Top 16 Sales Objections & How to Overcome Them?

In this article, we’ll go over the 16 most common sales objections, categorized by their type, and how you can overcome each one of them.

➡️ We’ll also provide you with a framework for dealing with sales objections at the end of this guide.

What Are Sales Objections?

Sales objections are concerns that your prospects are having in regard to your product or service, which is keeping them from becoming customers.

Some of these concerns might be valid, meaning that your organization needs to do better work accommodating their needs, and other times it’s just them not being interested in your solution.

💡 Objections are hesitations that show your prospects’ critical thinking, which is why industry-leading salespeople prepare for them so they can quickly clarify misunderstandings.

Why Is Objection Handling Important?

Objection handling is important in sales because it builds trust and rapport with your potential clients, so you can take care of their hesitations.

Anas Ramadan, the founder of Sales Café, believes that the lack of proper objection handling is what is losing deals for many sales reps.

The sales leader argues that objection handling is important even though your B2B brand has a good offer and despite conducting throughout research on your customers.

In fact, objection handling is an opportunity for your sales team to show a better understanding of your solution and demonstrate industry expertise.

Swift and well-prepared objection handling helps your sales team keep the momentum going in the deal and prevents the deal from falling through.

What Are The Types Of Sales Objections?

In both B2B and B2C sales, there are 5 common sales objections:

• Budget-related: These are concerns about your solution’s cost because your prospects did not perceive it to cost that much.
• Competitor-related: Your prospects believe that your competitors offer a better price, solution, or individual features.
• Solution-related: The prospect has arguments against the solution itself, or they do not see a fit with their current way of living or doing business.
• Trust-related: The prospective client does not trust your brand well enough to continue with the buying process.
• Need-related: The prospect does not believe that they require your solution right now.

The 16 Most Common Sales Objections & How You Can Deal With Them

Now that we know the most common types of objections, we’ll go over the 16 sales objections that we see sales reps come across the most: 👇

Dealing With Budget-Related Objections

#1: We don’t think we can afford this

The prospect is not willing to spend that much money on your solution.

How to deal with this: Acknowledge their pricing concern (do not argue with them that it’s not that expensive) and speak about the potential return on investment (ROI) that they can receive from your solution.

#2: Not sure if we can see a positive enough ROI to cover the costs

The prospect lacks the confidence that if they were to implement your solution, the costs would be far greater than the results they would receive.

How to deal with this: You can present case studies and internal data to demonstrate that they will see a positive return on their investment.

The sales expert Shawn Casemore believes that the best way to approach pricing-related objections is to be prepared to calculate the return on investment that they could get from implementing your solution.

💡 You can use an ROI calculator to showcase what potential value your clients can receive, such as this example from ZigZag Global:

#3: We wouldn’t want to sign a long contract

Even if your prospect might agree to a certain price point, they might not be willing to commit to a long contract, such as a 1 or 2-year contract.

How to deal with this: You can offer them a shorter contract, or, if it’s not possible, an extended trial period so they can see some value out of your solution before committing to a long contract.

#4: We’ll have to get a few more quotes for this solution

Prospects want to know that they are getting the best value for their buck by asking different solution providers for a quote.

They are not trying to offend you or keep you waiting, but are rather actively trying to see if your pricing structure makes sense.

How to deal with this: If you’re sure about your solution’s money-for-value offering, you can encourage your prospects to go ahead and do their research.

This will make you come off as confident in your solution’s price and will also serve as a benchmark that your solution is either cheaper or a good value for their budget.

Dealing With Competitor-Related Objections

#5: Your competitors are cheaper

Your prospective customers have done their research and found that your competitors offer a lower price than you.

How to deal with this: You need to explain why your solution is higher-priced than your competitors without offending your competition.

For example, you might position your solution as a more premium option with superior features, account management and advanced AI/analytical capabilities.

➡️ No matter what you do, there will still be customers who will prefer the cheaper option.

#6: Your competitors have a better solution

The prospects have evaluated your direct or indirect competitors’ solutions and have concluded that they are offering them a better deal.

How to deal with this: Go back to your original solution and offer that you have for them and re-instate your product’s value proposition. 

💡 To reinstate the credibility of your solution, you can also use case studies and testimonials.

The best way to showcase your case studies and testimonials to prepare your sales team for objections is with sales room software like Arrows (that’s us).

Our platform helps you improve your sales team’s close rates with dynamic pages that keep prospects engaged, equip champions to sell internally with tailored sales collateral and maintain deal momentum.

