Handling objections shouldn’t be about arguing, it should be about understanding the other person’s response and then positioning your solution in such a way that it reassures the potential customer and entices them to want to learn more about what you’re offering.
So if you’re trying to sell more of your premium video inventory but you keep running into obstacles, then practice handling these 3 common objections to more confidently lead your next sales conversation.
Objection #1: “We get our video for less money.”
If a prospect says this to you, then you should ask them if they know exactly what they’re buying.
The reason you should ask this is because it’s not uncommon for a buyer to believe they are getting only pre-roll when in fact they are also getting mid-roll, post-roll, auto-initiated video, and in-banner video.
For instance, many programmatic offerings don’t provide advertisers with enough visibility to know what they are really getting. In general, the lower the CPM, the less premium the inventory. And blended CPMs can mask a lot of undesirable inventory.
Without the right campaign visibility, there is no way for the advertiser to know exactly what they are buying. Turn this objection around by reassuring your prospective customer that working with you means having full visibility and access to superior reporting capabilities.
Objection #2: “We’ve tried it, but it didn’t work.”
Not exactly what we want to hear, but let’s take a step back and try to understand their response. What is their level of digital knowledge? Was it their first campaign ever? Or have they run other campaigns before they decided it didn’t work?
If you learn the “why” behind the objection, then you will gain greater insight into how to personalize your response while emphasizing the value your solution could bring.
If you get this kind of objection, then you could say something like: Let’s explore what didn't work together. I've heard many stories from other new-to-digital advertisers telling us the same thing. That’s why we’ve taken the approach of offering higher quality service enabling us to provide robust lead generation campaigns using a multi-platform strategy that includes: TV, mobile, social, and custom content integrations.
Take the time to ask and learn the past experiences of your prospective customer. Doing this will foster a better sales conversation as well as provide an opportunity for you to help educate your buyer.
Objection #3: “We’re already buying inventory from you programmatically through an exchange.”
If an advertiser tells you this, then ask how they are precisely targeting the right users?
Depending on their response, you could position your solution as a complement or replacement to their current strategy. Basically what it comes down to in this scenario is data.
Whether it’s first, second or third-party data, the most important thing to understand is the difference between the data sets available, and how they are unique.
First-party data is your data. It’s data that’s created and owned by publishers and marketers themselves. This may include data from actions taken across your website(s); data you have in your CRM; subscription data; social data; or cross-platform data from mobile web or apps.
Second-party data is basically first-party data that you are getting directly from the source. This type of data gives you access to many non-endemic audiences you might not have previously been able to reach.
Third-party data, on the other hand, is generated on other platforms and often aggregated from other websites. Companies such as BlueKai, Peer39, and eXelate sell third party data. These companies are also known as DMPs or Data Aggregators.
The next time an advertiser says they already have access and are buying inventory from you through an existing programmatic vendor or exchange, you can combat this by focusing on the advantages of working directly with you. For example, you’re the only one that has access to your own site’s first-party data, so all other parties serving ads on your website are limited to third or second-party data.
You must utilize your knowledge of data by helping your prospects and customers understand that not all data is equal and then work together to create the right data set to maximize campaign results.
Start handling these common digital video objections more confidently by remembering to focus on the advantages of your solution in terms of campaign visibility, learning your prospective customer’s level of digital knowledge and past buying experiences, as well as highlighting your ability to leverage a unique data set.
