Sales Objection Examples

Some prospects don’t give you the chance to explain the value you are trying to provide, because:

• They are too busy
• Have little faith in the sales reps reaching out to them daily

And impulse objections are used against people who waste their time.

Meaning salespeople have to be more assertive and persistent.

So in this blog post we will go through common sales objections and how to respond.

So let’s get started.

Common Sales Objections

• Too expensive
• No money
• No budget left
• Need to use budget elsewhere
• Don’t want to be stuck in a contract
• Working with another vendor
• Locked into a competitor contract
• Can get a cheaper version elsewhere
• Happy with competitor
• Competitor says something negative about your product
• Not authorised to sign off
• Can’t sell internally
• Buyer isn’t convinced
• Downsizing or being bought out
• Too much going on
• Part of buying group
• Never heard of your company
• Doing great in this area
• Don’t have the business plan
• Not important right now
• Don’t see what your product does for me
• Don’t understand your product
• Heard complaints about you
• Don’t have capacity for implementation
• Product is too complicated
• Don’t understand my challenges
• Don’t understand my business
• Your product doesn’t have a feature we need
• Happy with things
• Don’t see the potential ROI
• It’s a fad
• Product doesn’t work with our set-up
• I’m too swamped
• Click
• I’m busy
• Not interested
• Send some information
• Call back next quarter
• How did you get my info?
• I don’t like you
• I don’t make these decisions
• Does your product do this
• I have to cancel. I’ll get back to you another time
• Hello, you’ve reached

Price and Budget Objections

Too expensive

Price objections are the most common objection, even if prospects have intention to buy.

So don’t focus on price as a selling point, talk about the product’s value.

No money

Your prospect’s business might be small and not make enough to afford your product.

So track prospects growth and see how other offers can fit their business.

No budget left

Prospects are telling you they are having cash flow issues, but a pressing problem will need solving eventually.

So help prospects secure a budget from executives to buy now or arrange a follow-up call when funding will return.

Need budget elsewhere

Prospects earmark resources for other uses so make your product or service a priority that needs budget allocation now.

So share case studies of companies you worked with that saved money, became more efficient or made good ROIs.

Don’t want to be stuck in a contract

Prospects with needs and interests who make objections at time-based contract terms have cash flow reasons.

So offer month-by-month or quarter-by-quarter payment instead of a year or more commitment upfront.

Competition Objections

Working with another vendor

A prospect working with a competitor has recognized a need and found a solution.

So instead of educating prospects, you can talk about your product.

Also ask about their relationship with the competitor and pay attention to complaints that your product could solve.

Locked into a contract with a competitor

This phrase is worded telling you prospects feel trapped.

So come up with a discount for the cost of breaking a contract early or an ROI that will make up for the cost.

Also ask about their relationship with the competitor to see if they’re happy or want to switch.

Can get a cheaper product elsewhere

If the prospect is putting you against a competitor for a discount, give your best discount.

And highlight the features that make your product better but walk away if they ask for a better discount.

If your prospect thinks a similar, cheaper product can do everything they need, tell them the differences and highlight the worth, not cost.

Happy with the Competitor

If your prospect is happy with a competitor, ask why their relationship with the competitor is better and find where your product can do better.

A competitor said something negative about your product

First tell them it’s not true, then pause because most of the time they will be satisfied and move on.

Making you seem confident and collected and your competitor look desperate and insecure.

But if prospects are unsure, they’ll ask another question. Then give more rebuttal details.

Authority or Buying Ability Objections

Not authorised to sign off on the purchase

Ask prospects the name of the right person to speak to, then call them.

Can’t sell internally

Ask prospects about objections they anticipate and help them prepare the business for adopting your product.

Then ask Marketing if there’s any guarantees you can leverage for your prospects.

Buyer isn’t convinced

After giving internal selling advice and coaching for the objection above and your prospect can’t do it, then just walk away.

It’s hard to give up on a prospect who is on your side but can’t convince the higher-ups.

Plus it’s a waste of your time to keep trying with someone who doesn’t see your product’s value.

Being downsized or bought out

This is rare but there’s nothing you can do, no company means no deal.

So close the relationship professionally so if prospects find a new job, they’ll restart the conversation from a new company.

Too much going on right now

Ask prospects their priorities, if they can’t tell you, it’s an excuse so ask them why they can’t speak to you.

For concrete answers, set a follow-up meeting time and send helpful resources to stay on the prospect’s mind.

Part of a buying group

Buying groups help companies team up and make joint purchases for better prices.

Not being on their approved suppliers list means prospects won’t be interested because you can’t give them the same discounts.

So go into the details about their membership and after learning more, decide if it makes sense to become one of their vendors.

Need and Fit Objections

Never heard of your company

This is a request for information, not an elevator pitch so give a quick summary of your value proposition.

Doing great in this area

Ask more questions to know if these prospects qualify as potential leads.

Don’t have that business pain

This is sometimes an excuse or prospects don’t know they have a certain problem yet.

Maybe you will find out they don’t need your product but go deeper by asking questions about current solutions.

