Overcoming Sales Objections: 25 Examples of Common Sales Objections & Solutions
Sales objections are an everyday phenomenon that every sales rep experiences at least once in their career. Regardless of your product, service, or sales skills, you can’t help this sometimes. Most of the reasons you get from your prospects are very personal to them and have nothing to do with your sales pitch.
But no doubt, getting rejections from your prospects can rub off on you badly, especially after dedicating long hours to create a masterpiece pitch, only to get a response like “Sorry, I’m not interested in your product.” Rejections are inevitable in sales, but there are ways you can manage different rejections from your prospects, especially if the reasons they gave you are manageable.
To guide you through this, we have explained sales objections, identified 25 examples of common sales objections that most prospects give, and how to resolve this.
Keep reading!
Table of Contents
- What is a Sales Objection?
- The Difference Between Sales Objections and Obstructions
- What is Objection Handling?
- Why is it important to overcome sales objections?
- 10 Proven Strategies for Overcoming Objections in Sales
- The 10 Most Common Types of Sales Objections
- 25 Most Common Sales Objections Examples and How to Respond Appropriately.
What is a Sales Objection?
A sales objection explicitly indicates that a prospect is not ready to buy from you, evident by the excuses or reasons they give you. It refers to any concern your potential or current lead raises during the sales process as a problem or barrier that will stop them from buying from you at present or in the future.
These reasons can include their concerns with the price, a product feature, failure to understand the value or usefulness of the product, lack of time to engage with you, and lack of current interest, among other reasons.
Although many sales reps outrightly perceive this to be a rejection, sales objections indicate that you need to put more effort into buying than you earlier anticipated by learning more about your prospects, their pain points, and situations and developing a well-thought-out strategy to resolve this.
The Difference Between Sales Objections and Obstructions
There are many sides and processes to achieving sales. One of these is sales obstruction. Sales obstructions are circumstances, issues, or deep concerns that stop a prospect from buying. It differs from sales objections, which refer to reasons a prospect gives when unsure if your products or services are right for them.
Alternatively, sales objections also refer to the issues that affect sales or stop a sales representative from closing a sales deal. Examples of sales obstructions include:
- Competition
- Hostility from new prospects
- Objections from leads
- Outright rejection
- Complacency
- Noise (Information overload).
- Lack of trust
- Wrong timing and many others.
What is Objection Handling?
Objection handling is the coordinated and planned process of responding appropriately to the concerns about the product or service that a prospect has raised to provide a solution to this problem and move the deal forward.
As explained above, objections are mostly centered around a feature or aspect of the product, service, or business that the prospect is not satisfied with, usually around the price, product feature, the unique value or benefit of the product, competitors, product fit, or other concerns. It simply means handling sales objections in a way that convinces the prospect to change their mind or solve their problems.
Some sales reps struggle with accepting this reality as they press them to take the product without looking into the problem. A good way around this is to try building rapport and trust with them to look into the underlying problem of why they are not able to buy from you at the time.
Then, work with them to help them to come to a different conclusion that can impact sales. If you can’t persuade them, that could indicate they are not a good fit for your products or services.
Why is it important to overcome sales objections?
Sales objections are a regular phenomenon in the sales process. Often, prospects will have varying opinions about your product or service – whether they want it or not – you would have to deal with their response in the best way possible.
Customers are critical to increasing sales. Hence, you must consider them in every step of your sales strategy to ensure you are fulfilling a need. For example, during the meeting or pitch stage, your prospect could give you general reasons why they can’t buy from you at the time, such as a lack of funds or no time or need for the product.
On the other hand, they can give more specific reasons like they don’t like your products, it doesn’t work as advertised, prices are higher than competitors, or the products didn’t work as promised, a missing or outdated feature, etc. Either way, handling the objections can open doors to understanding your prospects more and learning more about the things that matter to them, such as their pain points, current situation, etc., to help you determine the best ways to take this problem.
