open-ended questions to elicit broad information from the prospect. This will give you an overview of what they want. Then use alternative response questions in which you offer two or more alternatives, and closed questions that ask for a yes or no answer. This sales questioning technique, sometimes called a question funnel, will give you an overview followed by more specific details.

2. Always use summaries to check your understanding

Always summarize the information the prospect gives you at this stage of the sale. You want to verify that you have understood the answers they have given you and that you know what they want from the product or service you are selling. You also use a summary to check that you have all your needs. To do this, ask if there is anything else, if there is anything they missed, or if there are any other benefits they thought of while talking.

3. Base your sales presentation on their responses

I often see salespeople ask good questions and then go through a standard sales presentation that doesn’t use the valuable information the prospect has provided. Let me give you a really helpful sales tip: Take notes at the sales question stage. Then use your notes to form your sales presentation. Use the information provided by the prospect as the basis for your sales pitch. Don’t use a standard sales pitch. Tailor it to your prospect’s needs. Think of it this way: when you use effective questioning techniques and take notes, the buyer will write your sales proposal for you.

Prevent real sales objections

Use the 3 sales techniques above and you will avoid a lot of real objections. Your questions will have met all the buyer’s requirements. You will have verified that you have covered everything with a summary. You have used their information to write the proposal that you have presented to them. Integrate this into your sales process and you will avoid objections and close more sales.