Chapter 2: Handling Objection

What Happens After No

We all will have the unfortunate privilege of interacting with someone that is difficult to work with in our personal or professional lives. We can check our actions and behaviors to ensure we are not making the same mistake as others may have with the same customer or person (managers, co-workers, spouse etc.). Acknowledge and address objections rather than ignoring or dismissing them. Grabbing the objections off the table when they are added allow us to gain better insight and understanding of the situation. A “No” in business rarely means that all the facts have been considered and all options have been exhausted. It’s usually our way of protecting ourselves from unknown outcomes from in the agreement. When we offer a solution to a speaker/customer, and they refuse or reject our offer, we can ask open ended questions to see if there is something we missed. For example, A customer calls in and angry and only wants to talk to a manager/supervisor. We ask if there is anything we can do to help and they say No. What do you do? Take a moment and think about what you will do. Most of us would connect the customer to a manager and move on with our day. However, we can take a few steps prior to the transfer if we ask the right questions.

We should try to avoid asking if there is anything we can do because there is, we can get a manager or supervisor to talk to the caller as they have requested. Instead, of asking if there is anything we can do we should ask if we can learn more about the issue before we escalate or transfer the call. Additionally, we can add we want to help them avoid repeating him or herself once they’re transferred to someone else. While documenting the call, researching the caller’s history and looking for notes we can use to reference or ask questions about the previous calls during our current interaction. For example, I see you spoke with my colleague Asia yesterday about this same issue. How long has this been a problem for you? Give the speaker room to reason with your request for more information and respond to your inquiry before asking another question. When we respond we should search for opportunities to apply an empathic ear and explore alternative solutions to overcome of the objections the customer may have of us.

If someone objects to your solution, remember it’s not on you or what you are offering, they are objecting to the ideas you’ve presented. Do not take it personally. Balance the objection with open-ended questions that carry the conversation forward. Repeat the problem and wait to see if you’ve got it right and offer your solution. If your solution is rejected then ask a follow-up question to temperature check the solution and situation. For example, it seems like I don’t have all the facts right. Given what you have told me, the next logical step(s) for me is to _____________. What about this doesn’t work for you? Always remember that their anger and objections are not validation for something being wrong with you. Sometimes we are just on the receiving end of a long day someone’s had before they got to us.

Avoid These

• Don’t ask why questions. Why question can seem accusatory
• Don’t say I know how you feel, because we have no idea
• Don’t say No, use not yet instead
• Don’t take it personally, because it’s not your fault
• Don’t say how can I help you don’t know if you can yet

Try These

• Ask for a name and use their name where it makes sense but try not to over use their name
• Ask what and how questions to learn how they can help you resolve the problem. Remember they have all the information and we just meet them so take some time to collect as much information as possible before ending the transaction
• Use Looks like, seems like or sounds like to capture emotions or the problem stated
• Try to picture what they are saying and how the story is being told to help guide your “how and what questions”
• Wait for long pauses to jump into the conversation and ask question to help the speaker understand their thoughts and to help satisfy your own curiosity

The Importance of Taking Notes

“ Productive Conversations, Conference Calls, and Meetings “

Our fast-paced professional landscape requires effective communication and effective communication is a cornerstone of our success in business. Whether we are engaging in a conversation, participating in a conference call, or attending a meeting, talking notes is a critical element of capturing action items or referring to next steps for a project or plan. It also doubles as a strategic skill that enhances comprehension, retention, and collaboration. Note taking transforms passive listening into active participation. Jotting down key points, ideas, and questions we have can help to prevent our minds from wandering. Try not to copy word for word when taking notes, we can always go back and clean up our notes after the meeting which is also a good practice and great habit to build. It’s also a good record keeping habit to get into over our perforessional journey.

Effective teamwork hinges on clear communication and knowledge sharing. Post-meeting, these notes can be shared with team members who may not have been present during the meeting and it ensuring everyone remains aligned and informed. The act of note sharing cultivates an environment of transparency and inclusivity, promoting a sense of unity toward common objectives. For example, if you know one of your colleagues can not make it to class next week. You can agree to share your notes with them ahead of the class scheduled date so they can keep up with the lessons.

