There are two kinds of objections at play when prospects and clients say they won’t buy: the one they tell you and the real reason.

Cost and tight finances are often-cited objections, but chances are they’re really an excuse covering up a deeper reason. To uncover the hidden why, keep asking questions. A simple query like, “That’s interesting, is there any other reason why you cannot go ahead?” is a tactic advocated by Frank Bettger, sales expert and author of the groundbreaking book, “How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling.” Alex Braun, a 28-year MDRT member and Bettger adherent, came upon the real objection by accident decades ago by asking the right question during a first appointment with an upholstery business owner.

They met after business hours at the upholsterer’s shop. The fact-find revealed that his wife never worked, never will work, he was the sole income earner, had a mortgage and very little in the way of assets. He wanted the mortgage to be paid off in the event of his death. Braun worked out that he would need a $250,000 life insurance policy, which would have an annual premium of about $200 to $300. Not too expensive, but the prospect was not happy with the proposal. He even told Braun he could afford the premium but he still wouldn’t buy the coverage.

“All I thought of is that this bloke doesn’t love his wife. As I was leaving to go out the door, I turned back and said, ‘Can I ask you a question? What if I can arrange a will? In the event of your death, your wife will get so much, and so much can be set aside for your children and nobody can touch that money.’”

Turns out that he did love his wife. As Braun filled out the application, the new client said without being asked, “You may be wondering why I didn’t go ahead in the first place. My wife is the loveliest person in the world, and I know one thing. If she gets the money, she’ll give it away to her sisters because she’s got a good heart, and they’ll jump on her.”

Ruminating on that case, Braun said, “I came across the solution not because I’m clever; it was an accident. But what is the most difficult objection? The objection that you don’t know.”

The objection process

No matter where in the world advisors practice, the objections they encounter are universal and predictable. Among the common ones are:

Let me think about it.
I need to ask my spouse.
I can’t afford it.
I’m rich and don’t need insurance.
I prefer stocks and real estate.
Insurance is a scam.

Advisors often fail at fielding objections by defending their pitch or overloading clients with technical jargon about the product, said 23-year MDRT member Sanjay Tolani, Ph.D., MBA. He sees objections as opportunities to understand the client’s concerns and a chance to build credibility. So, don’t challenge the client’s objection as being false or misguided, he said. Accept their belief, and don’t become defensive with your pitch or overload clients with details.

Among the classic objection-handling techniques are feel, felt, found (FFF) and acknowledge, relate, turnaround (ART). Both processes are very similar in structure and purpose, as they seek to build rapport, reduce confrontation and encourage reconsideration. Both start with either a show of empathy (feel) or validating a concern (acknowledge). The next stage is explaining that other clients expressed the same concern (felt) or connecting the client’s concern to other clients who expressed similar opinions (relate). Finally, the advisor shares a positive outcome (found) or reframes the concern in a positive way (turnaround).

A slight variant from FFF and ART is a four-step process Tolani calls the Universal Objection Circle, which he contends will enable advisors to handle any objection. Acknowledging the objection is the first step. Show that you understand the objection from their perspective with responses like, “I’m glad to know this is of concern for you,” or “I understand where you are coming from.”

The right query is the second step. Rather than responding specifically to the expressed reason, ask the right question that sparks a conversation. If the objection is “I want to ask my wife,” he’ll say, “While you are asking your wife, would you like me to give you free insurance just in case something goes wrong?”

Love objections. It is the client’s way to say: Tell me more. Why should I buy your product or service?
—Anthony Longley

Then he proceeds to the third step — giving a solution and an example — by presenting other clients who are doing what you’re recommending them to do: “The insurance has a free-look period — 14 or 21 days depending on the product and market — so while you are asking your wife, you’re covered until you decide to cancel.”

Finally, make the solution relatable to their situation: “I work with many clients who want to ask their wives, and there’s nothing wrong with doing that. While you are asking, I want to make sure that you are protected.” Then ask for the signature.

“If you don’t ask for the signature, you don’t get the signature,” Tolani said.

If the objection is “I don’t have money,” an advisor can say “I understand your problem” and ask, “If you don’t have money to buy insurance, can you afford to die?” Then proceed to the next step — give a solution and an example of someone else doing what you’re recommending them to do. In this case, Tolani’s objection handling would go something like this: “Let me tell you what other clients with a similar problem do. We put the insurance on their credit card, so you have 30 days to find out where the money will come from. If you can’t come up with the money, you can cancel the charge, and I’ve given you insurance during the free-look period. Would you like that?” The advisor can then lead to the close by simply saying, “Please sign here.”

As most objections are “smoke screens,” there is a way to determine the genuine reason from the false one, said 35-year MDRT member Anthony J. Longley, LUTCF.

“Love objections,” Longley said. “It is the client’s way to say: Tell me more. Why should I buy your product or service?”

While acknowledging the concern or showing empathy are fundamental elements of the objection-handling process, when to do so can vary. Longley’s initial step is to ignore the objection the first time it comes up. If the objection comes up a second time, he acknowledges and politely defers it. But if the objection arises again, then it’s a genuine reason for the prospect/client not to proceed. At this point, Longley will acknowledge and restate it for clarity.