You can equip your sales team with everything that they need to close your high-intent leads, such as:

• Resource sharing: Unify all resources and data about each client or new customer. Keep leads engaged between calls without the need for excessive follow-up emails.

• Next meeting sync: A component that stays up-to-date based on your next scheduled meeting in the CRM. You will not have to rely on link-dumping.
• Milestone tracking: Set clear objectives and track progress to ensure deals stay on course and deadlines are met.

• Engagement activity sync back into your HubSpot account in real-time, including creating and associating new contacts discovered with the deal in HubSpot.
• Track buyer engagement: See which leads view the digital sales rooms in real-time.
• Real-time alerts of when tasks are completed or when your leads ask questions during onboarding or in the sales funnel.

💡 You can replicate your champions by using templates to enforce a winning process.

Your sales team can simplify follow-ups by replacing the traditional email with personalized sales rooms without having to overwhelm prospects with links.

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Case Study: Roobrin Is Closing More Deals With Arrows Sales Rooms

Roobrik has transformed its post-demo process by changing its approach from a generic feature and resource ‘’dump’’ to a more dynamic and collaborative workspace with Arrows sales rooms.

The brand can close more high-value deals by delivering a unified user journey – from the first touch to ongoing customer success.

Learn more about how they did it with Arrows: 👇

#7: Why don’t you have this feature that your competitors have

The prospects have evaluated your competitors’ features and have found that there are a few gaps in your product.

How to deal with this: You can ask your customers what kind of features or functionality your competitors have over you, and then propose to them a few possible solutions, such as:

• A substitute functionality, which is similar to one of the competitors (e.g., if competitors have an in-built CRM, you can offer them your tool’s native integration with other CRMs).
• The expensive option to build that functionality for them, which is common in enterprise B2B software.

Dealing With Solution-Related Objections

#8: We have tried your solution in the past and it did not work

Your prospective clients have had a negative experience with a solution provider like yours, which has left them dissatisfied.

Alternatively, they might have tried the solution in-house and failed to do it properly.

How to deal with this: Try to get to know as much as possible about what happened in the past when they tried your solution.

You might find that they tried implementing the solution in-house but did not have the necessary know-how to do it. Or, they hired the wrong agency or used the wrong tool for the solution.

You then want to speak about customers of yours who faced a similar implementation problem and how they were able to resolve the problem with a solution provider like yours.

#9: We are not sure that your product/service will work for that kind of problem

If your prospective clients are experienced in the industry, they might have sound arguments against your solution.

For example, they might believe that your solution might disrupt their client base or negatively affect how they are doing business.

How to deal with this: In this kind of situation, you want to use internal data and case studies to support your claims that your solution has worked for other brands just like them.

For instance, some of our prospects do not believe in the ideal of sales room software and how that can enable their sales reps.

This is when we use our internal data to show them that our users have seen the following results with Arrows sales rooms:

• 44% higher deal win rates compared to the average win rate for deals created in the last 12 months.
• 42% quicker time-to-close for deals compared to the average win rate for deals created in the last 12 months.

These statistics are then supported by our library of case studies.

#10: Your product does not work with our current set-up

Your prospective clients have concerns about the compatibility of your product with their existing systems.

That’s a fair argument for CRM or CMS-dependent organizations who cannot afford to implement your solution because there is no integration with it.

For example, our sales rooms and onboarding plans were built for HubSpot, so teams that run on sales management platforms like Salesforce might consider alternatives.

How to deal with this: If it’s possible, you can try to discuss integration capabilities and offer your prospects support of implementation.

It might still be possible to implement your solution with the level of customization that your leads are looking for.

Dealing With Trust-Related Objections

#11: I’ve never even heard of your company before

Prospects who have experience in their industry might not feel comfortable working with a company that they have not heard of before.

This lack of brand recognition and recommendation from other professionals can lead your prospects to question your authority and trustworthiness.

How to deal with this: You can share your organization’s story and mention that it’s either a start-up or a new up-and-coming solution.

If your company is well-established already and your prospects have simply not heard about it, you can share:

• Clients you’ve worked with that your prospect will recognize (e.g., ‘’Brands like Apple and Amazon are using our solution’’).
• Case studies of these clients and how you helped them overcome their challenges.
• ‘’About us’’ kind of information, company credentials, and other certifications that your company holds.

#12: We’ve heard bad things about your company

Your prospects might have read a negative review about your company from a platform like G2 and Capterra or heard something bad from a colleague.

