LARA's Secret to Managing Objections

One of the greatest challenges that you face in sales is objections. You may perceive an objection as a rejection, hostility or doubt that the customer is showing for the product or service at offer.

In fact an objection could be viewed as your worst nightmare. Now, consider when you are buying a product or service you have certain objections. So, like you the customer has the right to make objections.

It is crucial for anyone in sales to be aware that selling is the same as customer service. In today’s world of complex selling, it is not about ABC - Always Be Closing, it is time to focus on ABCV - Always Be Creating Value. During sales your client may have many objections and this you have to manage.

The objection could be on pricing, someone else is the decision maker, customer is just fishing for information or you misunderstood the buying signals. Whatever the reason there is a universal secret you can apply in managing objections. It is known as LARA’s secret and you can apply it to all objections:

• Listen: In many objections scenarios the salesperson hasn’t paid attention to what the customer is saying. The core focus is on a transaction rather than serving and adding value to the customer. So, always make that extra effort to actively listen to your customer

• Accept: Ensure both you and the customer are on the same page regarding what is the objection. So, acknowledge that there is an objection and confirm that both of you are clear on what it is.  

• Reflect: This is a great opportunity for you to get a deeper understanding of the UPB (Unique Perceived Benefit). A UPB is your USP from the customer’s perspective.

• Ask questions: Ask the customer questions that will allow you to gauge for solutions. Thus allowing you to provide possible solutions to the objections so the customer can have a clearer comprehension of the product or service in question.  

When you create value it means you are increasing the worth of your service or product for your clients. Note value is not necessary the price, it’s what the customer thinks that is important. An example comes to mind is both Thai Airways and Emirates are rated 4 Star by SkyTrax (is the recognised global airline rating system). Yet generally Emirates has higher prices but still people use it. 

Avoid being defensive when managing objections, be careful of those negative feelings. Remember, responding to objections as above gives you an opportunity to reinforce the value of your offerings. 


My name is Rohit Bassi and I am the founder of In Learning. My mission is about sowing the seeds of passion to help you outperform yourself by enhancing your core critical skills of communication, leadership and collaboration. I have delivered workshops to the likes of Oracle, Harley-Davidson, Emirates NBD, Emaar, Alshaya, Baskin Robbins, Mazda and many more. Please feel free to contact me via rohit@in-learning.com or call on +971-(0)55-553-2275.