If you’re in sales, then you know that objections are a part of the job. It’s not uncommon to hear things like “I’m not interested,” or “I don’t have the budget for this.” And while it can be frustrating to deal with these rejections, there are ways for overcoming objections in sales.

One solution to overcome an objection is by using what’s called a power statement. Power statements are short, direct responses that reframe the conversation and put you back in control. For example, if someone says they’re not interested in your product, you could say something like “That’s okay! Our products aren’t for everyone. But I’d still love to learn more about what kind of products you are interested in.”

This type of response in overcoming objections in sales shows that you’re still interested in helping them even if they are not buying your product.

Another way to overcome an objection is by asking questions to fully understand where the objection is coming from so that you can address it directly. For example, if someone says they don’t have the budget for your product, instead of getting defensive or trying to talk them into it, simply ask them how much their current budget is.

Overcoming Objections in Sales

Sales objections are objections that a prospective buyer raises during the sales process in response to a salesperson’s offer.

There are many possible reasons why a buyer might object to an offer such as the price is too high, the product is not what they are looking for, or they are not ready to make a purchase. The best way to overcome objections is to be prepared for them in advance.

This means anticipating what objections the buyer might have and having answers ready. It is also important to be flexible in your approach and be willing to adjust your offer based on the buyer’s objections.

Finally, it is important to remain calm and confident when dealing with objections, as this will help to build trust with the buyer.

How to Overcome Sales Objections

When salespeople generate, qualify, or nurture sales, they hear objections from potential customers, which they then work to overcome.

When faced with any objection to your offer, you should listen to their concerns, acknowledge that you understand them, and then try to alleviate their worries by making a counteroffer.

When you’re in a sales situation and an objection is raised, it’s important to be prepared. You can do this by first identifying common objections, then having a framework and ready-made rebuttals for each one.

To make things easier, you can write out your rebuttals in advance so that you have them on hand when you need them.

Keep in mind that you will likely hear objections at different stages of the sale. For example, when you first make a cold call, the lead may say they are busy. Or, when you finally ask for the sale, the prospect may claim they are not ready. Be prepared for objections by having a script of rebuttals handy.

Keep these documents with you during all conversations you have with your prospects.

Ask probing questions that uncover the prospect’s true concerns. Only once their true objections are revealed can you deliver a perfectly tailored response and close the sale.

Handling objections is the art of politely and professionally addressing a prospect’s concerns. By showing empathy for their problem and offering a solution, you can overcome their hesitation and continue closing deals.

How to Handle Objections in B2B Sales

You spend days creating the perfect sales deck, carefully selecting your list of contacts, and launching your campaign. But the results aren’t what you were expecting.

It can be very frustrating when a customer brings up an objection to your pitch. But, by listening to their concern and addressing it, you can turn the objection into an opportunity.

There’s nothing to be afraid of. Objections are a normal part of sales.

By reaching a decision-maker at a business, it shows that you are serious and committed to working with them. Having a system to respond to objections will help you in closing the deal.

If you’re not prepared for handling sales objections, you’ll lose out on potential deals.

Objections are a natural part of sales and should be expected. If you’re not getting any, you may not be talking to the right type of people. Your sales team needs to be good at dealing with them, as it’s an important skill and can make or break a deal.

By the end of this article, you’ll know how to effectively handle sales calls and overcome common objections to close more deals.

What is a Sales Objection?

Objections are common when selling. In fact, every salesperson has dealt with them.

Even if your prospect has reservations about buying, that doesn’t mean they won’t buy at all. 

Salespeople often encounter common sales objections such as “I need to think it over” or “I’m just looking.” These responses do not mean that a prospect will never buy, but rather that they simply need more time to process the information.

An objection indicates that your prospect is comparing your product to something else. It could be another product, but it could also be doing nothing at all.

Why Objection Handling Is Vital

Every sales team is going to run into some pushback during any sales process. Even highly qualified target accounts that are a perfect fit for your product will sometimes have objections to signing a contract.

