b. Ouch, it must be frustrating to operate without budget.
c. I’m not surprised, [competitor] is great.
Why: It’s the only way to reduce tension.
3a. Ask for permission
Do you mind if I ask a question about that/one last question?
Why: Asking for permission gives control to the buyer and helps build rapport.
3b. Ask a question right away (or you may lose the conversation)
Why: With very direct objections (like not interested), ask immediately.
Tonality
❌ Sarcasm
❌ High-pitched
❌ Annoyed
✅ Calm
✅ Curious
✅ Cool
Post-Objection
Depending on the answer:
Mirroring the 1-3 crucial words to get the prospect to open up
Labelling emotions: It sounds/seems/looks/feels
Ask questions to dig into the pain/problem further
If faced with another objection, restart.
Careful:
These are suggestions only; adapt them to your personality and your world.
Have a conversation; no one wants to be interrogated.
Objection Responses (click ▶️ for script)
PRICING
We don’t have any budget.
It must be frustrating to operate with no money. Pause
I’m assuming even if you had budget, this wouldn’t be a priority anyway, right?
It’s too expensive
Oh I don’t get that a lot.
1. Do you mind if I ask a stupid question?
Does that mean you’re currently perfectly satisfied for a much cheaper price?
2. Does that mean this problem is not worth spending more on, or you simply don’t have the problem?
STATUS QUO
We’re fine/good, thanks.
When you say fine 👇🏻
Is that because you genuinely don’t have problem X, or you don’t trust someone cold calling you could help?
You meant to say perfect, didn’t you?
You don’t believe it can be done better?
You can’t handle any more business?
You don’t believe a third party can help?
Are you telling me that just to get rid of me?
We already have a supplier/something in place
I thought you would, at least you are relevant for our offer.
Does that mean everything is perfect?
What are they doing so well that deserves your loyalty?
If you could build your own system from scratch, what’s one problem we and our competitors can’t seem to fix 100%?
When you say you already have a supplier, can I ask if it’s not your brother-in-law’s company by any chance?
No. Good. So, that means you can consider an alternative supplier if you believe it’s better, without any guilt?
Ok, and you’ve decided never to look at other suppliers, even if what they could do better?
Are you saying you don’t believe it could be done better?
So, have you never changed suppliers before?
Would your supplier be jealous we’re speaking right now?
It looks quite similar to what we already have.
Oh, that’s the first time I hear that! When you say it looks similar, what do you mean, exactly?
We don’t need this at the moment.
That’s not surprising; I thought you may have already fixed the problem; would you be opposed to sharing how?
We don’t want to change our current system/processes.
It sounds like you have everything under control. Is that because everything works perfectly or because changing things would be too painful?
It’s not the right time for this.
I do usually have horrible timing. Does that mean you don’t need this at all, or are other priorities completely taking over your schedule?
BRUSH OFFS
I don’t take sales/cold calls.
You don’t take any cold calls or just the bad ones?
If I call you back tomorrow, is that still a cold call?
Please send me an email (right away)
Of course, I can. What’s the best email to reach you on? Before I do, would you be opposed to hearing what it is about to ensure it’s even relevant?
Please send me an email (after the pitch)
Absolutely.
What’s the best email to reach you on?
To ensure it hits the mark, which of the problems I mentioned is the most relevant?
Please send me an email (during the conversation)
Absolutely. I certainly can, but do you mind asking a question first? Nine times out of ten, when someone asks you for an email, what does that actually mean?
I’m not interested (right away)
Was my accent/voice that weird?
Did I sound that boring?
I’m not surprised; I’m a complete stranger interrupting your day.
Would you be mad if I asked one last question? Is that because you hate sales calls, or you simply have absolutely no problems to fix?
I’m not interested (after the pitch)
(a) It sounds like you have already solved [problem].
Do you mind if I ask you how you did it?
(b) When you say not interested, is that because you don’t experience the issues I mentioned,
or you do, but it’s not a priority to fix or some other reason?
(c) When you say not interested, is that because you don’t resonate with these issues,
you don’t enjoy speaking to salespeople, or my pitch was so bad you wanted to hang up halfway through?
Call me back in six months.
(a) It sounds like something specific will happen in six months.
Do you mind me asking what that may be?
(b) Happy to — out of interest, what’s likely to have changed in 6 months,
or is this a polite way of saying go away?
I’ll call you back next week
Ahhh, the famous last words. Pause
What does it mean 95 times out of 100 when someone says that on a sales call?
I’m in a meeting / I’m busy.
Ouch, my timing is awful. Would it be a stupid idea to briefly explain now so that you’ll never hear from me again if it’s irrelevant?
Where did you get my number?
If I told you I Googled “most competent (ICP) in (location)”, and your number just came up, would you believe me?
I use a platform called (insert) and you came up as (job title) at (company), is that correct?
OTHERS:
How much research have you done?
That’s a fair question. I’ve done some background research, but obviously, I don’t have your deep knowledge. That’s why I called. In fact, [question]?
I need to discuss this with someone else.
That makes sense; I thought it would be the case.
Do you mind if I ask an obvious question?
What do you think they’ll say when you discuss this with them?
We tried that, but it didn’t work for us.
Oh, I don’t hear that often. When you say it didn’t work for you, what exactly do you mean by that?
One Last Question
You tried to deal with the objection, but the prospect still wants to end the call.
You have one card to play: the last question.
Before I go, do you mind if I ask one last question?
95/100 times, they’ll agree.
You then want to ask a great question to get back in.
You know you’ve done well when they say: good question.
Examples:
If you had to fix a problem in (your product/service area), what’s the first one that comes to mind?
Do you genuinely not have any of these problems, or don’t trust a cold caller could help?
What would have to change for you to consider (solution)?
A few more examples are underneath the specific objections.
Typically, the BEST Last Questions come from active listening.
E.g:
Prospect: I never had this problem.
You: How would you deal with it if you had to?
The aim is always the same – getting the prospect to think more deeply about the problem.
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