Leroy’s Objection

Leroy Ruediger was a captivating conversationalist. He enjoyed talking about anything, the arts, geo-politics, the environment, spirituality, finance, biology, NLP, and whole lot more. However, each and every time during a spell-binding conversation, it never failed. Someone would question him about his birthmark, the one resembling a ship’s anchor and located on his chin. This predictability annoyed him. Eventually, Leroy figured out that the best way to prevent people from inquiring about his unique birthmark while he interacted with them was to bring the subject up before they did, comment on it, then move on. This strategy worked. So much that he stuck with it throughout the years.

Like a large segment of the world’s population, Leroy had dreams. Some were big, others unique. But they were his dreams. And one of them was to be the world’s greatest salesperson. All he wanted was to have the power to sell anything. The ability to – ethically – give a customer exactly what he or she desires, in a manner that resonated with and satisfied every part of their being always appealed to him. Whatever sales profession or position allowing him to make his dream come true was fine with him.

So, after a long and arduous search, his opportunity came when he was hired by a local real-estate firm. It wasn’t long before Leroy received his real estate salesperson license and the firm felt he was competent enough to be on his own.

And off he went with zest, attitude and ambition coursing throughout his veins. Leroy saw as many clients as daylight allowed him to. He worked the pavement weekdays and weekends. Those turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, and guess what? He never made a sale. The firm, impressed by Leroy’s drive, kept him on the team, breaking the company’s prime directive that stated if an individual failed to produce at least one sale within the first ninety days of employment he/she will be terminated. They saw promise in this vibrant being. Leroy’s sticking point was that he couldn’t get around, over, under or through his clients’ objections. According to everyone he had a good “pitch.” And that’s all they taught him, a pitch.

After a disappointing record Leroy left the firm, but soon found another job at a neighborhood Yoga studio. His sole responsibility there was to increase membership. Why did Leroy take this job? He believes that regardless of what your product is, be it an item, your skills or services, seeking employment, or what have you, as long as you have a person in front of you, you are selling. And all sales, its processes and techniques, are the same – no matter what. The same ordeal Leroy experienced while working as a real-estate salesperson he encountered at this new job: He just couldn’t get past potential customers’ objections. This was more than an issue. It now became a crisis of colossal proportions. Could his dream of becoming the world’s greatest salesperson ever be realized? He was good at almost everything else, but it was just this one sticking point. What was going on?

Persistence was an admirable quality and a bright one he had on his palate of traits. No way was he about to throw away one of his unique dreams. One night, while feeling tired, he took up residence on his plush leather armchair and allowed baroque music (his favorite) to permeate the air. And as he allowed his mind to drift and his body to unwind in the manner best useful for him, he asked himself this question, “What is an objection, really?” He pondered that thought while the baroque music played in the background, calming the air, working his senses. Before you know it Leroy was in deep, deep sleep.

His dreams were vivid, rich and splashed with color, texture and sensations of every kind that – you know about? In short, they were spectacular. One of Leroy’s many dreams answered the question he posed just before falling into deep sleep. The dream answered, “You have many ways to think about objections. One way is to think of objections as questions that you must supply the solution to. So, for example, if someone says that they “can’t afford” something, it is your job to – creatively- find a solution that makes them able to afford what they really and truthfully want. This also means that you, Leroy, must be well-informed about the product or service you are selling. You, Leroy Ruediger – provide solutions.”

Another dream told Leroy that since he can view all objections as questions then he ought to answer them early on during his presentation – getting ahead of them. Do not wait until the customer brings it up down the road.

Interestingly, another dream, supplied Leroy with examples upon examples and reminded him of past experiences when did such a thing – whenever people asked him about his birth mark on his chin!

When Leroy awoke it felt as if order in the universe was once again restored. He grabbed a sheet of paper, wrote down all the objections he heard his potential customers say to him, devised creative answers and solutions to them, readjusted and incorporated this newfound wealth of information in his presentations.

The following day at work, he closed more sales than he thought possible. It was unreal. Leroy had to smack his face a few times to give himself proof he wasn’t still in a dream. And the shocking thing for Leroy was he had the answer – all the time – inside him, in his past, and in his present He just didn’t ask for it. Right at the beginning, and you didn’t even know it

There are more ways to get over, under, around or through so-called-“objections.” Leroy’s strategy is just one way.