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It would be nice if you could simply give your pitch to a potential client, they accept everything you say, and you sign the papers that day. Unfortunately, we live in the real world where your prospects will always have questions, concerns, and, worst of all, objections.

Handling objections doesn’t need to be a painful process, however, and these moments could actually be an opportunity to advance the sale. We’ve compiled best practices to help you navigate the tricky world of objection handling in sales.

Stop and Listen

Why do salespeople get a bad rap as being pushy or aggressive? It’s because too many of them are bad listeners. When salespeople are bad listeners, they aren’t able to handle objections; they either don’t address them at all, or they provide the wrong information because they do not know the real concern they are addressing.

What is the right way to handle objections? The first step is developing your listening skills. Never interrupt your prospect when they raise a question or concern, and ask for clarification if you don’t understand.

Repeat the Objection

Once you have given your prospect a chance to explain their concern, repeat their objection back to them. If you have correctly identified the objection, your prospect will let you move on, but if you have not, they will give more clarification.

While this may seem tedious when you think you already have the answer this person needs, remember that people are not always able to formulate their thoughts clearly, and you may have gotten the wrong idea from what your prospect said to you. It’s better to ensure that you are both addressing the same issue rather than risk frustrating your prospect with useless information.

Give your Answer

When you are sure that you fully understand the objection, give your answer. Check with the prospect once you have answered them to make sure that they are convinced. If they hesitate or seem uncertain, you will need to provide additional support for your answer or go back to the objection itself to make sure that you correctly identified it. Make sure that you fully address the objection when it arises so that you don’t need to answer it again later on in your sales process.

Practice Handling Objections

There’s nothing worse than being completely derailed in the middle of a sales pitch by an objection you can’t answer. To prevent this, talk to your team about objections they have heard, and practice your answers to them. This way, when a common objection does arise, you can quickly identify and address it, and move on with your presentation.

Working on the fundamental skills of listening and communication will help you in all areas of sales. Using these skills for handling objections will make you a pro, and objection handling may even become your strength in sales.