Boosting Your Business: Mastering the Art of Overcoming Sales Objections

Objections are something your sales team will face on a regular basis as landscape projects call for a significant investment. However, these can turn into lost sales if your sales staff doesn’t know how to address these common objections from customers properly.

“According to data, 44% of salespeople give up after a single rejection, and considering that large-scale outdoor projects often involve multiple touchpoints, overcoming objections could recover up to 20-30% of lost sales,” says Kenneth Deemer, co-founder of Local Roots Landscaping, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Deemer says that sales objections are an opportunity to uncover the client’s true priorities and adjust your solution to meet their needs better.

Objections can come in many forms, including disagreeing with the pricing, scope of work, or the value the work will provide the client. Brook Haygood, national director of sales for Visterra Landscape Group, based in Rosemont, Illinois, says the ability to overcome sales objections often depends on a salesperson’s experience.

“I would say with some of these junior salespeople who don’t really understand our industry, it’s probably 30-40% (lost sales),” Haygood says. “They don’t understand when a property manager says certain things. They don’t understand how to navigate around those things or they’re not picking up on hints.”

Skills Needed to Handle Sales Objections

Manny Gonzalez, CEO of Ethoscapes, based in Houston, Texas, agrees experience is critical for your sales team.

“It’s the training of the salesperson before engaging with the customer and understanding the property,” Gonzalez says. “First, ride-alongs are provided with more experienced sales folks on how one would handle those kinds of situations. Also, we provide lots of tools to counter some of these objections.”

Haygood says more seasoned salespeople can get creative if a property manager says something won’t fit their budget.

“It takes experience and understanding the game and also it takes a lot of understanding that specific property manager,” Haygood says. “That’s what makes our industry very challenging is that you do have to invest a lot of your time on a one-on-one basis with each property manager to really understand what their pain points are.”

For the less experienced salespeople, Haygood recommends sending them out with a branch manager who has a lot of technical knowledge.

“It does immediately elevate your junior salesperson when both those people are on site, because they’re like, ‘Well, I don’t know, but here’s the guy that does know,’” Haygood says. “I behoove our junior salespeople to lean on operations to come in because it’s an instant credibility builder.”

An effective salesperson should have active listening skills, good questioning techniques, empathy, emotional control and storytelling skills. Deemer explains that your sales team needs to listen carefully to understand a client’s underlying worries and ask questions like “What’s most important to you in a backyard renovation?” to get to the heart of their objections.

“If a client is hesitant because of a bad experience with a previous contractor, acknowledge their concerns and share how you’ll ensure a better outcome this time,” Deemer says.

Deemer adds that salespeople shouldn’t get defensive if a client challenges their design choices. They should share their rationale calmly and stories of previous clients who had similar concerns but found the project exceeded their expectations.

Gonzalez says salespeople must be very patient and understanding with their customers. He says the goal is to build trust and relationships first. Gonzalez notes that people like to do business with people they like. This is why Ethoscapes places people in a position where they will succeed based on their core strengths.

“I call it the three Ps,” Gonzalez says. “The first is performance, the second is positioning and the third is perception. The salesperson must be able to perform with experience and knowledge, position themselves by stepping up and unearthing opportunities, and one must be perceived well. People need to like you.”

Gonzalez says they don’t assign geographic areas to their account managers. Instead, they base it on who connects best with their assigned clients. While the operations side is geographically based, they put salespeople who connect well with the end user, regardless of their location.

“We focus on the relationship rather than who’s closest to my house,” Gonzalez says.

Haygood admits that some things can’t be taught, like the ability to read the room and immediately find a connection.

“You can continue to push and drive those talking points, but some people completely can’t handle it,” Haygood says. “Some of it is taught, and some of it is just you either have it or you don’t.”

Dealing with Price Objections

One of the most common objections your sales team will encounter is with pricing. Depending on the nature of the work, there are a number of different strategies they can utilize.

For residential installations, offering financing can be a solution for clients who are interested in larger projects like a complete backyard makeover or pool installation.

“If a client is on the fence due to upfront costs, providing a monthly payment plan might make the investment feel more manageable,” Deemer says. “It’s a way to help them achieve their dream outdoor space without compromising on quality or scaling down their vision.”

Deemer adds that sometimes price objections are really about aligning the design to the customer’s budget.

“Ask, ‘If we adjusted some features while still delivering the look you want, would that make the project more comfortable for you?’” Deemer says.

With property managers, Gonzalez says one option is to reduce and align the scope of work to the client’s budget if they still want Ethoscapes to perform the work.

“The way I look at it, everybody’s our customer,” Gonzalez says. “We just haven’t gotten to them yet. Just be patient, and eventually, we’ll get to them.”

Haygood says salespeople can try to get creative with bundles or add more sites, but the reality is operational costs will constrain them at a certain point. Haygood says his sales team has a little wiggle room, but they have to hit a certain margin no matter what.

“We have certain customer bases that typically we don’t do well with,” Haygood says. “We do like to spend time on property; we do have a very high focus on quality. There is always going to be that problem.”

Haygood encourages asking for consistent price increases versus keeping it the same for 10 years and then suddenly increasing the cost by 20%.

If your sales team faces customers claiming they can get the work done for less, Deemer suggests emphasizing the cost consequences of going with someone cheaper.

“Explain how cutting corners on pool installation can lead to problems like leaks or uneven settling, which may result in costly repairs,” Deemer says.

Haygood says clients who go with a cheaper option often end up returning to them by mid-season because the other contractor was providing very low-quality work. He says 80% of the time they end up having to charge the customer even more than the original bid because they have to get their property back up to par.

