You’re on a sales call with a prospect, and everything is going well until you hear the words: "We don’t have the budget." Bummer.
Sales objections are a tough spot to be in, but they can be anticipated and prevented.
In this article, we share exactly how, backed by insights from account executives and sales leaders who have overcome objections in calls at their companies.
Here’s what you’re going to learn:
- The Psychology Behind Sales Objections
- How to Anticipate Sales Objections
- Practical Techniques for Overcoming Objections in Sales (and Preventing Them in the Future).
The Psychology Behind Sales Objections
There are many reasons why prospects have objections. Your solution might be too expensive. They don’t see the value. Or they don’t want to commit to a contract.
To better understand the objections, you must understand their motivation. Is it the fear of making a wrong decision? Are they risk-averse? Do they already have a solution and fear change?
According to Gartner, 77% of B2B buyers found their last purchase very difficult and complex. And it’s easy to see why.
B2B purchases aren’t cheap. Besides, B2B transactions involve multiple decision-makers, detailed ROI analysis, and extensive research. A lot can go wrong if you think about it.
However, whether real or just a mind game, these sales objections present a good opportunity for sales executives and leaders to build trust and demonstrate value.
When objections arise in B2B sales, they open up opportunities for more meaningful conversations. This is the perfect time to really understand and address your prospects' concerns and show them how your solution is exactly what they need.
How to Anticipate Sales Objections
The first thing in dealing with “No” in sales is anticipating it. Here’s what it takes:
- Research Your Prospects — Look into the company’s size, recent funding rounds, profitability, current challenges, and motivations.
- Know Your Common Objections — You’ve probably been on numerous sales calls already, and there’s always something about your solution that your prospects are a bit unsure about. Analyze your past sales calls and keep a running list of the most common objections. Then, prepare rebuttals for each objection to feel more confident during future calls.
- Pay Attention to Your Competitors — Use social media and websites like G2 and Capterra to read about your competitors. Filter reviews by ratings to uncover why customers aren’t happy with your competitors’ products. Build a database of potential objections to better prepare for your sales pitch.
- Know the Market and Industry Trends—Things change every day. Stay updated on industry trends and micro and macroeconomic trends that might affect your prospects’ decisions.
- Document Your Ideal Answer — If you faced an objection and successfully overcame it, write it down as a sales script. This way, any team member can use it in the future.
- Train Your Staff—Are you a sales leader? Include objection handling in your staff training. Conduct drills and group exercises in which team members raise objections about your product, and others respond and handle them.
All in all, spend time doing your research, analyzing past sales calls, and practicing. You’ve heard the saying, “By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail?” Well, that’s exactly how it works in the sales world.
Practical Techniques for Overcoming Objections in Sales (and Preventing Them in the Future)
Now, even if you’ve done your research, you can’t prepare for every single objection. And that’s okay. Here are some strategies from real people in sales to handle those objections on the spot:
Have a Pre-Call Plan
Don’t go into a call without a game plan.
You want to know what you’re getting into so you can be ready for any questions that come your way.
As we discussed before, start by researching your prospect. If you can already predict some objections, address them right at the beginning of the call. That will put everyone at ease.
Tyler Hakes from Optimist, a content marketing agency, knows this well: "I try to handle ALL common objections by addressing them upfront on the sales call. Even before the prospect mentions them, I will usually run through a few common things that we hear and our thinking or approach."
Additionally, jot down the key points you want to discuss and the questions you plan to ask. This helps keep the conversation on track and ensures you cover everything important. By being prepared, you’ll feel more confident and make a great impression on your prospect.
Listen Actively
It may sound cliché, but listening is the absolute essence of overcoming objections in sales.
Pay close attention to what your prospect is saying and what they aren’t saying. This helps you pick up on clues about their real concerns.
Active listening also means asking good follow-up questions.
Ask Clarifying Questions
Building on the previous point, you should ask clarifying questions to get to the core of the prospect’s concerns.
When a prospect objects, it’s important not to jump to conclusions. Instead, dig deeper to understand the real issue.
Shannon Trimble from The Search Cure shares a great strategy: "When specific objections come up if I can think of a similar situation that we previously handled for a client, I’ll explain how.”
You can directly address the prospect’s concerns with real-world solutions by asking questions and providing relevant examples.
A good strategy is to ask open-ended questions. For example, if a prospect mentions that they’re worried about the cost, ask, “Can you tell me more about your budget constraints?” or “How does this pricing compare to your expectations?” These questions invite the prospect to share more details, giving you a better understanding of their objection.
