4 Steps to Nail Objection Handling and Help Your Sales Team

Ahhhh, sales objections. The bane of salespeople’s existence. Red flags, hurdles, deal crushers — whatever you like to call them, they often surface at the worst possible time. 

If sales reps aren’t careful, “harmless” questions can knock a deal back a couple of stages or, even worse, derail it altogether.

For sales teams, there’s simply nothing worse than progressing a deal through the pipeline only to have a no-go objection from a decision maker at the 11th hour. In this scenario, the seller usually makes one of two choices: 

• Move the deal back to an earlier stage where the objection should have been addressed, which involves re-engaging other stakeholders to resolve it.
• Combat the objection and pain point head-on and press the deal forward. 

While some customer objections can’t be anticipated, most have already come up in a sales pursuit. Someone on your team has already handled this type of objection. You just need a process for capturing the objections, crafting bullet-proof responses, building trust, and sharing across the team.

If that sounds easier said than done, maybe you should see Salesloft in action.

What is objection handling?

Objection handling includes navigating tough conversations and turning potential deal-breakers into opportunities for deeper engagement. Instead of being defensive, this technique thinks of objections as a sign that your prospect is engaged and thinking critically about your solution. By asking insightful questions, listening actively, and responding with tailored solutions, you can address concerns head-on and keep the conversation moving forward. It’s not about giving a canned response—it's about truly understanding and offering value where it counts.

Tips to Skillfully Handle Sales Objections

Objections don’t have to be your sales team’s kryptonite. We’ll share how it’s not only possible to perform objections handling during sales pitches or conversations, but scale the objection-handling process so all team members respond with the same voice and carefully articulated talking points.

1. Identify the Most Common Objections at Each Stage

Most sales organizations have already developed some kind of objection list. However, the list is only useful when you keep it current. As the market evolves, the company grows, and the competition increases, new types of sales objections will arise. Sales teams also need to categorize objections based on when they’re most likely to come up during the sales process.

For example, an objection about building the solution in-house or doing nothing would typically occur in the early stages of the process, whereas budget objections or lack of executive buy-in would likely occur during later stage conversations. Sales leaders, along with the sales enablement team, should address common sales objections during weekly sales team meetings and dig deeper during quarterly and annual sales kickoffs to ensure that the list is always up-to-date.

2. Articulate and Capture Responses that Work

Once you’ve collected your objections list, if you’re struggling to formulate the right response, your marketing team can help. As content producers and keepers of the brand, marketers are in tune with company messaging and can supply case studies, use cases, and solution anecdotes. However, with objection handling that is more deal-focused, your sales leader or executive team should help with the response. 

Fine-tuning how to respond to objections is a critical part of the process, and using a sales engagement platform with call recording will help you more efficiently test your messaging to ensure it elicits the appropriate response or action item. 

Using conversation intelligence, sales managers can actively listen to calls and identify the most common objections and how the team is currently handling them. If you’re reviewing calls and seeing that deals aren’t progressing forward where specific objection-handling messages are used, it’s time to revisit and rethink the product or service's message.

3. Onboard and Train Reps With Call Sharing and Coaching Playlists

When faced with an objection, it’s easy for reps to tense up or freeze, which can dampen the mood and momentum of any call. So, it’s important to share proven examples of how to successfully address buyer concerns.

To do this, many sales teams rely on templates created in Word Docs or Google Spreadsheets, but those methods are clunky and difficult to navigate during a sales meeting. It is much more effective when managers can coach in real time or use a prep call to easily share clips of the most effective objection handling conversations your teams is having. 

Conversation Intelligence also helps you continually capture prospect feedback on your messaging, providing the insight you need to coach for success and optimize performance. Both new and seasoned sellers can access the latest proven talk tracks and develop better objection handling techniques and skills for themselves. Using Conversation Intelligence throughout each stage of the sales process, reps can also capture their responses for managers to coach them later, iterating on what worked or what didn’t.

4. Help Sellers Develop Objection-Handling Skills

The best tools in the world aren’t much help to an individual who struggles to understand the root of the objection.

We asked Jim Brown, sales expert and host of the popular sales and entrepreneur-focused podcast, SalesTuners, his opinion about developing skills to properly address objections during the sales process.

Two things came to mind for Jim. First, he explained, is when the objections actually come up, and second is the context around the objection itself. Jim noted, “It’s my belief that you’re not even in a sales process until you’ve heard ‘no’ for the first time!”

Many sellers think that all objection handlings (budget, timeline, decision, etc.) come at the end of a cycle when the deal is about ready to close. However, the reality is that prospects know every objection they’re going to share from the very first conversation, and sales reps are often just too afraid to ask what they are. But instead of fearing objection handling, reps should seek to understand them as soon as possible.

When a prospect does bring up an objection, do not immediately respond with a rebuttal. Ask another question to understand exactly what is being said (read: context). More often than not, your prospect will provide additional context about why they’re having issues, which will ultimately help you uncover what really matters so you can respond in the best way possible. — Jim Brown, Sales Expert & Host of SalesTuners podcast

There’s no doubt about it — successful objection handling is one of the hardest parts of sales, taking most sellers far outside their comfort zone. But arm your sales team with the right tools and the proper skills and they’ll excel where most fall short: handling those tough open ended questions with ease and confidence.

 Find out how your sales tech stack can make help sellers and their managers be better prepared for objection handling. Check out The Sales Tech Stack: Your Guide to Sales Engagement.