We looked into the common objections by retailers to salesman. The toughest objection to crack is when retailer doesn’t respond. He just shakes his head and moves on. Or before you say anything, he says that he has stock and is not interested to buy. Here, we will look into how to handle this.

Objective in this situation is to not sell but to strike a conversation, build a connection, showcase the product and then see if anything can be worked out later.

“Sir, I understand that you are not interested in buying our products at this point. That is fine but I just want to showcase our products. We are doing a lot of marketing activities, our products are getting popular among consumers and there are good chances that you may get a few enquiries. The information I share with you may help you to understand your customer needs better and when you want to buy, we will be more than happy to supply to you.”

Introduce about you the salesman, name, native, past experience, when he joined the present company. Seek the shop keepers support in giving advices, references, consumer preferences etc. Share/exchange business cards.

At this point when the retailer is not under pressure to buy, and when the salesman is knowledgeable, simple and capable of understanding retailer’s concerns, he will open up. Then, products can be introduced, prices can be shared, supply mechanism, frequency can be discussed.

No matter, how disinterested the retailer will be. There is always a chance that he will face issue with present supplier in terms of quality, pricing, supply and terms. If we are able to build a relationship with him, we will be the first alternative that will come to his mind. Knowing that he has a solid alternative in us, he will start pressurising the present supplier for better deals.

A way to strike a conversation would be to keenly observe the shop. All retailers like to publicly display their say political affiliations, favourite God/Godess, owner’s car, their values, likings. One can talk about it. Each shop has its own strengths like cleanliness of the store, reputation in the locality, heritage, variety of items available, competitive pricing, size of business. Salesman can observe and appreciate the retailer and talk more about it. Also, they can discuss among their common contacts.

Eventually, probe more about the nature of business, how the retailer has grown the business, family connections, native place, his interests etc. Then, get into the demand for coconut oil in his shop. What do consumers ask for quality, price, brand etc What does he like about his present supplier, would he use it at his home?

All along the way, the salesman must be attentive, never look at his cell phone, read between the lines, be patient when the retailer is doing something else, keep eye contact, nod, stay in the topic. Never lie whenever he talks about himself, company, products, competitors, market. Keep all the information handy for ready presentation. Another point that is mentioned separately is “don’t attempt to sell”.

Before leaving, inform the retailer that the distributor or sales van would visit him for enquiring. Also, salesman would visit him say next week same day. Ask him if he needs any more information that he has to work on before coming next time.

Recently, we decided to be active on social media and updated Facebook cover photos. A subscriber from Mangaluru commented that your product is not available anywhere here. The fact is it is available at many outlets in Mangaluru. 

But he has a valid point: it is only available at a few shops where he has tried it. I replied that we are working hard to place the products in as many shops as possible. How is it so hard to place the products? Because of objections by retailers. Retailers need more shelf space, inventory budget and intention to promote any product. So, they will only sell those brands that are fast-moving. Here are the standard ways they object to our salesman when he tries to sell.

• No response – This is common when you are not interested in what the salesman is offering.
• No consumer demand – retailers will take the pain to stock a brand only that has consumer demand
• The price is high. He needs to earn a decent margin and compete with other retailers.
• Low margin or MRP – He wants MRP to be printed higher to offer a significant discount to consumers yet earn a decent margin.
• Credit – Retailers are habituated to purchasing on credit from local distributors and will object to anyone with cash and carry terms
• Oil is yellow/not pure—His imagination of pure coconut oil is extracted from Ghani/Chekku and is clear white; anything else is considered not pure.
• New brand—He is not interested in selling new brands because he is unsure about consistent supply and has to work hard to promote them to consumers.
• Dictating terms – He is already getting the product from another source. He would like to exploit a new supplier by dictating terms like discount and credit.

These are some of the common objections which may be presented in different ways. It is up to the salesman to answer these objections skillfully to earn a sale. In the coming posts, we will answer these objections.