On the design/build side, when dealing with clients claiming they can do the project themselves, Deemer says salespeople can counter by highlighting the complexity of the job and stories of other clients who attempted to go the DIY route.

“Ask if they have experience dealing with things like drainage systems, soil quality for different plants, or local building codes for pool installation,” Deemer says.

Dealing with Decision-Making Delays

Another objection salespeople may face is if a customer claims all the decision-makers are not present. This can be easily solved by suggesting a follow-up meeting that includes all the decision-makers.

Haygood says he encourages his sales team to ask to meet the decision-maker and go out to lunch with them.

“You’d be shocked at how successful that is because once their boss is like, ‘No, I like these people,’ then it alleviates a lot of the pressure off the property manager,” Haygood says.

Deemer says simply asking what may be holding the client back can uncover the source of their hesitation.

If all the decision-makers are present and the clients are still dilly-dallying, Haygood says one way to get customers to stop dragging their feet is to drive a sense of urgency.

“For an example, ‘Just a reminder, you’re asking us to take on 20 million square feet of snow for you guys, which requires equipment and which requires more people, we got to spend some money and do these things, so we really need to figure this out to make sure that we don’t drop the ball with you guys on service,’” Haygood says. “Typically, that will drive a decision quicker.”

Gonzalez says that you have to be patient but can prompt a decision by bringing up the schedule and when the work will commence, as many clients don’t plan far enough in advance.

“If it’s a maintenance project, obviously it’s ongoing, but if it’s an install, timing is key,” Gonzalez says. “When can we begin? When we can finish it? I think planning is the most important. We also have to convey to the client that weather and seasonal conditions are important.”

Ethoscapes will also educate the client on the planting season and how it may impact the sourcing of materials, as some of the plants clients want may not be readily available. Gonzalez also says they can only hold pricing for a short period of time as costs may go up.

“I think being very candid, educating them on when the job can be performed, and understanding that the current costs of materials could change in following months,” Gonzalez says. “I like to educate them and just be very candid about it, and hopefully that induces them to pull the trigger on a job.”

Dealing with Unrealistic Preferences

A less troublesome sales objection is when a client requests certain plants or a design that will not work in the given space. The solution is to educate the client and lean on your experience as an expert advisor.

Deemer says you can reinforce the fact you’re there to guide them toward sustainable and beautiful choices by providing better alternatives. For instance, “I understand your vision for those tropical plants, but unfortunately, they won’t thrive in our climate without extensive maintenance. Let’s look at some alternatives that can give a similar look but will be easier to care for.”

Haygood says with property managers you can share past experiences where you’ve had to rip out a certain plant three times before finally switching to a native species.

“Having that experience and having those stories is invaluable,” Haygood says. “Sometimes you’re going to lose that argument. You’re not losing; you’re still making money, but you do need to, as a courtesy to your customer, just have that due diligence of ‘I need to remind you that this isn’t going to work and this is why.’”

Haygood says in some cases, the client may be handcuffed by the design already being approved by the city. He says 90% of the time the customer will change their opinion if you bring them all the facts and show them in a dollar sense that they’re wasting their money.

Communicating Your Value

No matter what type of lawn care or landscape work your company is selling, it’s vital your sales team understands and can communicate your value proposition.

“One must also be able to justify why your pricing structure might be 10 or 15% higher than the other guy,” Gonzalez says. “It’s not just about the lowest bid; it’s about value.”

Gonzalez says honesty works and explains to clients that they are not the low-cost provider. He highlights how they keep their team safe and how they can become a one-stop shop for clients for other services.

“We also tell them, frankly, that we’re well funded and positioned,” Gonzalez says. “If someone is doing a job and can’t handle it or is having difficulties, they may fail. If that failure occurs in the peak season, by the time a new vendor starts up, residents are going to be quite unhappy.”

Haygood agrees your sales team also has to be able to communicate the ROI of various landscape maintenance practices. He says they can name-drop other companies your business has been successful with.

Deemer says when clients don’t see the value of the project, it’s often because the benefits aren’t clear to them. He says showing before-and-after photos or 3D renderings can help them visualize the transformation. You can also ask value-based questions like “How important is it for you to have a space where you can entertain guests without constant upkeep?”

Keeping the Door Open

If, after addressing every possible concern and objection, the client’s answer is still no, always leave the door open.

“I never want to walk away from a customer,” Gonzalez says. “I want us to always be available to the needs of that customer, whether it’s today, three years from now, five years from now, I always leave the door open.”

Gonzalez says they will check on the properties they didn’t win once a quarter to see how it’s going. If things are not up to the client’s satisfaction, the client or property manager may welcome a call.

“No isn’t bad,” Haygood says. “No is good. No is ‘Okay, cool, I learned from this.’ I always tell these guys in the conversation say, ‘I’ll be following up with you in a couple of months anyways, just to see how it goes.’”

Haygood argues that even with a no, you constantly need to restrengthen that relationship because while property managers typically move around to different companies, they stay in the industry. He calls these personal interactions sweat equity as it is the most important part of their job. The salespeople who won’t go out and meet with people will eventually become stagnant.

“The guys that are constantly out of the office, constantly building new relationships, going to the golf outings, doing these things, those are the guys that just trend upwards forever,” Haygood says.

Haygood says there really isn’t any secret strategy to sales. He says it comes down to creating relationships with individuals.

“AI is never going to replace that,” Haygood says. “Emails and phone calls are never going to replace that. You have to be boots on the ground. You have to be involved. You have to care. You have to communicate and be readily available.”

This article was published in the Jan/Feb issue of the magazine. To read more stories from The Edge magazine, click here to subscribe to the digital edition.