“Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.” – Zig Ziglar
Whether or not you think you’re in sales as a health + wellness practitioner (you are) you’ve probably heard those objections from people before. It could be potential patients expressing an interest in working with you or your existing clients and patients griping about coming back, at some point they’ve said:
“I’m really busy right now – I’ll start coming in again in a few months” – they never do
“This is all going to cost a lot. I don’t have the money right now”
Or even “I’m fine. I’ve been living like this for so long, it’s just normal”
How do you respond?
Do you just say “ok, no problem” and let them move on (losing a client or patient in the process) or do you acknowledge the obstacle and figure out a way to help them see the truth of the situation?
I’ll let you in on a secret. It’s not number 1. Objections are literally as common as kale in smoothies whenever you are working with people. We all have objections. These objections are not necessarily based on fact or truth.
We as humans have this weird innate desire to say “no” to things. Usually if they are hard or require effort.
People generally know what they should do but they look to you, as the authority to give them that final push.
Part of your job is to bring the REAL reality to light so they can make an informed and educated decision.
Especially when it comes to their health, you as the expert need to take a stand. You need to have the confidence to KNOW the solution you’re offering is worth their time, money, energy
AND have the ability to actually communicate that to them so you can turn those “no’s” into “yes’s”
That’s how you transform prospects into patients and patients into committed and loyal patients who see LONG TERM RESULTS (because then those are the people who will become your biggest fans and best referral sources).
Overcoming objections is nothing more than knowing what to confidently say and there are 5 common ones health + wellness practitioners hear all the time.
I’m giving you the secrets and scripts so next time you’re hit with “It’s too expensive” you know just what to say to turn that “no” into a “yes”.
NO NEED: “I’m fine. I don’t need this right now”
As you are probably well aware, SO many people suffer for far longer than is necessary because they don’t even know themselves what they need when it comes to feeling or getting better.
They don’t know what the solution is to their problem or even that they have a problem.
For instance: I know someone who thought it was normal to wake up every morning with a headache (crazy I know). She had no idea that it was 1) abnormal and 2) she had TMJ – so of course she didn’t think she needed her massage therapist to help her with that.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
1) Think like them: She knows she has headaches (symptoms) and that she’d love to not have headaches (outcome of your treatment) but she has no clue she has TMJ (problem) so of course if you mention TMJ she’ll think she doesn’t need treatment for it.
The key is to think about the problem as your clients and patients see it which is often based on the symptoms or pain points…how it’s affecting their life.
When you’re writing or speaking about how you can help someone speak about the outcome and solutions they can see (through their eyes)
2) Ask questions: the best way to overcome objections is to ask pointed questions that let them realize the truth for themselves (that’s how you get people excited to work with you rather than feeling like you’re forcing them)
In this example a question might be:
“how are you currently dealing with your daily headaches? — Would you like to relieve them?”
NO MONEY: “I don’t have insurance. I can’t afford it.”
This is one of the most common objections you’ll hear, especially if you aren’t covered under insurance. And in some instances people probably shouldn’t be spending their last dollar on your services. BUT in most cases, it’s simply about prioritizing their health and wellbeing and understanding how today’s health translates into tomorrow’s wellbeing.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
Use this script:
After they say they don’t have the money for treatment
“Where do you want to be next year – how do you want to feel?”
They answer.
“Do you think you can get to that place without this?”
If no – move down to B
If yes…
“From my professional perspective, if you don’t deal with this today, in 1 year you’ll have XYZ and treatment for that generally costs at least twice as much” – explain symptoms and problems as they understand
B) “If money wasn’t an issue, would you still want to move forward?”
Usually they’ll say yes
“If we had a way to make it work within your budget would you be interested?”
If yes then…
“Cool, what is your budget and let’s see if we can make a treatment plan that suits you”
Let them tell you and you can see if a few highly targeted treatments might work for them.
And the truth is, once you’re IN it, if you’re doing a great job they’re going to keep coming.
NO HURRY: “I’m so busy right now. I just don’t have the time”
I equate no hurry to the idea that they’re in no hurry to make the time. I’d say this is the top objection or right up there with no money.
Everyone’s busy. No one has the time and no one ever seems to want to make their health a priority…even when it SO needs to be.
Similarly to the “no money” objection, they need to understand that their problem needs to be made a priority today to avoid larger (and more time consuming) problems in the future.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
Use this script:
After they say they don’t have the money for treatment
“Where do you want to be next year – how do you want to feel?”
They answer
“Do you think you can get to that place without committing the time to coming in?”
If no – move down to B
If yes…
“From my professional perspective, if you don’t deal with this today, in 1 year you’ll have XYZ and treatment for that will take you twice as long…if we can even reverse it at all. The time for you is right now” – explain symptoms and problems as they understand
B) “If time wasn’t an issue, would you still want to move forward?”
Usually they’ll say yes
“If we had a way to make it work within your schedule would you be interested?”
If yes then…
“Cool, what is your schedule like and let’s see if we can make a treatment plan that suits you”
Let them tell you what kind of scheduling they need and see if you can work that into your existing schedule OR if you’re willing to take them at a different time, longer but fewer appointments, shorter but more appointments, etc.
The key is to drill down to IF time is actually a problem or if its just what they’re saying is the problem.
NO DESIRE: “I can’t make this decision right now”
Sometimes this is a legitimate objection. Depending on where someone is in the buying cycle and their own decision making process they may just be researching practitioners or their own problem.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
1) Guide their journey: I truly don’t believe you can (or should) manipulate someone in to working with you. It’s not a way to build a lasting relationship. And some people are really not ready to make a decision yet BUT you can help guide them in their process of research and show them what the next step is in solving their problem.
A great way to do this is by offering them something for free – like a guide or a free consultation where they can learn more and also be guided towards the next stage of the decision making process without having to make a big commitment.
2) Create a sense of urgency: Sometimes all people need to make a decision is a deadline. Encourage people to take action (book in with you) by creating scarcity or a deadline.
Use phrases like “I have only a few spots left in my calendar over the next few weeks”,
“my schedule is getting full this week. After that we’ll have to put you on the waitlist”,
“Until tomorrow, I’m inviting people to book in with me. After that my schedule will be closed to new clients until XYZ”
NO TRUST: “I don’t know you well enough”
People may not tell you this one but often if there is no other objection, lack of trust is what they’re feeling.
Someone who is going to put their faith (not to mention their time, money, health) in a practitioner needs to KNOW, LIKE and TRUST them first.
Only about 3% of people will book in with a practitioner they know absolutely nothing about.
You can build this K-L-T factor through your messaging and marketing.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
1) Let your ideal clients know you understand them: This goes back to what I said number one. Deliver your message how your prospective clients want to hear it.
Speak about their problems how they think about them – how it’s impacting their life, their body, their relationships. What feelings do they have?
This let’s them know you understand what they’re going through and builds trust.
2) Educate your clients: People want solutions to their problems. If they feel you can deliver that solution that trust factor will be built much faster.
Give them information that they are searching for, answer their most burning questions and ideally do it publicly (on social media, on your blog etc).
These online resources are excellent ways to establish yourself as a credible expert in your field (which also builds that trust factor).
For every objection there is the real underlying reason and it’s your job to figure out what that is and speak to that (in your client’s words) so you can lead them to the real truth about their treatments and health.
This is how you’ll convert more “no’s” into “yes’s” at every stage of the customer journey and boost those bookings!
The key is to practice these scripts and strategies so you can deliver them confidently the next time you’re greeted with an objection.
And when you do, jump onto Facebook and let me know how it went!
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