Responding to Seller Objections - Thanksgiving Week Musings
November 24, 2020
by a searcher from Harvard University - Harvard Business School in Fort Wayne, IN, USA
Trying to use Thanksgiving week (w/ most owners not willing to meet up!) in a useful way. Did an online course on sales just to try to stay sharp.
In the training, they recommended coming up w/ the top six objections, how those objections are articulated to you, and strategies to respond. Don't know why six is the magic number, but I enjoyed the process. (For my fellow former consultants out there, I acknowledge this list isn't exactly MECE, but it's close enough for searcher work ;)
Thought I'd share it w/ the group to get everyone's thoughts / feedback / ideas. I've personally seen all six of these objections from owners (often multiple ones from the same seller), and I've heard many of the lines in the second column. And I've tried many of the responses w/ varying levels of success. What worked best for you?
Happy Turkey Week everyone! Eat on!
from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, USA
Potential response to “strategics pay more”: It’s true that a strategic buyer may bid high, and I may not be able to offer that same price. They count on the synergies of duplicate resources like finance, HR, and IT and locations they can consolidate. In fact, the more synergies, the higher the premium, especially if they view your company as being able to be absorbed quickly. I don’t have those synergies, I need all your people for the long-term. With deep community ties, I’m here to stay and grow the company.
from Duke University in Virginia Beach, VA, USA