Particularly in an economic downturn, where budgets are tight and companies are scrutinizing every dollar spent, SDRs’ ability to overcome objections during a call can be the difference between a lost prospect and a booked meeting.
So how can your SDRs up their objection handling game?
Here are some clever tips and tactics, shared by our own SDR team, for handling six common objections heard almost every day by SDRs.
“We don’t have the budget”
This objection was around long before the economic downturn. A year ago, not having the budget often signaled that you needed to better demonstrate your product’s ROI or perhaps reduce the price. In today’s business climate “no budget” means just that – they’ve stopped spending money until further notice.
When you come across this objection, try to be empathetic and assure your prospects that you don’t expect them to buy anything right now. Let them know that most people you talk to today don’t have budget, and there’s no need now to talk about money or contracts.
Ask them for an opportunity to share what your company is doing and to see whether it could provide value to them down the road. Such an informational overview helps plant the seeds for when they are ready to buy. Demonstrating value now can sometimes help your champion obtain budget at a later stage.
“Just send me an email”
You just got hit with the quintessential brush-off… now what? You don’t want to spend time on someone who’s not going to read your email, but on the other hand, this could be someone who wants to learn more before spending time on a call.
In some ways, this is more of a fork in the road than an objection. We recommend to ask them directly whether they really want more information and don’t have time for this right now, or if they just want to get off the phone.
If it’s really just a brush-off – no harm, no foul. Time to move on to your next prospect.
But if they tell you they want more information, here’s your opening to ask them what type of materials to include in the email and when would be a good time to set up a meeting to review what you sent.
“This is not a good time”
Is there ever REALLY a good time for a cold call? It seems SDRs always call when their prospects are heading into a meeting.
On the other hand, if they picked up, you may be in luck. A gem that one of our SDRs shared is to use humor to save the day and to be prescriptive:
“I forgot to tell you, my superpower is calling at the wrong time! Is Monday or Tuesday better for me to reach back out?”
This rejoinder helps to break the ice, while also narrowing the options for a callback which makes it easier for them to say yes.
Another tactic is to acknowledge their lack of time by saying something like “Totally understand – I’ll be lightning quick” or “Give me just 30 seconds before you get back to your day.” Not only does this ease the tension, it also shows that you respect your prospect’s time that you’re being as concise as possible.
“I’m not a decision-maker”
Don’t let a job title stand between you and that meeting. What your prospect is trying to convey with this objection is that they’re not the best person to have this conversation with.
There’s no reason to assume the person you are talking to is top dog. And this occurrence actually has its benefits. First, the decision-maker you need to communicate with is probably busy and won’t have time to check their email, let alone book a demo with you. Secondly, starting the conversation with someone on the team with less responsibility can give you a direct introduction to the decision-maker.
This approach gives you an opportunity to lean into relevant pain points and turn mid-level managers into champions. Respond to such an objection with” “You’re the one dealing with these challenges. No one is going to understand how a product/solution like ours could improve your team’s performance better than you.”
This directs the conversation back to the results they can get rather than bouncing the call to someone else in the organization. Then ask to schedule a demo to show them how your product can help make their lives easier. When the time comes, they’ll guide you to the decision-maker, or even bring them along for the demo!
“This isn’t a priority”
Odds are what you’re selling probably isn’t #1 on your prospect’s priority list. Prospects are usually swamped by the day-to-day, and are wired to focus on priorities and move non-essential activities till tomorrow.
Let them know you understand this, reassure them that this isn’t a buying conversation, and explain that you want to help them be prepared before the problem your product addresses becomes urgent. Respond with:
“I didn’t think this would be a top priority for you, but I think it’s better to be ahead of the curve. Let me send you some information.”
By arming them with the right knowledge and demonstrating the value your product has brought to other customers like them, you’ll be top of mind down the road.
“How’d you get my number?”
This is a question that our SDRs are always happy to hear. But what we really want to know is: “Are you upset? Or impressed?”
When it comes to sourcing leads, RightBound’s Sales Dev team has an unfair advantage. We use our own platform to remove manual tasks from the prospecting workflow and connect to the right people with highly accurate contact information. RightBound transforms SDRs’ tedious research, prospecting and outreach routines into a data-driven, autonomous process.
And when our SDRs connect with a Sales Dev manager who’s looking to streamline and automate sales prospecting and outreach, the platform has basically sold itself.
Wrap-Up
Ramping up your objection handling will allow your SDRs to have more meaningful conversations and ultimately book more meetings. Rehearsing various scenarios and practicing your retorts before each calling session can help you team turn objections into opportunities.
How do you overcome these and other objections? Share your tips in the comments below.