There will be times that your lead has a valid reason not to want to work with you.

For instance, if the company tells you that they’ve just signed a big contract with a competitor, or that their growth has slowed down, you’re not going to convince them easily.

Even if a prospect dislikes you, they may still be interested in doing business with you at some point in the future.

Four Common Sales Objection Frameworks

If you’re prepared for common objections, you can confidently handle them and move forward.

Sales objections are organized into four basic types: budget, authority, need, and time.

Let’s take a look at what those tasks typically involve.

1. Money

This is the most common objection from customers. Even if you’re selling to large companies with a history of purchasing from other businesses, it can still be difficult to convince these clients that they require a new product.

Objections you’ll hear include:

• “We can’t spend this money now.”
• “This isn’t in our range.”
• “I need to think about that.”
• “I don’t have the money for this.”

While these may seem like insurmountable obstacles, there are some strategies you can employ to overcome them.

While it’s true that many companies have a tight budget, that doesn’t mean you should sell yourself short. If you can deliver more value than what you’re charging, then your company is worth every penny.

At this point, you should focus on the benefits your offering provides. Make it clear how your product can help the customer save money or grow their company.

2. Authority

In the business-to-business (B2B) sales environment, you need to engage multiple people within a typical decision-making unit (DMU) of 6 to 10 individuals. If even one member of this group is not convinced that your solution will work for them, your chances of closing the deal are minimal.

If you want to succeed in selling, you need to focus on account-based marketing. This means that you need to find out who makes the final buying decision and then tailor your content to their concerns. By doing this, you will increase your chances of closing the deal.

3. Need

If your potential client doesn’t think they need help with your product, then there’s no reason for them to buy it. It’s important to educate your potential clients on why they should buy what you’re selling.

Show your prospect how your product or service can make their life or business better.

If your lead is fully aware of the problem you’re solving, they won’t mind if you offer your solution to it. They’ll already know how your product can help them and what they’ll gain from it.

4. Timing

If your prospect is responding with objections like:

• I don’t have time for this
• I need some time to think about it

That’s bad news. Time-based objections usually mean one or two things.

First, your prospect doesn’t want to tell you ‘no’. Often, time-based objections are a way of politely ending the conversation.

You’ve failed to properly educate them on why they should care. They don’t see this problem as an immediate priority.

The best way to handle time-based sales objections is by explaining how your process works. Discuss why your buyer has an issue, and how your solution is the best one.

5 Ways to Handle Common Sales Objections

Now, I’m going to show you some ways to handle some common objections.

1. “Your product price is beyond our budget.”

If a prospect is telling you they don’t have any money, the first thing you should do is ask whether you have shown them the value that they need.

If your lead wasn’t already interested in your offering, you’ll need to educate them on why your solution is worth the investment. Show them how your product can save them time or money or help them make more money.

If your prospective client doesn’t have the budget for your services, your next step should be to refocus the conversation on helping them grow. By providing them resources, advice, and tips, you can build trust with them that may lead to a sale in the future.

Offer them helpful resources and check in every so often to see if they need any help.

When the time is right and they are ready to make a purchase, they will already have established a level of trust with you. This makes closing the deal much simpler.

2. “I’m interested but you need to talk to [decision maker].”

If you’ve had a conversation with a potential client but realize they aren’t the final decision maker, that’s totally fine.

Once you’ve connected with one decision-maker, it’s time to connect with more. Ask the decision-maker you’re already talking to if they know anyone else at the company who you could talk to.

Sending resources to decision-makers is an effective way to build rapport with them.

3. “I am happy with [your competitor].”

It’s every salesperson’s nightmare. You’ve finally found your perfect prospect, but they’ve just decided to go with one of your competitors.

Great news! Your product is exactly what your prospect is looking for.

Instead of giving up on an opportunity, try to learn more about their current position.

Have they signed with your competitor? Are they evaluating upcoming projects?

They are probably not as loyal to your competitors as you assume. There is still a chance for you to win them over now or a few months down the line when their contracts are up, as long as you can present a strong argument as to why your offering is a better option.

