There Are No Objections. Only Friction Points.

I want to remove a word from the sales vocabulary:

Objection.

I don't believe there are objections.

I believe there are friction points.

That may sound like semantics, but I believe the language matters because it changes the way a salesperson thinks about the homeowner sitting across the table.

An objection sounds like something you need to overcome.

It creates two opposing sides.

The homeowner says:

"That's too expensive."

The salesperson thinks:

"I need to overcome that objection."

Immediately, we have two forces pushing against one another.

And what happens when two forces push against each other?

Friction.

Our philosophy inside the Day 41 Thrive Sales Theater is different.

We don't want to push harder.

We want to understand why the friction exists in the first place.

And, even more importantly:

Could we have prevented that friction before we ever presented the price?

That changes everything.

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Stop Selling Against the Customer

Picture two people walking toward each other.

Eventually, they're going to collide.

That's how a lot of sales appointments are run.

The salesperson has an agenda.

The homeowner has an agenda.

The salesperson is trying to get to YES.

The homeowner is trying to make sure they don't make a bad decision.

So they push against each other.

More pressure.

More resistance.

More rebuttals.

More "objection handling."

That's not how we want to sell.

We want the salesperson and homeowner walking parallel to each other in the same direction.

You're not dragging them.

You're not pushing them.

You're walking alongside them.

The homeowner has a problem.

You're helping them understand the problem, evaluate the possible solutions, understand the risks and make a confident decision.

That's mentorship.

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The Sales Rep Is NOT the Hero

This is one of the most important concepts we teach.

The homeowner is the Hero.

The sales rep is the Mentor or Guide.

And hopefully...

you're not the Villain. 😂

Think about almost every great story.

Luke Skywalker is the hero.

Yoda is the mentor.

Yoda doesn't need Luke to think Yoda is awesome.

His job is to prepare Luke to make the right decisions.

That's your role at the kitchen table.

The homeowner doesn't need another roofing salesperson telling them:

"We're the best."

"Our warranty is the best."

"Our shingles are the best."

"Our installers are the best."

"We've got 900 five-star reviews."

Wonderful.

But what does any of that have to do with their problem?

Your job isn't to become the center of the story.

Your job is to help the homeowner become the hero of theirs.

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Be Curious, Not Judgmental

One of my favorite examples of this comes from Ted Lasso.

Ted is playing darts against Rupert, who has completely underestimated him.

Ted explains that people have underestimated him his entire life because they weren't curious.

He references the line:

"Be curious, not judgmental."

Then Ted points out that if Rupert had simply been curious, he might have asked a question:

"Have you played a lot of darts, Ted?"

Ted's answer would have changed Rupert's entire understanding of the situation. Ted had played darts every Sunday with his father from age 10 until 16.

That's sales.

Ask the freaking question.

Rupert made an assumption.

He didn't investigate.

He didn't get curious.

He decided he already understood the person standing in front of him.

Salespeople do exactly the same thing every day.

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OEQs: Open-Ended Questions Change Everything

At Day 41 Thrive, we train heavily around OEQs: Open-Ended Questions.

Curiosity beats charisma.

I'd rather have a salesperson who is genuinely curious than someone who can talk for 90 minutes without taking a breath.

The best salesperson isn't necessarily the best talker.

They're often the best question-asker.

Instead of assuming:

"Price is their biggest concern."

Ask:

"What's most important to you about this project?"

Instead of assuming:

"They want the cheapest roof."

Ask:

"When you're comparing contractors, what are the biggest things you're looking for?"

Instead of assuming:

"They don't care about warranties."

Ask:

"How important is long-term protection to you?"

Instead of assuming:

"They're paying cash."

Ask:

"How were you thinking about handling the investment?"

Instead of assuming:

"They're ready to replace the roof."

Ask:

"What happened that made you start looking at the roof now?"

Those questions uncover the homeowner's story.

Now you know how to guide them.

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Most "Objections" After Price Were Created Before Price

Here's where this gets really important.

Your salesperson finishes their presentation.

They reveal the price.

$20,000.

And suddenly:

"That's too expensive."

"I need to talk to my spouse."

"We're getting three estimates."

"I need to think about it."

"Can you email this to me?"

"We weren't expecting it to cost that much."

"I want to check with another company."

The sales manager hears this and immediately starts teaching objection rebuttals.

Wrong place to start.

Go backwards.

Because many of those friction points may have been created 30, 45 or 60 minutes earlier.

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"That's Too Expensive."

Maybe that's not a price objection.

Maybe you failed to establish value.

Did you understand what mattered to them?

Did you identify their concerns?

Did you connect your products to those concerns?

Did you explain the differences between roofing systems?

Did you establish why your installation process matters?

Did you explain the warranty?

Did you create confidence in your company?

Did you explain payment options?

If you didn't...

$20,000 sounds like a really expensive pile of shingles.

That's not the homeowner's fault.

That's a process failure.

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"I Need to Talk to My Spouse."

Another classic "objection."

Except...

Why wasn't this discovered before you spent 90 minutes presenting?

An OEQ early in the process could have uncovered who was involved in the decision.

