Objections are born out of fear. Fear the prospect will spend money on something they won’t use or get value from, fear that they will look bad if it doesn’t go well, fear that others in the company won’t be open to switching vendors or spending money on some new strategy or vendor.

The best way to deal with that fear is to better understand it and get to the root cause of that fear. So put your therapist hat on and let’s go to work. 

I teach my clients that you handle objections by asking questions. I call this peeling back the onion. You need to get through all the layers to figure out what’s really at the core of the fear.

Let me give you some examples of my favorite objections and how to handle them with questions.

• “We’re happy with our current vendor”

This is a great objection, for 2 reasons. They knew they had an issue and are using a 3^rd party to solve it and they are already spending money to solve it. Meaning, we’re not going to have to convince them they have an issue AND they need to spend money to fix it. They’re already doing both of these things.

So, here are some questions to ask to learn more:

• • How long have you been using ABC company?
  • What was the issue you were trying to solve?
  • What was the main reason you chose them?
  • When does your contract come up for renewal?
  • Are there features/services you wish they were supplying you that they aren’t?
  • Are you willing to learn more about our product/service to compare to what you have now?

Remember, when we’re cold outbound prospecting, we’re trying to find a fit and determine qualification. See how asking questions will help you determine that? Just because they are using a competitor doesn’t mean they’re a good fit for you and your company.

Let’s try a fan favorite!

• “We don’t have any budget”
  • Oh- does that mean you never had budget for a project/service/product like this or you’ve already spent your budget for this year?

I love this question to the “no budget” objection. 1st, most times it’s just a blow off objection, so by asking this question you’re calling them on their bluff and pushing for a real answer. Assuming it’s true, you need to understand if this was a budgeted initiative (which is good news for you) or if they don’t think solving the issue is worth spending money on.

Ok, last but not least:

• “We’re under contract for the next 9 months” This one is harder, because they’ve already invested, but there is always a circumstance where they would switch vendors.
  • I see, how long have you been with that vendor?
  • Who is the vendor?
  • What do you like about them?
  • Any gaps in service or product features?
  • What would have to happen for you to switch vendors before the contract is up?
  • Would you be open to speaking again 90 days before the contract renewal?

In this case, you’ll need to continue to “nurture” them. Meaning you need to put them on your company’s newsletter, invite them to webinars, send articles of interest and make sure you are following the contact and company on LinkedIn to track any news that might impact the situation.

Objections are a necessary evil in sales. We should really be thankful for them. Here’s why:

• They give us a window into what the prospect is thinking
• They give you a chance to correct any miscommunication that might have happened
• They keep us from wasting time with the wrong prospects

Take some time to list the top 5 objections you hear and write 5 questions around that objection that will give you more information so you can better address the issue and help you determine if you can move them forward in the sales process or you need to move on.