TELECOMMUTING OBJECTION HANDLING GUIDE

[NOTE: You are welcome to distribute and link to this guide without restrictions, except that it may not be included in any printed or published work without prior permission. Please include the following credit line when this guide is used:
"This guide was developed by Gil Gordon Associates. For more information on telecommuting and related topics, visit www.gilgordon.com." ]

A. Introduction

Whether you're new to telecommuting or have years of experience, you know that you're likely to hear numerous objections from managers, clients, and other decision-makers when you're trying to implement telecommuting.

It's often frustrating to hear objections - especially if you've heard them before and feel they are not justified - but it's important to remember that an objection is often a buying signal in disguise. Someone who offers an objection is reacting to your ideas or proposal and is able to be engaged in a conversation about them. The person who doesn't respond at all or just rejects an idea completely is probably not going to show any interest no matter what you do.

Therefore, it's important to learn how to recognize, understand, and work with those objections when we hear them. That's why I have provided this guide for your use. It isn't meant to be the ultimate answer to all the problems and challenges of introducing telecommuting, nor is it meant to be a slick selling tool that will manipulate or trick anyone.

Instead, it is a tool that gives you some tips and guidance about how you can acknowledge and deal with the objections when you hear them - and then move forward toward acceptance and implementation. The key is to be curious about the other person's issues, question them without judging them, and once you have listened completely, move on to dealing with them.

[Note: This guide is based on an earlier version that was developed by Barry Rhein of Barry Rhein and Associates, which provides sales and communications training. For more information on the firm's services, contact Barry Rhein at:
PO Box 1710
Los Gatos, CA
95030 408-267-1234
barryrh@rheins.com
I appreciate having Barry's permission to use the guide for this site, and for his comments on an earlier draft of the guide.]

As you will see, much of this guide is written using terms and situations that refer to sales and selling. That doesn't mean it applies only to people whose job is to "sell telecommuting" as a consultant or account executive. If you're an employee in your organization and you have the responsibility (or desire) to help persuade a decision-maker to implement telecommuting, you are in fact in a selling situation. The manager or executive across the desk from you is not unlike a prospect or customer - you're trying to get that person to say "yes" to what you are proposing or suggesting. If that's not "selling" then nothing is.

B. First, A Word About The Sales Process

There are countless books, videos, training programs and other resources available to help you learn about selling and how to "get the order." This guide doesn't replace or in any way compete with those resources, but it is based on some underlying principles that are common to many of them:

1. "Selling" vs. "Buying" - The term "selling" often has a negative connotation for many people. It brings up visions of used-car salesmen or other excessively outgoing, back-slapping, and slightly devious salespeople we have encountered. That's unfortunate, because a true sales professional will tell you that it's almost impossible to "sell" something to someone who doesn't have a need for that product or service. Instead, the sales professional concentrates on uncovering and satisfying the needs expressed or felt by the potential customer. In that sense, the customer is the buyer as much or more than the salesperson is the seller. That's why the foundation of most effective sales techniques is the process of determining and meeting those needs.

2. Telling vs. Listening - It's impossible to meet a need unless the salesperson can learn what it is. And you can't learn about a need - especially if the prospective customer or client isn't fully aware of it - unless you seek and then listen to information from the other person. A sales situation in which the salesperson spends most of the time talking is almost never as useful as one in which the salesperson says less and listens (and hears) more. The key to this listening process - essential for uncovering the needs - is a careful process of asking probing questions.

3. Responding vs. Asking - When someone says something we disagree with, we all have a natural tendency to respond with our own opinions and counter-arguments. That's why so many conversations turn out like debates, with rapidly-escalating loudness and rapidly-declining logic. The effective salesperson learns to control that urge and instead to react to statements with questions, not answers or counter-arguments. It is only by asking questions that we can understand exactly what the prospective customer has in mind, and thus learn how we can tailor the presentation to respond to any underlying concerns or doubts.

There's another reason to discipline ourselves to ask questions instead of immediately responding with our own answers: a question engages the other person and helps create a more meaningful exchange and a better relationship, because it shows we are interested in what that person has to say. You can't move forward with telecommuting - or anything else - with a reluctant prospect unless and until you manage to create a climate in which that person is talking with you, not just listening to you.

That's why you'll notice that the following guide consists exclusively of a series of probing questions that you can use when confronted with resistance or skepticism. The guide does not contain data, case studies, support statements or other forms of proof for the point you are trying to make. The contention is that you don't need, and can't make good use of, those things until and unless you have gotten to the heart of your prospect's objections. The main reason to ask questions like these is to uncover the true concerns and needs of the prospect - and then to use that information to help you tailor your presentation and to provide information to address the concerns.

C. Questions, Questions and More Questions

As you read through the rest of this guide, please keep these points in mind:

1. Don't Be a "Broken Record" - You will notice that some of the questions in various sections are similar, and they in fact are generic open-ended probing questions intended to elicit more information about almost any topic. The good news is that you can use these and similar questions just about anytime - but the bad news is that if you use them frequently and repeatedly you'll sound like a very annoying broken record. Vary your questions, your tone, and even your gestures and facial responses (if you're meeting in person or by videoconference) to add variety.

