Bridging An Objection

Reporting back on a new business team’s collective objection handling routines recently, the CEO chipped in with a technique he termed bridging.

In one sense it struck me as a modern way of moving on from the feel-felt-found form of words.

It stuck in the memory of the Chief Exec due to the proponent being none other than RyanAir boss Michael O’Leary. He cited word for word one news interview where a typically confronting journo wanted to get an admission that a 14% profits drop was disastrous, but ended up by announcing they were giving up in the face of bombardment about cheaper flights from more planes. Here’s his most recent English broadsheet interview;

“The gobbier I get … the more tickets we sell”

The technique is where you’re asked a sticky question and avoid an answer by way of bridging to another discussion topic. Here’s an example;

Objection: I’ve never heard of you guys.

Response: That’s a really interesting point because [huge company A, megacorp B and colossus C] – they’re all customers who deal with us now by the way – they hadn’t heard of us before either. What we do with [huge company A] is …

Then you can lead into asking questions about any similarities, interest, or whatever.

It’s a worthy addition to your objection handling armoury.