Interviews can be somewhat daunting and it’s so important to research the company, know the role you are applying for and also have questions prepared for the interviewer.

In some interviews (and in particular if you are applying for a sales role), objection handling is so important. This is ultimately, a chance for you to overcome any concerns that an interviewer may have about your application or suitability for the role. By objection handling well and knowing how to successfully do this, you can eliminate any concerns and put the interviewer at ease. Ultimately, giving yourself a chance to move forward in the interview process.

1. Listen to what the interviewer is asking you

Being an active listener within an interview is vital. If an interviewer asks you a question and then following your response asks for more information, listen. The interviewer may not be fully satisfied with your answer or may feel as if you haven’t gone into enough detail. By listening to their follow up questions, you are giving yourself a chance to answer again in more relevant (still concise) detail.

2. Ask the question

A very simple thing to do, which can feel somewhat uncomfortable, is to simply ask the question. By asking the interviewer ‘do you have any concerns about my application’ or ‘is there anything about my experience you would like me to clarify’, gives you a chance to see if the interviewer does have any concerns (they will voice this to you at this point). If there is, this is when you will begin to objection handle…

3. Validate the concern and put forward examples of how to overcome this

Again, it is important that you understand and empathise with the concern that may be being laid out. To objection handle, it is a good idea to start with ‘thank you for addressing your concern, I completely understand this but I would like to just give you some more detail about my experience that I haven’t covered’. By doing this, this gives you a chance to fill in any gaps, put the interviewers mind at ease and this will also show that you are able to overcome challenging situations under pressure (which is a big tick!)

4. Follow up with the interviewer to ensure you have addressed this in full

To finish off, you want to ensure that you have addressed everything in full so that when you leave the interview, there are no concerns in the employer’s head. Again, I would recommend asking. By following up with ‘has that covered your concerns?’ gives you one final chance to objection handle if needed and will end the interview on a positive note.