Problem isn’t important right now

Simply say “Oh?” and the prospect will start talking, so listen to the reasons the need is low in their priority.

Even excuses can be prospects knowing they have a problem but rationalising inaction, so instil a sense of urgency.

Don’t see what your product can do for me

A request for information so reconfirm the goals or challenges already discussed and explain how your product can solve those problems.

Don’t understand your product

Your product is complicated or specialised, so disqualify the prospect because they can churn in the later months.

Don’t give up and ask prospects what part of your product they don’t get, then explain it in a different way.

Or a technician or product engineer can answer complicated questions.

Heard complaints about you

Word-of-mouth reviews are powerful so don’t immediately defend your solution, business or brand, which will validate the criticism.

Thank them for sharing the feedback and follow up with an offer to add value.

This will establish credibility and trust with prospects, then after their positive experience they’ll have a high opinion of you.

Don’t have capacity for implementation

Depending on the product you’re selling, if the prospect has to add staff or divert resources for your offering and is not able to, disqualify them.

Or assess the prospect’s duties and day-to-day to see which job responsibilities could go or be made easier with your product.

Product is complicated

If the prospect is confused about specific features, reassure them your customer service team will help and implementation questions will be answered.

If the product is over their head, disqualify the prospect.

Don’t understand my challenges

Make prospects feel heard so restate how you understand their situation then align with their take and move forward.

Misunderstandings and hard feelings can be resolved by rephrasing the prospect’s words.

Don’t understand my business

When selling to specific industries, you might not know about the prospect’s business.

Tell them you have experience working with similar companies and have solved similar problems.

And if you made an incorrect assumption about the prospect’s company or industry, own up to it because prospects will appreciate it.

Product doesn’t have this feature

Suggesting a supplementary product to use in conjunction with yours.

But if that need is a must and your product can’t solve it, your prospect won’t be a good fit so disqualify them.

Happy with things

The prospect might be happy or they are facing a challenge.

Dig deeper to see if they’re having problems you can solve.

Don’t see the potential ROI

Prepare a formal pitch for your contact or their managers, use internal numbers from prospect or customer case studies.

It’s a fad

Usually if your product is new to the prospect’s industry.

Use testimonials or customer case studies to prove ROI of your product to show that it works.

Product doesn’t work with set-up

A deal-breaker if the buyer is committed to their current solution but your product can replace these tools or make them obsolete.

So find out by asking more questions.

I’m too swamped for implementation

Prospects are put off by switching products, even if ROIs are more.

So empathise, prove you’re trustworthy and make sure they have the bandwidth.

Then go into the costs or pains of their current situation and explain what they will gain in time, efficiency, money or all the above.

Objections that are Excuses

Prospect hangs up

Prospects always hang up, so reach out to someone else at their company with a different approach.

Or wait and call back but your approach depends on how the conversation with the prospect went before they hung up.

I’m busy

Every professional is busy so explain that just want a quick chat if a longer discussion about your product would be good for their organisation.

Not interested

It’s too early for prospects to say they are interested in your product or not so offer to send resources and schedule a follow-up call.

Send me some information

Use this opportunity to go into some questions to find out if they can be qualified leads.

Call back next quarter

Prospects use this excuse to make you go away so ask them questions to find out why they are trying to get rid of you.

How did you get my info?

Remind prospects they filled out a form on your website, signed up for more information at a trade show or you came across their website and wanted to get in touch to see if they needed help.

I don’t like you

If you’re not getting along with your prospect, hand them over to someone else in your company or lose the deal.

Remember, this objection is not related to your product or its value.

I don’t make these decisions

A conversation with someone on the decision makers team can get you an intro to them.

Does your product do this

This could be an opportunity to close a call with the prospect and get them to the next stage like a demo or a sales rep discovery call.

It saves time by going into the features and benefits you don’t need to.

And this means the prospect is interested so set up an appointment to discuss it further.

I have to cancel. Get back to you another time

Prospects don’t like saying “No” so call them out for lack of interest and get them to admit they aren’t interested without being negative.

Do this by telling prospects when you hear someone say this, it means they’re not interested.

Then ask them if your assumption is correct.

This helps the prospect give you the final answer so you can move on.

Hello, you’ve reached

Prospects avoid your phone calls, they take a while to get back to you and need approval, they give vague answers about budgets and priorities for the year.

These prospects aren’t comfortable talking on the phone like managers or decision-makers, they need approval and don’t know budget information or company priorities.

So get the gatekeeper’s trust and learn alot from them, then move on and build relationships with decision makers in the company.

No Means No

The responses mentioned above help you get past common objections prospects use without thinking.

But after countering with your responses and prospects still object then move on.

Just be clear on their objections and find out what they are really concerned about.

But that’s it, don’t make things uncomfortable.

So if the prospect objects twice, it’s a no.

Conclusion

Objection handling is frustrating but unavoidable in sales.

So to handle them when they come up:

• Get to the main reason for your prospects’ issues
• Lead with empathy
• Understand where the objections come from
• Read interactions appropriately

Now it’s over to you.

Tell me which objections you get the most and how you handle them.

Let me know in the comment section below.