The more you learn about your prospects, the easier it is for you to build trust and show your prospects the benefits of your products. Importantly, overcoming objections also prepares you for future sales objections. Handling sales objections can help in the following ways.
- Help you qualify your leads and ensure they fit your solution well.
- Personalize your sales messaging, campaign, and strategy to fit the prospects’ needs, concerns, history, and experiences.
- Build rapport and create long-term customer relationships.
Pay more attention to understanding and solving the prospect’s concerns to make sales successful. However, if they don’t change their stance after doing this, consider it a misfit for your product or service.
10 Proven Strategies for Overcoming Objections in Sales
Sales objections are inevitable in your career, irrespective of your expertise and skills. Not all sales objections are outright rejections; many are bridges to satisfying your customer’s needs and increasing sales success.
1. Understand the sales objections
In most cases, sales objections are borne out of a gap or problem in your products or services.
So when you experience them, please don’t take it as a form of rebel or hatred from your prospects; instead, try to understand where they are coming from, their current situation, the exact problem they have with your product or services, and why it’s important to solve that problem before they buy from you.
2. Listen to their story
As mentioned, sales objections are made due to an underlying product or service problem or a bad vibe with the company.
To streamline your buying process, listen to your prospect’s concerns and try to see where the concerns are coming from so you don’t make any assumptions.
3. Craft a response to address their objection
Once you take your time to understand your customer’s concerns, the next plan is to find a perfect response to address their concerns. If you can convince them that you will find a solution to their problem, you will be able to get them to reconsider their decision to choose your products or service over your competitors.
4. Put in the effort to resolve the objection in real time
Remember that it’s not enough to convince or promise them that you will find a solution to the problem; you need to be proactive and find the best way to satisfy their concerns as soon as possible. This lets you quickly solve the obstacle and move the sales process forward.
5. Keep your responses clear and straight to the point
Be attentive and courteous to your prospects and keep them updated about the progress of the work. Also, ensure your responses are clear, short, and straight to the point. Remember that your answers are too long, affecting their trust in you.
6. Learn to ask follow-up questions
Often, your prospects have more than one reason why they are not willing to buy from you at the time. So when discussing this with them, ensure that you ask follow-up questions to keep the conversation natural and to ensure that you don’t miss any relevant details that can help you satisfy their needs.
A quick tip is to ask open-ended questions that enable them to express their thoughts openly.
7. Leverage social proof
Social proof is an excellent way to show your prospects that you are true to your words and are committed to solving their needs or concerns.
Consider sharing a similar story of customer feedback or testimonial talking about a similar problem they had with your product or service and how you solved it. Best case, you can also share more testimonials of your current clients sharing the good news about your products.
8. Confirm that the objection has been satisfied
Once you have given them an excellent response to their objections, you should ask them questions to ensure they understand and accept your response. For example, ask them how they feel about your solution or response to their objections and if they have the clarity they need to make a purchase decision.
9. Develop an objection management document
Since there is a high chance that you will face objections from your prospect along the line, you should consider creating a well-structured and documented objection management document. This document will list the top 20 to 30 objections you face when pitching your prospects and 1-3 line responses for each.
If you work in a team, work with them to assemble this. Remember that this document helps to prepare you for future sales objections.
10. Practice your responses and memorize them for future
Creating your objection management document is not enough to prepare your future sales objections; you need to commit the responses to memory, which comes in handy when talking to your prospect.
Knowing what to expect from your prospect eliminates horrible surprises affecting your sales.
The 10 Most Common Types of Sales Objections
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Although the four common types of sales objections in B2B sales include: Lack of budget, lack of authority, lack of need, and lack of authority. There are many other types of objections that you should consider when preparing for possible objections from your prospects or qualified leads.
1. Lack of need
There are many situations where your prospects have a problem that they are not aware of, or even if they are aware; they are not well informed about what the solution to the problem can do to their life. In this case, the prospect doesn’t see the value of your product or doesn’t see the need to buy from you.