You shouldn't be finding out at the end of the appointment that another decision-maker exists.

Again:

The friction didn't begin when you asked for the sale.

It existed the entire time.

You simply didn't discover it.

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"We're Getting Three Estimates."

Great.

That isn't necessarily an objection either.

The better question is:

Why?

What are they hoping to learn from three estimates?

Are they comparing price?

Products?

Contractors?

Warranties?

Installation practices?

Maybe they've been burned by a contractor before.

Maybe somebody told them they should always get three estimates.

Maybe they don't yet know how to tell a good roofer from a bad one.

Now we have something we can actually help with.

Curiosity changes the conversation.

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"I Need to Think About It."

Think about what?

That's not sarcasm.

It's genuine curiosity.

There is something unresolved.

So instead of immediately launching into your memorized "I need to think about it" rebuttal, get curious.

"Absolutely. What part do you feel like you still need some clarity around?"

Now we're back to mentoring.

Maybe it's price.

Maybe it's timing.

Maybe it's trust.

Maybe it's financing.

Maybe it's the product.

Maybe it's their spouse.

Maybe it's fear of making the wrong decision.

You don't know.

So ask.

Ted Lasso would. 😄

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Don't Practice Rebuttals. Practice the Process.

Sales organizations spend an incredible amount of time teaching reps what to say after something goes wrong.

We would rather spend that energy teaching them how to run an appointment correctly so fewer things go wrong.

That's the philosophy behind our Sales Theater.

The inspection matters.

The OEQs matter.

The story matters.

The presentation matters.

The order matters.

The product demonstration matters.

The homeowner's participation matters.

The pricing presentation matters.

The payment options matter.

Each part should naturally lead into the next.

When you execute the process correctly, you're constantly reducing friction.

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Don't Wait Until the End to Discover Whether They're With You

A good sales presentation shouldn't be:

90 minutes of salesperson talking → PRICE → "So what do you think?"

That's terrifying.

Instead, there should be small moments of agreement throughout the appointment.

You're walking together.

You're checking for understanding.

You're asking questions.

You're letting the homeowner participate.

You're discovering concerns before they become friction.

You're helping them choose instead of telling them what to buy.

By the time you reach price, there shouldn't be some giant philosophical decision left to make.

You're simply completing the decision you've been building together.

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That's Why the Close Can Be So Simple

This is another place where sales training gets unnecessarily complicated.

People memorize 17 closing techniques.

The Puppy Dog Close.

The Alternative Close.

The Summary Close.

The Urgency Close.

The Takeaway Close.

The Ben Franklin Close.

Pretty soon the salesperson needs a freaking Rolodex just to ask for the business.

😂

If you ran the process correctly, your close doesn't need to be complicated.

It can simply be:

"It's $20,000, or as low as $200 a month. Which one fits better in your budget?"

That's it.

Cash or payment.

This or that.

You're not asking:

"Do you want to buy?"

You've spent the entire appointment helping them determine whether this is the right solution.

Now you're simply asking:

Which path works better?

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Closing Should Be the Natural Result of Clarity

This is the part I want salespeople to understand.

Closing shouldn't feel like an event.

If everything changes when you get to the close, something is wrong.

Your tone shouldn't suddenly change.

Your posture shouldn't change.

Your personality shouldn't change.

You shouldn't go from trusted mentor to hungry salesperson because the price came onto the screen.

Keep walking beside them.

Keep asking questions.

Keep helping.

The close should simply feel like the next logical step in the conversation.

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Stop Trying to Win Against the Homeowner

This may be the biggest mindset shift of all.

If you "overcame the objection," who lost?

Think about that.

Sales language often unintentionally creates winners and losers.

"I crushed that objection."

"I overcame their resistance."

"I got them to sign."

That's adversarial language.

Our goal isn't to beat the homeowner.

Our goal is to help the homeowner make a decision they feel confident about tomorrow, next month and ten years from now.

That's why we believe:

Be True. Be Kind. Be Helpful.

Those aren't just company values.

They're a pretty good sales methodology.

Tell the truth.

Be kind enough to listen.

Be helpful enough to guide.

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Your Job Is to Find the Friction

When friction appears, don't attack it.

Study it.

Where did it come from?

What did we miss?

What question didn't we ask?

What concern wasn't uncovered?

What value wasn't established?

What part of the story didn't connect?

What assumption did we make?

That's how great sales teams improve.

Instead of building a giant library of clever rebuttals, they build a better process.

And eventually something interesting happens.

The friction starts disappearing.

Not completely. Human beings are human beings.

But dramatically.

Because you're no longer walking toward the homeowner trying to overpower them.

You're walking with them.

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Be Curious.

Ted's opponent thought he understood who was standing in front of him.

He didn't.

He never asked.

And that's the lesson I want every salesperson to remember.

Curiosity creates clarity.

Clarity creates trust.

Trust reduces friction.

Reduced friction makes decisions easier.

And when the entire appointment has been built correctly, you don't need some magical closing technique.

You simply get to the end and ask:

"It's $20,000, or as low as $200 a month. Which one fits better in your budget?"

Then...

shut up.

You already did the work.

Now let the homeowner make the decision.

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