4. “I am not interested.”

If you’ve just begun a cold outreach to a new prospect, you’ve likely heard this response. It can be a hard thing to overcome.

Your prospect has told you that they’re not ready to buy, and that’s fine. There’s no need to try to convince them.

If a client does need your assistance, point them in the direction of some helpful information. This shows them that you care about them and are there for them.

Then, you can follow up in a few weeks to see if they’ve changed their mind. Alternatively, your targeting may have been off.

Reach out to other decision-makers at a company. Odds are, others will be willing to discuss further with you.

5. “Your product isn’t solving a problem for me.”

This sale’s resistance is due to a lack of awareness of the problem. If you have existing clients in the same industry, this prospect is a match, but they don’t know yet.

This common sales objection can be easy to overcome if you know how to respond. You can overcome this by sending them examples of similar businesses that have seen success with your services. This will show your prospects that it is possible to achieve the same results.

Your potential client will want to see similar success to what you have achieved.

Showing your prospective client that you can help other clients achieve success is a great way to build urgency.

If a potential client tells you they’d only do business with you if you added an extra service, you may want to think twice before agreeing to it. Adding too many extra services could lead to complications later on, so it’s better to hold off on adding anything new.

If your prospect doesn’t understand your value proposition, it’s better to focus on better-fit customers who do. This way, you can avoid any confusion and move forward with potential customers who are a better match for your solution.

How to Handle Sales Objections with Ease

The excuses and reasons why a prospect won’t buy from you will always be different.

1. Build a Database of Sales Objections

Your team will hear the same objections to your sales pitch over and over again. These should be logged and easily accessible to all of your sales reps.

When your team hears a common objection, they can easily find the ideal reply in your central objections database. This will help them be prepared for future objections and know how to navigate them effectively.

This objection list will provide invaluable insight for marketing and sales, helping them improve strategy in the future.

2. Practice Replying to Objections

You don’t want any surprises on a sales call. Make sure you and your team practice your objections and rebuttals regularly. This way, when they’re on a call with a high-value prospect and hear an objection, the reaction will be natural.

Practice sharing examples and case studies, and responding with clear answers so that the prospect understands the benefits of the product you are selling.

If you only handle objections after a prospect raises them, your conversations will be filled with phrases such as “I will get the answer for you after this phone call”.

While that is fine, it is not the only phrase you should be using.

3. Get Them to Reply

Even if the prospect says they are not interested, you must follow up afterward with a sincere, genuine, and personalized message. This will show the client that you took the time to understand their perspective.

Ask qualifying questions to weed out accounts that aren’t going to convert. That will save you time in the long run.

For instance:

• Is this a problem you want to solve this quarter?
• Is there someone else I should talk to about this?
• What would make this a no-brainer for you?

By asking questions that don’t have a yes or no answer, your prospect can respond however they want. This helps you gather more useful information.

4. Know When to Walk Away

If a prospect keeps finding new reasons not to buy from you, they may just be avoiding telling you ‘no’.

If a call seems very unlikely to convert, you should pause your effort.

Be honest with your prospects about the likelihood of them buying from you. If it seems like they’re not going to be ready for a while, let them know that you’ll touch base with them in a couple of months. Or, if you’d prefer, you could ask them when would be a good time to follow up with them.

Conclusion

Even the best-fitting customers will have objections to buying from you, and it’s unlikely that they’ll happily hand over their cash before making sure that it’s money well spent.

Be ready for objections from potential customers. If you can, try to come up with good answers to them beforehand. If not, simply say that you’ll get back to them after the call you just made.

If you’re not confident in your ability to handle objections, your buyers will see right through it and end the discussion. You’ll miss out on opportunities if you don’t take the time to learn how to properly handle objections.

If you’re finding that you’re regularly facing objections in sales, then these best practices in overcoming objections in sales can help. And by keeping your cool and staying focused on the customer’s needs, you’ll be able to build strong relationships – even if they don’t end in a sale.