2. Lack of Urgency
Lack of urgency states that your prospect does not see your solutions’ value and total impact. When a prospect tells you that your products are not on their priority list at the time, it simply means they have something else on their priority list.
When you notice a lack of urgency, it shows that you have presented your product or service as valuable and beneficial to their prospects. A good way around this is to help them see the value of your product.
3. Lack of budget
Price objections are another objection prospects give sales reps during a sales call and other meetings. While this can be a genuine reason in time situations, you should also remember that this objection might be a disguise for something else.
Depending on the economic status of the prospect and their current situation. You can counter this by emphasizing the product’s value or breaking the pricing into small billing options.
4. Lack of Trust
If you pitch a new product or service to your new qualified leads or prospects, it’s expected that the prospects feel a certain way about you, your solution, or your company’s reputation. In this situation, there could be an underlying problem or impression about your product, service, or company that you need to resolve before they buy from you.
5. Product Objection
Another common objection is that your customer can voice an underlying issue with your product – which could result from a general misconception or poor experience from using your product in the past.
On another note, it could also be because it is not as good as your competitors are offering, or it’s hard for them to understand how your prediction will help them. A good way to tackle this problem is to use social proof, as mentioned earlier, or provide them with more information on the product or service features and functionality.
6. Lack of authority
This is another common sales objection you will face when speaking to many prospects, especially when dealing with well-established companies. It is a lack of authority. You might often hear some prospects tell you they are not in the correct position to call the shot when making a purchase.
An excellent way to tackle this is to request for the person of authority that you can talk to and request that they inform the person about your product/service while you also reach out to the person in authority.
7. Source Objection
This form of objection is slightly similar to other concerns. However, in this case, the prospect has no issue with your product or service but is uncertain about the salesperson or the company.
Although most salespeople hardly face this concern, it’s still good to prepare ahead of this and find a better way to elaborate on your company’s or personal skills and strengths and how long the company has existed. If they have pointed out anything as an issue, tackle this by listing your past clients and how you minimize risk to build their trust.
8. Time-related Objection
In this situation, the prospect identifies lack of time as why they can’t buy from you. A prospect can claim to be too busy or ask you to call back after some time or visit after a certain period.
An excellent way to handle this is by inquiring into the projects they are working on, their desire to buy from you, and when exactly they want you to get back to them. Remember that your prospects can also say this when they don’t feel convinced about the value of your product. So be respectful, and don’t be too pushy; instead, emphasize your product value.
9. Contentedness Objection
This type of objection has a different focus than the other ones above. In this case, the prospect is already using a similar product to yours and is feeling contented with that product.
So they don’t see a need to change their preference or try out your product or services. An excellent way to go around this is to study the competitor’s product to understand what makes it a top choice for them and how to present your product to change their minds.
10. Aggressive Objection
The last on our list is the aggressive objection. In this case, the salesperson faces an aggressive prospect who turns you down most unexpectedly. Irrespective of how professionally you pitch your products or service to your potential, they could still be harsh, and there’s hardly anything you can do to help this situation.
Try to stay calm if you ever meet a hostile prospect. Give them some time; it could be the wrong time. However, if this persists, consider handing them over to your colleague or focus on building rapport with them.
25 Most Common Sales Objections Examples and How to Respond Appropriately
There are different dynamics to sales. You are not going to receive a positive response from your prospect all the time. It takes experience to know that you will have the good days when you close the deal and the days when you lose value.
Invesp report that 60% of customers say no four times before saying yes. 80% of sales require five follow-up calls, though sadly, 44% of salespeople give up after one follow-up call. Here are the typical example of sales objections and how to respond appropriately.
1. “I have no money.”
A typical sales objection from many prospects is a lack of money to buy your product or service. Remember that this could mean they don’t have enough cash to afford your product or service or that their business is not big enough to afford that.
An excellent way to tackle this is to study their business to identify a gap your product or service can fill and help them realize this.
Response Sample:
I understand; thank you for your honesty. Please explain our other offering that may better fit your current budget.
