A million thoughts passed through my mind, including: Why is he calling two-way radios “dogs that won't hunt?” He almost missed the Styrofoam cup that time and spit on my shoe. What did I learn about how to handle objections like this in sales training? Share appreciation for the customer's concern, rephrase it to expose the true concern, and turn it into a question you can then answer.

What happened next happened very quickly. It was similar to what happened once at a birthday party that I took my five-year-old son to. The eight-month pregnant mother of the birthday boy, wearing a snug, blue maternity top no sooner opened the front door to her home when my son blurted out, “Wow, Daddy, she looks like the blue blow-up whale in our pool.”

“We really can't stay,” I said as I turned toward my car and simultaneously handed her the present.

“I understand!” she said as she firmly closed the front door.

I can't remember what I said to Raymond. It was something like, “I understand your concern. So you're worried that the base station won't be able to hunt … uhhh … I mean, talk … to the spensive … I mean, expensive dogs?”

Raymond turned immediately and got into his truck while simultaneously spitting into his Hardee's cup. “Thanks fer yur time,” he said. “Don't bleeve I need 'em!”

“I understand,” I said as his truck passed, splashing water on my already soaking wet shoes.

In time, I learned that the key to handling a prospect's objections was to learn how to listen. It is important to listen to gain an understanding, rather than listening and thinking about what you are going to say. The rest of “objection handling” came easy.

I also learned I needed to better understand what my product could and could not do. Sometimes “Dogs won't hunt!” and that would have been the case had Mr. Thacker purchased two-way radios for his trucks. I later learned there was no two-way radio coverage on the side of the mountain where Mr. Thacker's trucks operated. His truck drivers would not have been able to hear or talk to the dispatcher at the base station.

Dan Norman is a sales performance expert, a professional speaker and the author of Top Ten Selling. He can be reached at www.toptenselling.com or 407-566-9741.