"I overcame all his objections, but he still didn't hire me..."

First, stop saying you can't teach. You can, and you do.

Aaron; Your last couple of posts show what I suspected. You have a real understanding of selling, far more than most sales book authors.

OK, Chris Rivers;

The reason salesmen get objections is because they haven't given the prospect the complete confidence that the proposed solution is the best solution for them. The salesperson has not tied what they sell completely to what the prospects are thinking.

I can promise you that salespeople are telling the prospect things, rather than asking questions so that prospects will tell the salesman the exact same things.

By the way...you said you read sales books. That alone puts you ahead of 95% of salespeople. And your post shows a real understanding of selling too.

The problem is that the people that wrote the books didn't make 5,000 personal sales or more.

These are examples of what we usually think of as objections;
I can't afford it-too much money
Need to think about it
I'll definitely buy...later...but right now...

These are symptoms that show a large gap in the sales process. One the salesperson created.

And if prospects bring these things up at the end of the presentation, we are now back peddling, arguing....arguing with the prospect. When was the last time you bought something because the salesperson won an argument with you? Never. But that's what's taught as "technique"

Guys; Remember the last girlfriend you...um..."kissed"?
Did you argue with her about whether she should "kiss" you or not...until she finally agreed? The answer is "No". Always.

But that's the way some of us sell. We think of it as a battle of wills. That's why we are exhausted at the end of a day of selling.

You ask questions to find problems your offer can sell. You ask questions to explore the cost of those problems. You ask questions to get the prospect to tell you how much they will pay for the solution. You ask questions to reveal possible solutions, and their costs. You ask questions to match your solution perfectly to their problem. And them you ask a question to arrange the delivery of your service.

What is the common thread in all these questions? It is that the prospect is telling you...what they want... how much they will pay...how bad they want it...what you need to know to match your offer to their wants...and that now is the best time to start.

And no prospect ever raises an objection to something they have just told you.

The process (with some variations) is outlined in the magnificent book Spin Selling.

Jason Kanigan has laid out the spine of this, as a template, in his Sales courses.

And there is a thread on answering objections that covers this whole subject nicely.

I sell a $6,400 (the first year) marketing service to small business owners.
When I'm at the end, about 80% just say "Let's get started right away"

About 20% (in one on one selling) say "Wow! That's fantastic. We're going to absolutely do this program with you...as soon as we....blah, blah, blah"

I never get "We can't afford it". Never. why? Because they told me how much they would pay, and they did it before I really started the main presentation (as Kanigan teaches).

I never hear "I need to think about it", because They are the ones who kept telling me (with proper guidance) exactly what they wanted. And they told me how much my solution would probably make them in additional profit.

Again, any real objection at the end, means they have to argue with themselves.

An additional benefit of having the prospect answering your questions, instead of listening (maybe the huge core benefit of all this), is that while they are telling you what they want, and describing how much your solution would help them, it is impossible for doubt to creep in. They are actually in selling mode, not buying mode.

And if you are talking, talking, talking...there are huge gaps between when they are truly listening to you. And these gaps are filled with unanswered questions, comparisons to things you never hear about, and objections they are thinking of, but never say. And you cannot answer doubts never spoken.

And (drum roll please), when they are selling you...they don't have time to think about the last five guys that ripped them off, and how much you remind them of that creep that is stalking their sister.

Of course, that's just the surface. But it's in the right direction, I think.
See Ken? You could have said it better or more clearly. Or we could have waited a post or two, and Aaron would have said it.

Got to go,
Claudius