2. “It is costly.”
Price objections are another common objection you will likely face when dealing with prospects. In this situation, they make your price the focus issue, why they can’t buy from you. Although this is a real struggle that some prospects face with products or services, you need to understand that some of them mention this to avoid buying from you.
Don’t be tempted to reduce your price immediately; instead, focus on the value of your offerings to see if they will have a change of mind. If not, discuss with your management to reduce the price.
Response Sample:
Our product has (identify a helpful feature) and emphasizes how it can help them resolve their problem/pain point.
3. “Our budget has been set for other purposes.”
It is not uncommon for people to have a budget for other resources vital to their business success. Your job as a professional salesperson is to emphasize the value proposition and position your product or service as a priority that deserves business focus and budget allocation. Consider sharing case studies and customer testimonials on how your product or service has helped them save money, increased efficiency, and had high ROI.
Response Sample:
We’ve had clients with this same issue but have been able to help them solve it (highlighting exactly how and the evident results they got from using your product.
4. “We have no budget left this year.”
This is a “no money” objection that prospects say to inform you of their cash flow situations since this is a real issue that many business experiences, especially after sorting out all the critical tasks.
A good way around this is to either volunteer to speak to the top decision-makers about your product by highlighting its value or ask for a good time to follow up with them.
Response Sample:
Please let me know a good time to follow up on this and when you expect to get funding?
5. “I have already signed up with a competitor.”
This is another common objection you often get from your prospect during sales. Since the global market is very competitive, there is a high chance that the prospect has signed up with your competitor. An excellent way to get out of this is to offer an enticing discount to get them to reconsider their decision or show proof of how your clients have benefited from using your product/service.
Response Sample:
How long have you been using (the competitor)? We have a product feature or functionality that can help you solve (state the problem you noticed from them).
6. “We are already working with (Vendor’s name).”
This is very similar to the last objection. The key reason why many people choose to work with a brand or use their product is to solve a need. This is one of the common objections you will hear many prospects give this reason.
What do you do then? Since there’s a possibility that they might have some reservations about your product, you can still pitch to them what your product does differently and how it can help them increase their ROI.
Response Sample:
How is your experience with {name of competitor}? Mention a problem you noticed in your prospect’s company and talk to them about how your product/service can solve this need.
7. “I’m happy with [Competitor X].”
Just as your prospect is likely to have an issue with your competitor’s product, they could still be happy and satisfied with the service. Even in this situation, don’t give up on the prospect. Remember that objections hide underlying issues.
Consider studying your prospect’s business to identify the gap your product can fill. Highlight your product’s strengths and buttress your point with social proof to convince them.
Response Sample:
That’s great. I noticed (highlight the gap or problem you identified in their business) and discuss how your product can help them improve their business performance.
8. “I can get it cheaper somewhere else.”
This objection is slightly similar to the other objection, only that they are interested in cheaper options. An obvious thing about this situation is that the prospect is playing you against your competitor to get a discount or a lower price, or they feel that they don’t need to make that much pay for your product.
In this situation, you must be strategic about it and emphasize your product value or features that make it superior to others. If they don’t fret after those, consider offering them a discount but not below your product value. Consider walking away if they still want you to go lower than usual.
Response Sample:
Have your tried (Vendor’s X product)? Are there any points of differentiation between your product and the option? Which one of the two gives you more value and support?
9. “I heard (false statement or misconception about your product).”
This is another prominent issue that you might experience when having a sales conversation with your prospect. There is a high chance they don’t want to buy from you because of wrong information or misconception about your product or service.
In this situation, you should ask them about the misconception to ensure that you are on the same page with them and understand where that is coming from to clarify the misunderstanding.
Response Sample:
Our product materials are sourced and manufactured in the USA, not China. We have developed them rapidly and have been helping our clients achieve their business goals.
10. I can’t sell your products internally.”
Another notable objection that you are likely to be the adoption problem. They might point out that they are not using your product in their company at the time. Fair enough, this is a valid reason, but not enough to make you back down.
