[Build Backlinks Online] Overcoming Client Objections - Whiteboard Friday

Build Backlinks Online has posted a new item, 'Overcoming Client Objections -
Whiteboard Friday'


Posted by Brittan Bright

Whether the objection is over a line in your contract or an aspect of your
process, when a client's thinking doesn't align with your own, moving projects
forward can be difficult or impossible. In today's Whiteboard Friday, Brittan
Bright shares her insight into some of the most common objections, along with
recommendations for how to get things back on track.






WBF - Overcoming Client Objections - Brittan Bright






For reference, here's a still image of this week's whiteboard:






Video Transcription



Hi, everyone. Welcome to Whiteboard Friday. My name is Brittan Bright. I'm
the director of client strategy at iAcquire. Today we're going to be talking
about overcoming client objections. So my role is to work directly with clients.
For SEOs, sometimes this can be challenging, and depending on how your
organization determines how they're going to service clients, these skills are
helpful at every level of an organization.


Some common objections we have over here are things I'd like to cover today.
I also have a checklist of how you can think through the thought process of how
to effectively overcome some of these objections or find a way to compromise
with them.


One of them is, commonly, our clients are going to object to our contract.
Sometimes it's during the negotiation phase. Sometimes you get a new point of
contact at an organization that might review the contract and interpret it
differently. Sometimes there are stipulations that are mandated by one company
or another that they can't agree to. So oftentimes, a contract can be a point of
contention with the clients at any stage in the relationship.


Objections to recommendations. Not everybody thinks that every
recommendation we make as a service provider is always going to be as brilliant
as we think it is, or be able to actually implement the recommendations in the
full way that we intend them to be. We have to be prepared to understand and
speak to any objections that we encounter when it comes to the recommendations
that we make for our clients.


Our business model. This is an interesting one. I've seen a lot of
conversations about this in the blogs and on Twitter, but it's challenging
because everybody is kind of trying to figure out the best way to service
clients. Different people have approached it in a variety of ways. Sometimes
clients have a preference. Sometimes clients just want what they want, and it
really depends. You have to be able to speak to your business model and overcome
that when it becomes a challenge and in a relationship with a client, as well.


To your process. This is an interesting one. It depends, again, on your
point of contact and who you're working with at an organization, but there are
times that you may have your process questioned. There may be a client that is
particularly interested in a specific tactic being done a specific way. There
are many times we are having to defend and sometimes explain our process, and I
think there are some really productive ways that we can get around that.


Then also your staff. Not everyone likes the people that have been assigned
to their account. Not everyone is able to work effectively. Not everyone is able
to understand personalities. So that is something that we have to be prepared to
do, is understand how we can overcome objections to the staff that has been
assigned to a specific account.


I have several different ways that we can look at this, because as we all
know, there is not just one answer to this. It's very customized to the
particular client, to your organization, to the situation, and to the project.
So instead of telling you exactly what to do, I think it's helpful to understand
a good way to think through some of these issues. So I put together a checklist
of things I like to go through in my mind as I'm advising my team on how to
overcome some of these challenges when we encounter them.


Understanding the objection. That's really, really important and often not
thought about. Sometimes a client might come back and say, "Hey, I don't like
the terms of this contract," and provide a different solution like, "I want a
30-day out," or, "I want to be able to approve every single thing that you do
before I see it," just something that will throw off the process. Instead of
reacting to the actual thing that the client says, we need to make sure that we
understand the root of that issue. Is it because they have quality concerns? Is
there another way that we can overcome that?


Is there something we didn't do in the sales process that left them feeling
a little unsure and wanting a little bit more of the process in their control?
Is a 30-day out something standard across their organization? Is there another
way that we could compromise with that and understand what needs to be achieved
in order to get buy-in from possibly someone higher up, who determines whether
or not a contract is approved? So understanding what the objection is and what's
behind it is often more important than just immediately reacting to what the
objection is at first.


One solution to contract objections that I thought I'd share, that is pretty
simple, is sometimes using their contract. Now, obviously that's not ideal, but
there are some organizations that have very, very strict contracts, and we all
know what it's like to get held up in legal, or their industries are very
particular. If it's something that your organization allows you to do, sometimes
using their contract is a way to show that you're taking a few steps toward the
direction of really compromising and resolving the issue with the client, and
can be very much appreciated and realized by creating a better relationship
through the length of the engagement with the client.


