7 Common Sales Objections & How to Turn “No” Into Yes

Your rep just crushed the demo. The prospect nodded through every feature. Then they dropped the bomb: "Sounds great, but the price is steep."

Dead silence. The deal died in that pause.

You've been there. Objections aren't rejection, though. They're proof that your prospect is listening, thinking, and testing whether you understand their world.

Most objections fall into four buckets: Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing (the BANT model). Budget tops the list. Mastering objection handling can increase close rates by 64%, making it one of the most valuable sales skills.

You can handle all of them. You just need to practice the right objection-handling responses until they become automatic.

Let's walk through seven objections that show up every week and turn each one into momentum.

1. "It's Too Expensive / We Don't Have Budget"

Price pushback occurs more frequently than any other objection because every purchase carries a financial risk. Your prospect's brain screams "protect the wallet" before anything else. This is a budget problem, the "B" in BANT.

But what's happening underneath? They're worried the value won't appear. Doing nothing feels safer than spending money on a promise. 

The LAER approach works here: Listen, Acknowledge, Explore, Respond. Empathize before you start throwing numbers around.

What You Should Do

Don't defend your pricing. Flip the conversation from cost to payback.

"I get that the investment feels steep. Clients in your exact situation found their onboarding costs dropped 32% within 90 days."

See what happened? You acknowledged their concern, then showed concrete results. Now they're thinking about what they'll gain, not what they'll spend.

If their budget cycle is locked up, start smaller. "Let's pilot this with one region this quarter. The savings there can fund the company-wide rollout." You just lowered the risk and fit their cash flow.

Try this: next time someone says "no budget," calculate the payback in under two minutes. Show the math. Then practice until responses feel natural so you can deliver this confidently when it matters. Once the numbers prove your story, your price stops sounding expensive and starts sounding smart.

2. "I'm Not the Decision-Maker"

When you encounter this response, you're dealing with authority, the "A" in BANT. Most reps panic and assume every B2B deal has one clear decision-maker. Here's the thing: multiple people influence every purchase, including even the smallest ones.

Your job isn't finding the decision-maker. You need to figure out whether you're talking to a gatekeeper or a champion. Gatekeepers protect calendars. Champions open doors. Treat them completely differently.

What You Should Do

With a gatekeeper, stay polite and probe: "Who, besides yourself, would need to weigh in on a decision like this?" That uncovers the org chart without sounding pushy.

When you find a champion, arm them for battle. Give them something concrete to share: "Here's a two-page ROI summary you can forward to leadership." You just turned a helpful contact into an internal salesperson. Map the decision-making process early to avoid authority roadblocks later.

Use the LAER sequence: Listen, Acknowledge, Explore, Respond. Keep control without applying pressure. After you respond, the conversation flows naturally toward the next steps.

3. "We Don't Need This / We Already Have a Solution"

This classic response means the prospect believes their need is met already, the "N" in BANT. 

That belief stems from the status quo bias, the mental shortcut that tells them change equals risk. This is one of the top reasons deals stall.

What You Should Do

Start by making them imagine a gap. Ask: "If your current platform vanished tomorrow, what would break first in your workflow?" That question jolts them out of autopilot thinking and reveals hidden problems they stopped noticing.

Once the gap is clear, show them what's possible. "Teams that adopted improved customer retention strategies, such as win-back campaigns or targeted offers, have cut churn by 18% in the first six months. Let's look at why."

You're not trashing their current solution. You're highlighting measurable upside that they're missing.

Here's a trick: instead of doing a product demo, audit their current setup. Use the 5 Whys technique to uncover root issues they may not have considered. 

This shifts focus from features to missed results and keeps the conversation going.

4. "Now Isn't a Good Time"

Timing objections represent the "T" in BANT. When a prospect says the calendar is against them, they often mean something specific. 

Budget resets on July 1, a contract renewal in Q4, or a team already knee-deep in another project.

Your job is surfacing that real timeline so you can work with it.