Again, objections are universal and predictable, and Longley breaks them into five categories:

Need— I have plenty of wealth and don’t need insurance.
Money— The cost does not fit into my budget.
Confidence— I can realize better returns with stocks or real estate.
Hurry— Let me sleep on it; I’ll get back to you later.
Love— My spouse will remarry after I die and will be fine, or I don’t want their next partner to get the money.

Having a practiced answer for every objection is impossible, so Longley recommends learning two responses to address each category and then cater to their emotion. When clients and prospects think about money, they tend to make decisions with the limbic, or emotional, part of their brain, more so than through the neocortex, or rational part.

“Where I see a lot of advisors make a mistake is they will lead with logical reasons to do something,” said Alessandro M. Forte, CFP, FCII, a 27-year MDRT member. “They might say, ‘What if you didn’t come home from work today and there was no insurance? Your family’s situation would deteriorate because there would be no money.’ A client might understand the logical reasons to do something about it, but unless there’s a fundamental commitment to take action, they’re not going to do anything.”

Forte’s objection-handling strategy is to get the prospect/client to think unrealistically by asking, “If money were not an object, or if you could wave a magic financial wand, what’s the earliest date you would want to retire? How much money would your family need to complete your children’s education in the event of your death?”

“I want them to start attaching their thinking to financial outcomes. Then my job is to justify with logical reasons for doing something,” Forte said.

Like Tolani and Longley, Forte’s first step in his objection-handling process is to welcome it. You’re not agreeing with the reason, but advisors make the mistake of automatically, even subconsciously, pushing back. Second is create empathy. Let the person know you think the same way they would. Third is the most important step: Ask a logical question.

“If someone says to me, ‘I’ve got no money,’ but I can see they have some net disposable income, I’ll ask the left-brain question, which is ‘If I could show you how I work with my other clients to create money they didn’t have before they met me, would that be of value?’” Forte said. “What I’ve been able to do is get a yes from the client who gives me more information, and that ultimately is the pathway to handling the objection successfully.”

Most valuable asset

Most people look at their income in 12-month increments, which might explain why the cost of insurance being too expensive or not fitting into a budget are common reasons prospects/clients say no. One strategy that can overcome that challenge is get them to conceptualize the value of their income over a lifetime, said Adam McCann, CFP, DFP.

The 17-year MDRT member begins this exercise by drawing a triangle on a whiteboard to illustrate the three drivers of a prospect’s financial situation. He’ll ask them to identify their most valuable asset. If they’re homeowners, they’ll probably tell him how much they estimate their property is worth. For this example, it’s $500,000, and he writes that figure on the board. Next, McCann writes “income” below the triangle and does a simple math calculation using the prospect’s annual income and how many more years they expect to work before retiring. For instance, if a 40-year-old client earns $100,000 a year and wants to retire at 65, their earning potential is $2.5 million, which is more than the value of the home.

On the triangle’s left side, he writes “debt” — how much is left to be paid on the mortgage — and “cost of living” — and notes that if they have children, the cost of living expense will increase every year until they’re adults. He labels the right side “wealth” — the value of the home, retirement accounts, stocks, building up the value of a business for a business owner.

“We don’t care how you build your wealth; we’re wealth agnostic,” McCann tells the prospect as he circles the triangle by drawing an arrow starting from the wealth side. “But we’re in the business of helping people build financial security. By the time you get to 65, you moved from being in a position where you’re getting out of bed in the morning to go to work so you can pay your debt and cover your cost of living, to having passive assets that are generating income that replaces what you did working day to day.”

Then he points to the bottom of the triangle.

“Yet the big driver is the income,” McCann said. “The big question for you at the moment is: What could stop that income from coming in? It could be death, disability or losing your business. But the most likely thing is a health event and income stops. So, what’s your Plan B? How are you going to service your debt? How are you going to keep up with the cost of living, and most importantly, how are you going to guarantee that you’re going to be financially independent?”

Now that McCann has shown potential income is the most valuable asset that warrants protection, the conversation moves beyond the objection stage to discussing which insurance solutions are appropriate.

Preempt the objection

Don’t run away from objections, but also don’t wait until the end of the meeting to take them on, said Claudia B. Donoso, a marketing and persuasion expert and 2022 MDRT Annual Meeting presenter.

“By then, their minds are closed, and it’s too late,” Donoso said, explaining that the reptilian brain — the emotional, limbic part of the consumer’s mind — is seeking someone to trust and ultimately decides whether to buy from you. If you argue with the objection, you’re telling the prospect/client that your interest is above theirs. But if you validate their objection, you’re keeping the brain from shutting you out.

“Objections are the best thing that can happen in a sale,” she said. “They’re saying, ‘For me to trust you, I have to make an objection. If I don’t trust you, I don’t ask.’ So, use objections as fuel to connect deeper with the mind of your potential client. Put the most frequent objections you hear on the table, and answer them early during the meeting. Doing so will open people up and make them more comfortable to trust you.”

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