Understanding the objection goes both ways too. So if you're a client and
you have an objection to something that your service provider is doing, it is in
your best interest to make sure that your objection is understood to who you're
working with. Like I said, if your issue is with the contract, instead of
necessarily kind of coming up with a solution, try to make sure that the person
you're negotiating with understands where you're coming from, because they might
have a creative solution that they've done for another client in the past that
they can then do for you.


Put yourself in the objector's shoes. Empathy is key. I always think this
one is very obvious, but I'm told that it's not. This is something that's
really, really important when it comes to working with other people. The reason
you've been hired, or the reason you're hiring someone, is to help you succeed.
That can be a very personal thing. It determines how people perform. It
determines how people are reviewed in their jobs. It's a very, very personal
thing.


So putting yourself in someone shoes will help you understand some of the
feedback you're getting on some of these. Maybe someone rejected your
recommendation because it was completely the opposite of something that they,
themselves, had championed before bringing you on board. Understanding that you
might be coming in and, unbeknownst to you, possibly destroying some of the work
or negating some of the work that the person you're now working directly with
had put into place, and the sort of emotions and feelings behind that, might
help you approach rephrasing your recommendation in another way.


Also, some internal road blocks, understanding how challenging and
frustrating it might be to know what the right thing is to do and not be able to
do it. Be creative. This is a huge, huge thing. Really, really talented SEOs
have the ability to apply an artistry to the science that is SEO. Having the
ability to be creative with your recommendations, to make sure that there are
things that your client can implement, is extremely powerful, and it will get
you a long-term client.


Do unto others, the golden rule. Again, something that seems pretty obvious,
but it can be easy to forget when we get caught up in the passion and the
frustration of the way we pour our heart and souls into the work that we do,
especially when we feel misunderstood or maybe under-appreciated by the client.
For example, if someone doesn't like your business model, if someone would
rather speak to one of the consultants that's working on their project, instead
of maybe their account manager, or maybe somebody wants to speak to someone more
senior than the person they've been assigned to, there are a lot of different
ways that accounts are serviced, and that is a tough decision to make as an
organization.


So something that I like to point out is to know that the sales process
never ends. If somebody doesn't understand your business model, then that could
be part of the challenge. So never forget that you need to stay on your toes
with your clients. You always need to help them understand why they're working
with you, why we're doing everything we can to make them be successful, and
don't forget to be on your best behavior and pull out all the stops. You know,
don't get lazy just because you have a client already locked down. This will
help them get a better appreciation for things like the way you choose to run
your business.


Compromise when you can. That's really, really important. Sometimes we just
have to compromise. We can't draw a hard line in the sand. I think this is
really, really hard for some people, particularly when it might seem very clear
cut from a technical perspective. For example, with your process, I know that we
have that challenge sometimes internally, when we're doing creative things. For
example, if we're creating a infographic for a client, and the client might have
a different vision, and sometimes we need to really take that vision into
consideration and understand why it's important to them, what we can do on our
end, even if it might be outside of what we would typically recommend. If it's
something that goes more towards the goals that the client has laid out for us,
sometimes we might just have to do a little compromising.


But in this, trust is essential. So when your process needs to be
compromised, make sure it's happening, not to appease a client, but because the
client trusts you and you trust the client. You trust that the client knows that
you're going outside of your process, and this might mean sacrifices in other
areas, and the client will be less likely to challenge your process if they
trust that you have their best interests at heart and that you understand their
business. So trust is really, really important when overcoming this particular
objection.


Then don't compromise when you shouldn't. This is very, very, very
important, and also something that's very difficult. Sometimes you do have to
draw a line in the sand. Sometimes you do have to say no. Sometimes you do have
to walk away, because respect is very, very important. I'm going to use this as
it relates to your staff, but again, everything on this checklist can apply to
all of these objections.


When it relates to your staff, you might have a client who doesn't treat one
of your staff members very well. I don't like to compromise in that situation.
Now if it's a situation where someone on my team has dropped the ball or has
done something disrespectful, which hasn't happened, under my watch at least, I
believe and I support my team, and I think that's really, really important. If
you support and you invest in your team and that's visible to the client, then
there are times when you shouldn't compromise, and you should hold your ground,
because respect on a mutual level for your client, and the work they do, and for
them to have that for you, creates a much better foundation for a long-lasting
client relationship.


So that's all I have for today. Thank you so much. I look forward to seeing
all of you at MozCon. I will be speaking there, and I hope to meet some of you
in person. Thanks.




Video transcription by Speechpad.com

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