How to Move Past Sales Objections to Help Your People Get Results

You’re talking to a prospective client that you know is a perfect fit to work with you. You’re really excited for them to do the work with you but then they start to throw out objections. Now what?

How do you move past sales objections so that your ideal clients say “yes”?

We are going to talk through the top three most common objections your clients have and how to move past them. To do this well, you have to think about overcoming objections as part of your role. 

Mindset shift: It is crucial to realize that overcoming objections is not about selling. 

We’re not overcoming objections to “sell” someone. We’re overcoming objections because we want to help our people move past the barriers keeping them from having the results they desire.

As a coach, a consultant, or expert, overcoming objections is part of doing the work we are here to do. Click To Tweet

The Three Common Objections Holding Your Client Back From Saying “Yes” to Your Offer 

Sales Objection #1: No Time 

“I don’t have time right now to do that.”

“It’s not a good time to do that right now.”

Tell the truth. I think we all have used this objection at some point, right?

Here’s the thing: We all have the same amount of time–24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

When a client throws up the objection of “no time”, they are really saying that this work is not a priority right now. When you look at it from this perspective, you can identify how you’re going to help your clients work through this barrier.

First, focus on simplifying the process to help minimize overwhelm. Next, help your clients see the risk of not taking action now. 

Identify the questions you can ask your clients that will help them see the cost of not taking action. Once your client moves the work with you up in priority, they will find the time to do the work.

Sales Objection #2: No Money 

“Oh, I don’t have any money.”

“We don’t have that in the budget right now.”

Whether you work with individuals or corporations or both, you will hear this objection. 

I’m here to tell you that they do have money. The problem is that the money is being spent on something else right now.  A prospective client with a daily Starbucks habit can reallocate those funds and easily cover an installment payment to the course you offer.

Your focus in overcoming this objection is to help them see the value of doing this work with you. The minute you connect the work they do with to high value, they will reprioritize the spending. 

Here is an example of how this plays out in corporations: A coach offers a coaching package to a company. The HR person says, “Oh, we don’t have available budget for coaching right now.”

But, when the coach repositions their work around the problems the client values solving, it sounds different. The coach might say, “This coaching experience will focus on equipping your sales managers in leading their teams to exceed this quarter’s sales goals.” 

This small shift in positioning increases the value of the work and can help your client “find” the money.

Sales Objection #3: Not Ready 

“Oh, we’re not ready to do that right now.”

“We’re not ready, can you circle back to us later?”

If your customer isn’t ready to move forward, it’s typically an indicator that they have other urgent issues they are addressing before prioritizing the work with you. 

This brings you right back to positioning your work as a solution to an urgent and important problem. Look at how you are connecting the results of your work to the key priorities in the business. You have to know what the key priorities are to overcome objections. This is why leading what we call “Discovery Conversations” is critical.

How to Lead Discovery Conversations that Overcome Objections 

It’s impossible to overcome objections if you do not take the time to discover the key priorities for your client.

When you lead a Discovery Conversation, you need to explore:

• Why are they talking to me? 
• What results are they trying to create?
• What’s the problem they are trying to solve? 
• Where are they right now? Where do they want to be? 
• What have they tried before? 

These are just a few of the questions you can zone in on  to quickly uncover the priorities for your potential client.

If you don’t understand the priorities, there’s no way that you’re going to be able to connect what you do to what they value. 

I encourage you to take one of these three objections and think about how you can address this objection with your prospective client. 

What is the biggest objection you run into? Let’s brainstorm in the comments.