Level 1 Intent: Understand

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Most objections fall into one of five intent categories, ranging from the generally logical and complementary to the highly emotionally charged and antagonistic. Becoming familiar with these categories can help the modern seller more quickly triage the intent and select a suitable response type.In Sell The Way You Buy I talk about how uncovering the intent behind your customer’s objection is the critical first step to properly address it. But that doesn’t mean that each type of objection is completely unique. Most objections fall into one of the five intent categories shown below, ranging from the logical and reasonable to the emotionally charged and antagonistic.



Keeping intent top of mind when responding to objections is important because it will help you narrow down the list of tactics to those best suited to the task—similar to pairing the right type of wine with your meal.

For example, suppose you call a customer and they say, “Now’s not a good time, call me back next month.” If this is the first time you’re calling that customer, you might assume their intent is to delay you. If, however, this is the fifth time you’ve called them and they keep brushing you off, their intent may be to perpetually avoid and perhaps derail you.

The pairing menu of intent to response type is shown here.



Before proceeding, keep in mind that the way in philippines telegram data which words are spoken can provide a huge clue as to the underlying intent. For example, take the objection “Your solution would never work here.” This might be stated by a customer who loves your product or service but fears her organization isn’t forward-thinking enough to buy it. Tonal emphasis on the word “here” might place the objection on the logical side of the spectrum. Alternatively, it might be stated by a customer who wants to get off the phone with you. Tonal emphasis on the word “never” (when combined with stern body language) might cast the objection into the derailing category.





The intent of these objections is typically to help the customer (hopefully a champion) better understand your solution so they can support the decision for it in their organization. While the substance of the objection still needs to be respected, the tone of the interaction is logical, and in most instances, you and your customer are both sitting on the same side of the table, working collaboratively to bring your solution to fruition. In this mode, the intent isn’t to challenge your solution or approach. Rather, to ensure your customer has the answers and angles covered so they can justify and defend the investment in your solution in their own organization.