Such negative word-of-mouth should not spread about your company, but if it happens – your sales team should not get overly defensive.

How to deal with this: Ask about these negative things and then address the concerns calmly with counter-examples.

Your goal is to demonstrate the positive outcomes that your other customers have experienced with your solution.

#13: (Implied) I’m not sure your organization will deliver as promised

Even if your solution and price point make sense for your prospects, they might still not be sold on using YOUR company for the implementation.

This objection is usually implied, such as the prospects claiming that they will have to ‘’think about it’’ and ‘’do a little more research into your solution before they can proceed’’.

How to deal with this: You can offer your prospects a way to protect themselves and their budget while proving your worth, such as:

• Extended trial periods of your solution.
• Money-back guarantee.
• Service-level agreements (SLAs) that assure them of your commitment to delivering the promised results.

Dealing With Need-Related Objections

#14: We’re not currently interested in a solution like yours

Your prospects believe that their current state of business is satisfactory or they do not believe that they have a problem in the first place.

How to deal with this: If you’re sure that your prospects have a problem, you can try to make them aware of their problems and the implications of not resolving them. 

For example, you can see that your prospective client’s organic traffic has been decreasing for the past 1 year and you want to point them out what kind of SEO issues they have.

#15: We might need your services in the next year/future

Even though your prospects are problem and solution-aware, they might not believe that the problem is urgent enough to resolve it right away.

How to deal with this: Your sales team can try to reinstate their problem and the implications of waiting for months or years to resolve it.

For example, if you’ve identified that your prospects are losing money from their problem, you can try to calculate the potential $ they are losing from waiting.

➡️ If this does not work, your sales team can try to stay top-of-mind with follow-ups to your clients when they are ready to commit to resolving their challenges.

💡 Muhammad Awais offers another way of dealing with ‘’now isn’t the right time’’ objections:

The sales expert believes that this objection is driven by uncertainty around your offer and not believing that it will work on them.

This is when you need to ask your prospects:

• What specifically feels off about this timing?
• What would need to change to make this the right time for your organization?

In this way, your brand will be positioned as a trusted guide that is shifting their internal beliefs and not just selling them products and services.

#16: We are happy with our current way of operations

A common objection in older organizations is that they might be resistant to change, especially when they’re used to doing something a certain way for decades.

The problem is that they might not realize what they are doing is doing them harm, or the fact that they are using outdated tactics.

How to deal with this: You can encourage your prospective clients to review your case studies to see what kind of change other brands have seen.

Their current way of operations might be efficient (i.e., works like a well-oiled machine) but is not effective (i.e., actually generating results).

For example, think about the companies that are posting content on social media for months but not seeing traction – and just publishing away without considering if it generates the desired results.

A Framework For Handling Any Objections

Even though we covered the most common objections for sales teams, we felt like you still need a framework for dealing with any other kind of objection that you face in your day-to-day sales operations.

The sales expert Chris Orlob recommends a framework for objection handling of any sort:

• Speak calmly with authority, instead of interrupting the customer and appearing nervous.
• Clarify the objections with questions to avoid addressing the wrong issue, such as asking the customer to help you understand what’s causing the concern.
• Validate the objection so that your customers feel heard, understood, and not judged.
• Isolate the objection so you know that you are addressing the true objection and not just the smokescreen (e.g., you might not trust my company well enough).
• Offer a solution to that objection that reframes the problem into an opportunity or reframes the bad timing into good timing.

This formula will help you remain calm during objection handling and help you uncover if the objection was a smokescreen (i.e., the prospect does not trust you) or a real concern.

Be Prepared To Handle Objections With Arrows Sales Rooms

Our digital sales room software can help your sales team better handle objections by:

• Consolidating all sales collateral in one place so they can quickly find the case study, testimonial, or product use case that they need right away.
• Providing your sales team with insights and analytics from past interactions so they can anticipate and prepare for common objections.
• Equipping champions with everything they need to sell internally to their organization.

Arrows also offers separate purpose-built onboarding plans and client portals that help you manage the entire client lifecycle out of one platform, instead of jumping between tools.

If you’re a sales leader looking for a B2B sales solution that offers:

• Effective buyer engagement tracking to help you see which leads are viewing the sales rooms in real-time and insights into buyer intent.
• A best-in-class HubSpot integration, which is available for all pricing tiers and lets you sync 50+ real-time data points.
• Other presale features, such as real-time alerts, buyer engagement tracking, and next meeting sync.

Then you can schedule a demo to learn more about Arrows sales rooms.

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