This objection identifies a gap – they are not already using the product when you reach out to them. Return to the drawing board to determine the best ways to pitch a problem to them – that your product can solve. Work with the marketing team to create collateral to help you break the ice.
Response Sample:
I noticed that your brand (highlights the area your prospect’s company is not targeting or focusing on and is a potential avenue to make more money or improve their business performance).
11. “I’m not authorized to make a final decision on the purchase.”
This is a common objection you are mostly likely to hear when dealing with B2B companies with different levels of management. In this case, you could be talking to a manager whose responsibility is to manage and coordinate the affairs of the team and who has no decision-making authority
There’s a high possibility that this person has a director they report to and has the authority to decide on the type of product/service to use. As a sales professional trained to overcome objections, you can request the name and details of the authorized person to pitch to them and get the sales moving.
Response Sample:
Who is the right person to speak to regarding this product or service? Could you direct me to them and introduce me to them?
12. “We are being downsized/ bought out.”
Although this is not a common objection, it’s still one of the things that happen that you should prepare for. If the prospect’s company is closing down or downsizing, you can hardly do anything in this situation.
An excellent way to handle this objection is to close the conversion professionally and promise to always keep in touch with them in the future.
Response Sample:
Thank you for your time. I appreciate your honesty and look forward to your good news soon. If you need a product or service in our niche, please don’t hesitate to contact me in the future.
13. “The potential buyer is not convinced.”
This is one of the significant issues that can come up when speaking to the prospect. If your prospect mentions this, it shows the need to put more effort into the sales pitch.
When making sales calls, try to emphasize the value proposition of the product or services and highlight the benefits or special features of your products that can help them move the business forward. If this is still a problem after highlighting your business strengths, consider walking away to save time and stress.
Response Sample:
That’s unfortunate. If you change your mind, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I would love to help you get on board.
14. “There’s too much in the company right now.”
This is not surprising to hear as an objection from your prospect, especially if the company is significant. They would have already drawn out a list of priorities or goals they plan to achieve.
So it is only typical that they have more priorities that they are focusing on at the time you contact them. If they can be truthful to give you concert answers, set a meeting to follow up with them and send them helpful resources to stay on their radar.
Response Sample:
I understand your situation. I appreciate your honesty. I would love to follow up with you when your calendars clear.
15. “I have never heard of your company.”
This is one of the honest objections from your prospects during sales. It indicates a problem with your brand awareness strategy. Instead of feeling insulted, consider this a request to learn more about your company and product. Also, remember that this can be your opportunity to promote your products by summarizing your value proposition quickly.
Response Sample:
We are a company that manages the graphic design needs of companies. I would love to discuss your brand identity and see how we can help.
16. This (problem) isn’t important to us right now
This is also one of the realities of many prospects’ businesses. At the same time, you might be taken aback by this objection and want to end the sales call. But a simple “Oh” could break the ice and make them open to you on their real priorities. Once they start talking about this, listen to them and decide if it’s worth staying with them or moving on to the next client.
Response Sample:
Hello, thanks for your response. What are your current priorities? Could you tell me more about it?
17. “We are doing great in this area.”
This is not uncommon. Many prospective customers could already have products they are already using and are pretty satisfied with. If you hear this objection, ask them more clarifying questions and complete your lead qualification process.
Response Sample:
What are your goals? How has your professed been so far? We just launched (product X) and believe this could fit you well. Would you like to check it out?
18. “I don’t see how your product can help me.”
This could be another request for information disguised as an objection. It indicates their lack of knowledge about your product or company. In this situation, consider highlighting and reconfirming the goals or challenges of the prospect’s business and explaining in detail with evidence how your product can help them achieve their goals or solve their challenges.
Response Sample:
Interesting! Could you share the specific challenges you are facing right now? We have various products that could help solve different business challenges.
19. “We don’t have that business pain.”
