Being able to quickly internalise objections helps you maintain a natural flow in conversations rather than breaking things up with an “If prospect says X, then say Y” canned response. Using scripted, robotic answers signals to your prospect that you do not truly understand their needs and will result in a hang-up.
The key to handling sales objections over the phone is keeping these scripts in the back of your mind, but not actually using them verbatim. Listening to your prospects, accepting moments when you get roughed up, and learning from mistakes will help you develop a finer understanding of selling situations and the logic behind them.
Here are a few scripts Datanyze’s Alex Nuñez has at the ready for common sales objections.
1. “I’m not interested”.
File this one under “invalid reason”. Usually, this is more of an emotional response to pesky salespeople taking up precious time. When you hear this, the prospect is dismissive, and probably did not listen to what was being said. A very terse objection, this one can be the most difficult objection for newer sales development representatives (SDRs) to overcome.
However, you have a good reason for calling the prospect and you already know exactly why the prospect should be interested. Ask questions to understand why the prospect is objecting while maintaining your composure.
Example script: “Thank you Mrs Prospect. I understand why you may feel that this is not of any interest to you; however, I can assure you that director at CLIENT X told me the exact same thing and now he is using our solution to do W, X, and Y. I understand that improving W, X, and Y are important KPIs for you and your business as well — can you share with me why improving these metrics is not of any interest to you at this time?”
Asking this question gets the prospect to think about your product and/or value proposition in the context of their business and role and also helps you move beyond the initial resistance — usually into another objection. While it may seem undesirable to move from “not interested” to yet another sales objection, these secondary objections are usually more rational and less knee-jerk.
Pro tip: Speak slowly and clearly. Sometimes the prospect isn’t interested because he literally has no idea about what you said. Also, “not interested” is just another way of saying “I don’t want to listen”. Sometimes people will not want to listen to you, and that’s okay.
2. “We don’t have budget”.
If the prospect has never been in contact with your company and claims they cannot afford your solution, this is just another way of brushing you off.
The more reasonable budget objection occurs when the prospect is working with a bootstrap budget where every penny of the year is already accounted for (“Management slashed my budget in half — I honestly couldn’t buy your product even if I wanted to”). Sometimes, the prospect will say this to brush you off, but in most instances, it is a genuine concern.
It is up to the SDR’s discretion, keen judgment, and instincts to determine if the prospect is being sincere. In this situation, it helps to keep in mind that your solution’s ROI could very well lead to a bigger budget for the prospect in the long run.
Example script: “Thank you for the insight, Mr Prospect. I understand why you may be hesitant to open up some budget for a solution you have no experience with. The reason I am calling you, however, is to open up some initial dialogue. CLIENTS X and Y implemented our tool to solve Z and K and I understand these are also problems for your business. Even if you do not purchase our solution, it would be prudent for us to connect and discuss the benefits for you when budget does open up”.
Another type of budget objection results from the prospect having already evaluated the solution through previous meetings and concluding that it was not worth the cost. If this just happened, it will prove very difficult to convince the prospect that you have an additional value proposition outside of a sizeable discount. If a few months have passed, be sure to reference new clients, product updates, or use cases to demonstrate added value.
Example script: “Ms Prospect, since the last time we connected, we have improved our solution’s UX and expanded integration offerings. These updates are the reason CLIENT X just signed with us last month to increase T and R. Since you mentioned T and R as problems the last time we spoke, it would be great to reconnect and discuss the added value these improvements offer your business”.
3. “We already use something for that”.
While it may be tempting to try and overcome this objection by attacking or devaluing the prospect’s current solution, all too often the people we are speaking to are the same people responsible for completing the project we hope to replace. In these instances, implying that you somehow know better than your prospects or being outright rude is a bad idea.
Alex recommends affirming the value of your prospect’s solution and offering additional value. Think about it: If the prospect is already in the market for your services, it is his duty and in his best interest to be absolutely sure that the current solution is in fact ideal for the business.
Example script: “I’m glad to hear that you are already working with a provider — this confirms that you see the value in using such a solution to increase X and Y. I am calling you because, in addition to increasing X and Y, we’ve worked with companies like CLIENT X to boost Z as well”.
4. “It’s not a good time”.
This objection comes up because the prospect is preoccupied with other responsibilities and cannot envision making your proposed project a priority. Whatever reason your prospect gives for not being able to evaluate your solution now, there are still ways to add value on the other side of their objection.
Example script #1:
Prospect: “We are too busy preparing for the holiday season right now”.
SDR: “That’s great — we can help you improve your checkout flow and guarantee smoother customer experiences during the busy season”.
Example script #2:
Prospect: “We are waiting for the new manager to start, and we’ll call you then. Asking a new hire to abruptly switch solutions after he starts can hamper productivity”.
SDR: “Buying now will help the manager develop familiarity with our solution and guarantees productivity”.
Example script #3:
Prospect: “We are too busy implementing SOLUTION V”.
SDR: “Great, clients like X and Y found that SOLUTION V works better when it operates in tandem with ours. Acting now will ensure you can capture this added value immediately”.
When it comes to timing objections, there’s usually a way to frame acting now vs. later as an opportunity for the prospect to get more done in the long run.
Source: HubSpot
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