Another effective technique is to restate the prospect's words and ask for confirmation. For instance, “It sounds like you’re concerned about the implementation timeline. Is that correct?” This shows that you’re listening and ensures you’re on the same page.
Provide Social Proof and Testimonials
Social proof and testimonials can be incredibly effective in overcoming objections in sales pitches. When prospects hear success stories from others who have faced similar concerns, it builds credibility and trust.
To make this work for you, you must have a few strong case studies ready. Highlight stories where clients had similar objections and how your solution made a difference. For example, talk about a client who worried about cost but saved money in the long run with your service.
Paul Schneider from Schneider Insurance shares his approach to handling skepticism, especially about switching insurance providers due to fear of disruption:
"I counter this by highlighting real scenarios where our transition process was seamless. For instance, a self-storage facility owner was initially reluctant but decided to switch after I detailed a case where another client in the same sector saw a 10% decrease in premiums and improved risk management strategies post-switch. The process was swift, and there were no disruptions, which I emphasized to build their confidence."
Lean Into Frameworks
Another great strategy to overcome objections in sales calls is using structured frameworks. These frameworks give you a straightforward, step-by-step approach to addressing concerns, ensuring you don’t miss anything important.
One popular framework is LAER:
- Listen: Start by really listening to the objection without interrupting.
- Acknowledge: Show that you understand their concern by acknowledging it.
- Explore: Ask questions to dig deeper and understand more about the objection.
- Respond: Give a well-thought-out solution to address their concern.
Another handy framework is LAARC:
- Listen: Begin by listening carefully to what the prospect is saying.
- Acknowledge: Let them know you understand their concern is valid.
- Assess: Consider how big of an issue this is and gather more details.
- Respond: Provide a clear and helpful answer to their concern.
- Confirm: Make sure your response has solved their problem by asking if they’re satisfied.
Last but not least, we have FFF:
- Feel: Start by acknowledging the prospect’s concern and showing empathy. For example, "I understand how you feel about this issue."
- Felt: Next, relate their concern to others by saying something like, "Other clients have felt the same way initially."
- Found: Finally, provide a solution by explaining, "What they found was that our product/service helped them achieve their goals despite their initial concerns."
Whichever method you decide to use, they all help you build rapport with prospects by demonstrating that you understand their concerns and have successfully addressed similar issues for other customers.
Use Automation Tools to Capture Call Notes and Improve Objection Handling
During sales calls, you can capture a lot of data, which can reveal valuable insights to improve your sales pitch.
Albizu Garcia from Gain, a social media and client collaboration tool, shares his perspective on learning from unsuccessful sales calls:
“To improve handling objections, we analyze feedback from unsuccessful sales calls, share insights internally, update sales materials, and enhance our marketing communications. We also use customer success stories and data to craft stronger responses, continuously refining our approach to connect better with prospective clients.”
Sales intelligence tools like Momentum AI can help make this process easier. Momentum uses AI to take notes during sales calls automatically. It picks up important information such as customer questions, objections, key topics discussed, action items, and follow-up tasks.
These notes are saved in your CRM, like Salesforce, and updates are sent to your team on Slack. This means you spend less time writing notes and more time focusing on selling. Plus, it helps you quickly find important information from past calls to improve your sales strategies.
And, if you're leading a sales team, knowing the objections your team faces regularly is super important. When you understand these objections, you can tweak the pitch to address them beforehand and coach your team to improve.
Momentum excels in this area by tracking calls, noting objections, and alerting managers. This way, you get insights into how the calls went, spot areas where the pitch can improve, and offer targeted coaching to specific team members. Using Momentum lets you refine your approach, build stronger relationships, and ultimately achieve more successful sales calls and happier clients.
Read our case study on how ChargeLab’s account executives overcome customer objections and convince them of the product’s benefits using Momentum.
Wrapping Up
Dealing with sales objections isn’t fun. It often feels like that’s it—we’ve lost this prospect. They aren’t interested anymore. But this belief can be self-limiting.
Most objections are just concerns or doubts. That’s why learning how to uncover your prospects’ hidden thoughts and address them effectively can help you seal more deals.
Use our strategies to handle objections better and turn challenges into opportunities. Remember, each objection is a chance to show your value and build a stronger relationship with your prospect.
And, if you need a tool to gather all the intel from sales calls, give Momentum AI a shot. Talk to us today so we can get you onboarded for a free trial.