As accurate as this sound, this could be an excuse they give to dismiss your business offer or could mean they are unaware of their business challenges at the time. On the other hand, you could use this to learn more about their business and determine where and how your product can fit in.
Even when you discover in your conversation that they don’t need your product, don’t give up too quickly. Even if you don’t sell your product to them, you could help them in other ways that could impact future sales.
Response Sample:
Great! What solutions are you currently using to address this area of your business?
20. I have heard many complaints about you from (colleagues, online reviews platforms, etc.).
Bad news flyout a lot faster than good news. Unlike online reviews that can’t always be trusted, word of mouth has a quicker and more profound effect on people. If a prospect tells you they can’t buy from you because of the bad reviews you have, thank them for their honest feedback instead of defending your solution, business, or brand (as this will only validate the criticism).
Consider building rapport with them to build trust and credibility with the prospect. Once you can build trust with them, you can give them a positive experience, which will help them gain a high opinion of you.
Response Sample:
Thanks for your feedback; I will relay all your concerns to (the relevant department). While we are doing this, would it be okay for me to share a few tips to increase your ROI and enhance your business performance?
21. We can’t implement the product
This real-time objection can be a deal-breaker, especially if your prospect doesn’t have the financial and human resources capability to either purchase or implement your product. Also, depending on your product or service type, it could be difficult for the prospect to implement the product appropriately. In this situation, you might have to disqualify the prospect if you don’t see a way out of this.
Response Sample:
Thank you for your response. However, the sole aim of his call is to add value to your brand and not take it away. What are your current day-to-day responsibilities in your job? I would love to explain how this product can help alleviate some of your problems once onboarded.
22. You don’t seem to understand my business
Customer research is critical to a successful sale. However, if your client doesn’t have enough information about them online, it could be challenging for you to understand their pain points fully to personalize your business solutions. They could tell you that you don’t understand their business.
Instead of stammering, you can tell that you have experience working with similar companies with evidence to back this. If you have made an earlier incorrect assumption, own up to it and talk more about the product value proposition.
Response Sample:
Sorry about that – I gathered this information online and assumed it was true, but it doesn’t apply to your business. Can you tell me a little bit more about your current projects?
23. “Your product is too complicated.”
Sometimes, your prospects can buy from you because they are not interested; it could be because it’s too complicated for them to understand and relate to their business needs. Instead of giving up on the client, try building a rapport to understand the problem and work with them to resolve the misconception. If your product doesn’t seem like a good fit after this, you could disqualify them and move to the next client.
Response Sample:
Hi, thanks for your feedback. Could you shed more light on the features that are confusing you? We have 24/7 customer service to help you with product implementation
24. You don’t understand my challenges; I need help with X and not Y
Aside from price and budget objections, another issue that could come up is not understanding your client’s problems. When this happens, you cannot effectively pitch the right products to them.
An excellent way to resolve this objection is by restating your understanding of their situation and getting them to tell you their current problems. This way, you can ensure that you are both on the same page. Then you pitch your product value proposition to them again.
Response Sample:
I apologize for this. Let me restate my understanding of your challenges, and please let me know where I’ve gotten it wrong.
25. “I’m busy right now.”
A lot is happening in the world right now and in the lives of every professional, so it’s not surprising that your prospects are busy. Also, note that they could say this to dismiss you. In this case, inform them that you will keep the conversation very short so as not to take too much of their time. Discuss how your product can be a good fit for them.
Response Sample:
I won’t take too much of your time. Can we briefly discuss your challenges with (their product) and how our business solutions can help you?
Conclusion
Sales objection implies the presence of a barrier between the products you are trying to sell and the need they have. Most sales professionals would experience objections from their clients once or many times in their conversations with clients.
It’s important to note that objections don’t necessarily mean outright “no”; they could suggest a problem with your products, pricing, or their company that needs to be resolved before making a successful sale. So when you face objections from your prospects, don’t treat this as bad; instead, let this serve as a motivation to help your clients.
