Overcoming Client Objections

Listen to Nick and Justin on the Sales Reinvented Podcast

Janek Managing Partners Nick Kane and Justin Zappulla recently appeared on the Sales Reinvented Podcast to share their expertise on overcoming sales objections. Tune in to the Sales Reinvented Podcast now to hear Nick and Justin’s expert tips on mastering sales objections and taking your sales strategy to the next level.

Top Client Objections

One certainty for salespeople is that, at some point, they will handle objections. With the number of decision makers continuing to rise, sellers know they will likely encounter the sticky cog in the wheel, the lone holdout to a solution, even after everyone else gets on board. In deals ranging from the transactional to the complex and at any point in the sales process, chances are someone will scrunch their face, purse their lips, or straight up shake their head. While there can be countless reasons for this, top sellers know the value of patience, understanding, and empathy when confronting these protests, and here are ways to overcome the top-six client objections:

Client Budget Concerns

Without question, this is the number one reason clients raise objections. No matter how great the solution, the price doesn’t fit their budget, or they wish they had known the solution before funds were allocated. Of course, sellers know this is only partly true. Budgets are projections. They are not crystal balls, forecasted to certain outcomes. Therefore, it is the seller’s job to generate demand. Part of this is understanding the client’s personal and professional needs. When customers are bound by a budget, they’ll naturally base their range on its restrictions. But they may also use the old budget excuse for insisting on a lower price. Be a proactive seller, throwing out a number before the customer does. Budgets tend to open or stretch when buyers realize how their lives are improved by long-term, cost-effective solutions that add value, save money, and make themselves or their bosses look good.

Time

For some clients, it is never the right time to implement new solutions. How often have you heard, “If only the market wasn’t uncertain, or the Midwest storms didn’t set us back”? This can often be overcome with “What if?” questions, where sellers guide buyers to see the implications of both their actions and inaction. Like Ghosts of Christmas Past, sellers should show how the buyer’s life will be different in six months. For example, “What if you do nothing and another storm hits Davenport, your main distribution hub?” “Conversely, what if you implement our Platinum Package now and augment your other hubs with enough product to meet holiday demand?”

Competition

Another common objection stems from a competitor’s offer. After all, you are not the only game in town, and today’s clients are more knowledgeable than ever. Therefore, it is essential sellers know their competition’s offerings along with how they stack up against your own. Unless a product is so unique it stands alone and corners the market, many solutions are comparable. In this case, objections can be overcome with products that provide the greatest value. Here, sellers must know the specifications of their competitor’s offerings—how they’re made, how long they last, service and support—and contrast their own offerings to illustrate the best value.  

Skeptical Clients

Some clients will balk at any perceived complication. This means you must overcome the domino effect of their thinking: new solutions bring new problems, learning curves, and a loss of productivity. For these clients, lead with empathy. After all, sellers too can be creatures of habit who resist technology or new ways of doing things, such as selling virtually. For skeptical clients, schedule demonstrations and walk throughs. If you yourself are not tech savvy or an expert with this product, bring in additional support to alleviate your client’s concerns. Remember, ease of use is a critical selling point, and buyers will appreciate any effort to keep it simple.

Lacking Decision Authority

Stop me if you heard this one. You impressed your contact and several others. They have fancy titles, like Director of This, VP of That, Senior So and So, and they are all enthusiastic about your solution. However, when it’s time to decide, none have real authority. They’ll tell you great things, like “If it were up to me…,” as their voice trails off. Of course, you should learn all decision makers during lead qualification, and it’s common for more to appear in discovery, but the best sellers check with their contacts throughout the sales process for decision makers with final authority. The sooner you can identify, engage, and impress these VIPs, the sooner you can shake hands and sign the paperwork.        

Little Urgency from Clients

Sometimes, buyers don’t see the big picture. They recognize the potential of your solution, but they view it as a luxury. They don’t feel the urgency to move. Often, this stems from a value deficiency. Like patients who refuse to see a doctor unless something hurts, buyers must be prodded to act. Sellers should press the proverbial pain points to show buyers how much their inaction hurts their bottom line. Make them see the problem is not going away and may even get worse. For example, tell them, “If this was your loss in quarter three, the projected supply chain crisis could mean greater losses in quarter four.” Follow this with how their limited, up-front cost provides long-term value to both their bottom line and peace of mind.

Perhaps, if there’s a commonality in these objections, it would be fear: fear of wasting money or time, fear of inadequacy, not taking responsibility, making a mistake. This is compounded for managers and leaders whose decisions influence budgets and even staff. For sellers, understanding this can be key to success or failure. If objections derive from fear, then patience, understanding, and empathy can go a long way to overcoming them, and remind both buyers and sellers that the best defense is working with a trusted partner.

What to Consider with Client Objections

Despite what might be vast experience with negative responses, we’re not always used to hearing “no.” Literally, our mindset can make or break us in an objection situation. A sales professional with a positive mindset hears objections differently. Instead of letting a negative feeling take over, they might step back and watch the emotion go by. They also do a good job of keeping in mind that an objection is not a personal attack.

Capitalizing on Client Objections

Top sales professionals will take the helm and reframe the objection. They know that a sales objection can be an inroad for getting further on the path to understanding the customer’s needs, priorities, and values. Just having that interaction puts you in an excellent light. It shows you’re engaged; you’re listening; you’re empathetic; you’re right in there with the customer, getting at what kind of solution will suit them.

It may sound obvious, but when you’re selling, always remember that you’re engaged in a human interaction. Once you go into and occupy a negative emotion, in a sense you’re outside of that person-to-person interaction. Of course we can’t be expected to revamp our established behaviors and patterns overnight. But we can look at methods for letting the defensiveness and other emotional clouds drift on by.

If you have an emotional reaction to a customer objection, recognize the emotion, but then allow it to move on. Then take it a step further and empathize with the customer so that you can uncover the root of their objection. Subtracting your emotions from the equation frees you up to really engage the customer. Start by asking what their biggest concern is. Then actively listen to both what they say and what they don’t say. Listen to their pauses. Decode their non-verbal communication. Often the answers are in the spaces between what’s said. In other words, tune into the customer to understand their hesitation and to get closer to what their need is. Then you can start to really help them.

When you use objections as keys for unlocking what’s going on with the customer, you’re providing yourself with a chance to help the buyer see past their concerns and what they might, at least temporarily, perceive as obstacles. That puts you in a better position to uncover solutions.

Taking your bruised feelings out of the interaction actually increases the probability of a successful business relationship and laying the ground for long-term loyalty. And we can all agree: There’s not much to object to in that.

Updated 03/07/2025

Nick Kane

As Managing Partner of Top 20 Sales Training and Consulting company Janek Performance Group, Nick Kane works with corporate clients to develop sales strategies and implement sales training programs that focus on cultivating a more client-focused environment that drive results in today’s marketplace. During his career, Nick has trained more than fifteen thousand sales professionals worldwide, and he is passionate about helping sales leaders and sales professionals improve their careers and, as a result, their lives. He is coauthor of the book Critical Selling and a regular contributor for Training Industry and Selling Power.

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