What You Should Do

Ask: "What needs to happen this quarter so you're fully prepared before Q4 budgeting begins?" That single question reframes time as a milestone rather than a stop sign.

If they still hesitate, show the cost of waiting. "Every month you continue without this, it burns about $41,000 in lost productivity." Quantify the cost of inaction to make delay feel expensive, not protective.

Once timeline and cost are clear, offer an on-ramp. Start the pilot today with billing deferred until their new fiscal year. 

They hear flexibility, not pressure. Timing objections rank among the most common, yet reps who tie them to concrete deadlines and cost-of-inaction stats consistently move deals forward.

5. "Send Me More Information"

You know this line. Perfect demo, great questions, then: "Just email me the details." Brush-offs like this show up on nearly every call, ranking among the most common objections in B2B sales.

Is it genuine interest or a polite escape? Test it.

What You Should Do

Offer the information with a tiny next step: "Absolutely, happy to share a one-pager. Let's lock ten minutes on Thursday to walk through questions while it's fresh."

Real buyers accept or suggest alternatives. Stalling prospects hesitate, revealing you need to reopen discovery.

If resistance persists, acknowledge their position while redirecting momentum: "I get why you'd want time to review. Others felt that too, until they found a quick chat saved weeks of back-and-forth." 

This pattern works because it validates their concern without accepting the stall.

Momentum beats perfection. Send a crisp summary within five minutes of your call. Include your calendar link. 

Then practice handling the prospect who only wants email communication and steering back to live conversation without sounding pushy.

6. "We're Prioritizing Other Initiatives"

When you hear this, you're facing a classic timing and budget squeeze. Your prospect has a packed schedule and can't see how your solution fits without derailing something else.

Don't compete with their priorities. Accelerate them.

What You Should Do

Ask what success looks like for their current projects and where they're hitting unexpected roadblocks. Then flip the script: "How much faster could Project A move if you solved this problem right now?"

If speed doesn't grab them, try risk. Calculate what each month of delay costs: "What happens if this issue is still slowing you down six months from now?" Hard numbers cut through wishful thinking.

Position your solution as rocket fuel for their existing initiatives, not another item on their to-do list.

Try the Feel, Felt, Found approach: 'I understand how you feel about moving this project up your priority list. Other leaders have felt the same way when resources were tight, but they found that taking early action helped them achieve their goals faster and avoid last-minute pressure.'

Consider suggesting a phased approach that aligns with their current milestones. This keeps their cash flow predictable and their focus sharp.

These scheduling conflicts disappear when your plan aligns with their priorities more efficiently.

7. "I'm Not Convinced About the ROI / Value"

Sticker shock rarely sinks deals on its own. When prospects question ROI, they're really questioning you. They doubt your numbers and your promise. This fear makes value skepticism one of the most frequent objections you'll hear.

What You Should Do

Stop defending your investment and start building their business case together.

When someone says they don't see the value, validate their hesitation first. Then invite them into the math: "Let's open the calculator and plug in your actual numbers." This turns the conversation into joint problem-solving instead of a pitch defense.

Proof makes the math stick. "After deploying our solution, Contoso saw a 3.5× jump in pipeline velocity within one quarter." Share the story, then show the spreadsheet on-screen so they can watch assumptions turn into dollars.

Try this in your next practice session: build a live ROI model, handle a curveball question about implementation costs, then close by sending a one-page summary with a calendar link for next steps.

Turn Objection Handling Into Deal Closing With Exec

Your reps know the perfect responses. Then one real objection derails the call. That gap between knowing and doing kills deals.

High-performing sales teams practice handling objections regularly, rather than relying on occasional training. Your reps face these seven objections every week. They should practice them just as often.

Exec's AI Roleplays let you create custom scenarios such as price objections with healthcare prospects, authority challenges with manufacturing buyers, and timing pushback with SaaS executives.

Your team builds confidence before the stakes matter, not after deals slip away. Ready to turn theory into closed revenue? Book a demo today.