2. Open, Probe, Listen, Probe More - The guide begins with a series of initial questions (Section D) that are intended to open the conversation and begin to draw out the other person. Note that while some of these start with a statement, they all end with a question - a question that should give you useful information with which to engage the other person. These are the kinds of questions that might be useful in your initial or early contacts with a prospect.

The second set of questions (Section E) are called "Layering/Probing Questions" and are meant to help you go a layer or two deeper into understanding what might be on your counterpart's mind. These are truly generic questions, and they're included here just to give you some alternative wording and ways of asking for more information. Finally, the remaining questions (Sections F through K) are organized by topic or typical objection. These would be used later on in your conversation when you get to the point of hearing specific objections and need to respond to them.

D. Initial Questioning

1. What has your understanding been about the benefits of telecommuting?

2. I've just done some research on the possible effects of telecommuting on employee retention and effectiveness. What would be the best way for me to present what I've learned to our management team?

3. What obstacles do you think might get in the way of management giving the okay for a limited telecommuting trial?

4. What factors would you take into account if you were considering whether to give telecommuting a try in your organization?

5. As you know, you've had some good results with the handful of informal telecommuters in your department. What would be the best way for us to explore how to move to a somewhat more formal approach?

E. Layering & Probing Questions

1. Tell me more about ...

2. What are your thoughts about how we could ...

3. Can you elaborate on that a bit more ...

4. What did you mean when you said ...

5. I'm confused. What do you mean by ....

6. Can you please give me some examples of ...

7. What else is on your mind about ...

8. What are you seeing as the pros and cons about ...

F. "Telecommuting Costs Too Much" objection

1. What do you base that on?

2. Can you tell me what aspects of the costs concern you?

3. Yes, there are some costs to consider - but there are also some offsetting benefits. Would it be helpful if we compared the two?

4. What would happen if it really didn't cost as much as you might think - how would that affect your decision to proceed?

5. How so? What have you heard about the costs involved?

6. What cost factors in particular are of interest to you?

7. Would you be interested if we could look at those costs along with the costs of not implementing telecommuting - for example, the cost of employee turnover and recruitment?

8. Every new project requires an investment. Can we take a look at those costs and how they might be recovered over time?

G. "There's No Way to Know What They're Doing at Home" objection

1. Why do you say that?

2. What kind of information would you need to make you more comfortable?

3. Let's say I could show you that you'll know almost as much about what they're doing at home as when they're in the office - would you be willing to give a pilot program a try?

4. What if it turned out that people in certain jobs are actually more effective while telecommuting?

5. If you could arrange for regular contact times with your telecommuters, and could be sure they will check their voice mail and e-mail at specific intervals, would this address your concerns?

6. Can we talk about how you know what your people are doing when they're in the office?

7. That's a good point. However, can we talk about the difference between knowing what your people are doing vs. seeing the results they are producing?

H. "This Won't Work for All Employees" objection

1. That's right - it won't. Would it help if we could talk about the selection criteria?

2. What kinds of employees do you think it might work for?

3. How so? What are your concerns about how telecommuting might be a problem for some of your people?

4. That's correct. But if we could find a way to get the right people involved, what might happen then?

5. What are your thoughts on the kind of person who would make a good telecommuter?

6. Good point - telecommuting does require a certain set of skills. What might those skills include?

I. "We Just Don't Have the Resources to Manage Telecommuting" objection

1. Oh? What kind of resources are you thinking would be required?

2. If we could find a way around that obstacle, how would you feel about moving ahead with a small group?

3. Would it be helpful if we discussed the ways some other organizations are managing their telecommuting programs?

4. What are your concerns about the administration that might be needed?

5. I can see how that would be a concern. If I could do some research on ways to manage telecommuting with limited resources, how might that information help you make a decision about proceeding?

J. "Telecommuting Just Won't Work Around Here" objection

1. Why is that?

2. Why don't you think it would work?

3. What it is about this organization that makes you say that?

4. What might need to change so telecommuting would work here?

5. How do you think we could address those issues?

K. "We Can't Do Business If the Telecommuters Aren't Accessible" objection

1. It sounds like you're concerned the telecommuters won't be available if you need them. How might that be a problem?

2. What are some of the obstacles you're envisioning?

3. That's an interesting point. How might this compare to the availability of employees while they're in the office?

4. What kind of access would you need to make you feel you could get the information you needed when you need it from your telecommuters?

5. If we could implement telecommuting in a way that ensured the telecommuters were in the office on a set schedule each week, how might that help address your concerns?

L. Summary

You probably found most of the questions useful, some of them perfect, and some of them absolutely inappropriate for you. If so, simply change the wording of the ones that were inappropriate into something that you can hear yourself saying more confidently and more comfortably. There's nothing magical about these suggested wordings; they're only meant to be examples and guides, and you should customize these questions as you need to.

If you have other questions you would like to see added to any of these sections, please email me and let me know where they should be and whether or not you'd like me to attribute the question to you.

Good luck!