Checklist: Taking Notes

1. What information do I need? Who needs to see these notes?
2. Record only the most important ideas and concepts. Be sure to record all vital names, dates, and definitions.
3. When in doubt about whether to take a note, consider the difficulty of finding the source again, would you be able go back to the session?
4. Take screenshots and highlight key areas covered
5. Give proper credit to any resource used to find the answers:
   1. Title
   2. Published Date
   3. URL
6. Record notes in a way that you find efficient and useful for outlining the steps taken to solve the problem
7. Check your notes for accuracy against the original material before moving on to another topic of interest

Planning or Running a Meeting

We may be called to run a meeting for our department or to present a report of our findings to a larger team. We should get familiar with Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint Slides to build our slide decks and more importantly outline a meeting agenda. We should aim to send the meeting notes ahead of our meeting. Below are a few key elements to get started.

1. Determine your purpose, what do you want you audience to know or learn
2. Consider your audience, what do they already know about your presentation
3. Gather the details, do you research to collect all the related information to your report
4. Create an agenda for the meeting that give a high level outline of the topics you’re going to cover
5. Identify any collaboration that may be needed to create a holistic view of the report
6. Stay on topic, on target and on time

When structure our presentation we should use the the same outline we would use before starting any assignment with three (3) main parts.

1. Introduction: What is the presentation about?
2. Body: How does the story unfold?
3. Closing: What do you want your audience to learn or do once our presentation has ended?

When building our presentation, we should try to use more images than bullets, points and words. Many of our co-workers and leadership team members want to make decisions with the best information available. We should make an attempt to ensure we have quality and not quantity in our presentations. Using charts and other visual-aids will help keep the presentation short and on topic.

Checklist: Visuals Presentation

1. Limit each visual to a single sentence or word that can be quickly read by your audience.(if possible)
2. Use a font size readable from the back of a large room.
3. Limit the number of bulleted or numbered items in lists to five or six per visual, and use numbers if sequence it is important and bullets if not.
4. Keep lists in parallel structure and balanced in content.
5. Make your visuals consistent in font style, size, colors and spacing.
6. Consider the contrast between your text and the background to ensure the text and images are clear to those in the audience.
7. Use only one or two illustrations per visual (or slide) to avoid clutter and confusion.
8. Use graphs and charts to show data trends and timeframes.
9. Avoid overloading your presentation with so many visuals that you distract or tax the audience’s concentration.
10. Avoid using sound or visual effects in presentation software that is a distraction from the content or may seem unprofessional.
11. Do not read the text on your visual word for word. Your audience can read the visuals; they look to us to develop the key points.
12. Match your delivery of the content to visuals. Your visual should complement the context of your topic or subtopic.

Business Writing

We will look at the more technical side of writing in the second (2) weeks of the training. Business writing includes but is not limited to emails, chats servers (Teams, Slack, Discord etc.), social media posts (Facebook, X (Twitter) etc.) and other documentation formats we read or consume while working on the job. While we are employed at a company our social media (Facebook, LinkedIn etc.) are considered a representation of the company. Unless otherwise stated in your posted content or company policy, when/if a reader sees your post and finds it offensive, it can be considered a representation of the company you are employed by at the time. When we post, we should be mindful of what we are posting before we post it, especially if it is on a controversial topic. If you are in doubt, you should consult the marketing or media department before posting on social media accounts. Our social profiles are public information whick means it’s very easy to find out where someone works since we usually post or update our LinkedIn profiles with promotions, job changes and announcements. Some organizations have a media policy that we may need to revisit and review before we comment/post on public facing articles. Be sure to familiarize yourself with any standing policies and review all of the onboarding documents signed upon gaining employment.

Additionally, any communication you have on company software can possibly be reviewed, kept and secured for legal purposes. We should be mindful to only use approved communications on company own systems and equipment to ensure data is kept private and secured. Our emails should follow the same outlines provided in the Presentation Checklist section with an exception on the visuals aids and bullet points. Use bullets to call out important steps or action to be taken to the senders. Try to avoid writing novels in emails since in most cases only the bullet points will be scanned or reviewed. Plan a follow-up email if several days pass before you receive a reply and open with empathy; becuase we never know what someone else may be experiencing at the time we meet them.