Objection Handling For 2025: 5 Winning Steps, Tips, Examples, and Script

With increasing competitive pressure and better research tools at customers’ fingertips, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to instill confidence and foster a positive buying experience. This can lead to customers becoming resistant to a sale or throwing up roadblocks and objections. 

When it comes to handling these objections effectively, salespeople need to use the right techniques to manage concerns, answer burning questions, and ultimately secure the sale. 

But what exactly is objection handling? And how can it be used in real-world situations? 

In our comprehensive objection handling guide, we’ll break down why it happens, how it manifests in customer behavior, and what you can do to mitigate those factors effectively. 

Let’s dive in.

What is objection handling?

Ever heard any of the following phrases when dealing with customers?

“It seems expensive.”

“I’m not sure it’s the right fit for my needs.”

“I’ll need to think about it a bit more.”

“We’re going to go another direction.”

These phrases are a dagger to the heart for any salesperson in the process of negotiating with a customer. And they are only a small set of examples from a limitless number of reasons why a potential purchase might fall through. 

Objection handling is the process of taking these pain points and finding ways to close the sale regardless. It takes a range of strategies to sidestep the pitfalls and ease a customer’s concerns. It also requires the ability to recognize key buying intent signals and know how to react to them effectively. 

Why is objection handling important?

Handling sales objections is vital for boosting conversion rates and securing sales. Given that sales are the lifeblood of any B2B (business-to-business) or B2C (business-to-consumer) company, every lost sale is lost revenue and income. 

Can the objection handling process be automated in sales?

Objections often come from a personal place, even in B2B situations, and the approach needed to manage and bypass these roadblocks is not straightforward. 

Automation is valuable for many aspects of sales, but the interpersonal relationship between buyer and seller demands a human touch to get the best results. 

However, you can automate tasks like demo requests, product comparisons using promotional material, and FAQ sections to address common complaints.

Five-step objection handling framework

The processes and techniques required to handle the majority of objections fall into the five-step framework outlined below. While salespeople should always use their intuition and experience to navigate situations as they arise, this framework outlines a typical scenario and the pathway that sales teams should take to secure deals more consistently.

Step 1: Pay attention to the prospect

Your goal is to secure the sale above all else, but that can only happen if the customer says “yes.” You won’t achieve that without giving the customer undivided attention and an attentive approach. 

Use the opening dialogue to get a feel for how they operate. Are they straight to the point and transactional? Do they come across as confident or less sure of themselves? How initially committed to a purchase are they? These small signals can put you in the driving seat and help you further in negotiations. 

Step 2: Use open-ended questions

Customers rarely appreciate being aggressively led down paths or pigeonholed by direct questioning. It can feel confrontational and might dissuade them from investigating further.

For example, asking questions such as “How much are you willing to spend?” might seem helpful on the face of it, but it can simply turn them off the whole process entirely. 

Instead, ask more open-ended questions that can still gather the information you need. Try “How does the price feel for you?” and see the difference in reaction.

Step 3: Address the objection

When objections are raised, it might feel wise to sidestep or avoid the issue and divert a customer’s attention elsewhere. 

Even if it seems like you can move away from the objection into a more positive place, the objection will likely be raised at a later stage and with greater urgency than before. 

Address objections head-on, and either seek a solution immediately or promise to explore resolutions and validate the customer’s concerns.

Step 4: Agree on the solution

Work with the customer to dig into the specifics of the objection and explore ways to reach a positive conclusion. Many buyers want to be given a reason to take the plunge, especially if they’ve already invested time and effort in engaging with you so far. Use this knowledge to explore options and see what sways them. 

Step 5: Draw a line under it

Once a solution has been found, avoid letting the objection linger. Even if a worthwhile resolution is available to the customer, the initial concern will stay in the conversation and amplify others that arise. 

Make a concerted effort to identify the point as complete and to move to a new topic focused on positivity. 

What are some common objection handling techniques?

While every salesperson should take a personal approach to handling customer objections, several key techniques can be applied to most situations. These have been road-tested over countless sales encounters and are backed by sales intelligence data. 

Feel, felt, found

Feel, felt, found is a standing principle that outlines how all sales interactions should go. You need to engage with a customer under these tenets at all times. 

You need to feel how the customer does, recognize their concerns, and let them know others have felt the same about the product in the past. Finally, showcase the found resolution that solves the objection. 

The boomerang method

The boomerang method uses the customer’s very same worries as a tool to sell to them. For example, if a potential customer says, “Our current solution works fine,” it might seem like an immediate lost sale. 

Instead, the boomerang method teaches us to say in response, “Why settle for fine?”. This uses the initial objection as a starting point to make headway, putting the customer into a question that they may not have the answer to.

Looping

While looping might sound like it has to be similar to the boomerang method, it is actually a technique for redirecting the ‘Just send me an email.’ request, which can signal a sales dead end, back to an opportunity for a meeting. 

The first step is to welcome the email. After agreeing to send the email, you can loop back to gain more specificity on the concerns of the prospect. By asking more questions about these concerns, you can move the call back into qualification and away from a dead end.

Empathy and clarification

It might seem like a given when dealing with others, but it’s important to note how fraught and confrontational these exchanges can be. At all times, no matter how tense a situation can become or how agitated the customer might seem, show empathy. 

The simple olive branch of reaching the customer at an emotional level and recognizing their position has a huge impact on the likelihood of success. 

Clarification can help avoid bouts of confusion and frustration by maintaining control of the conversation and supporting clear and honest intentions. If a customer can’t understand your argument or has become lost in other objections, you’ll be unable to progress the sale further. 

Preemptive objection handling

Preemptive objection handling typically comes with experience, as you can build a sixth sense of what a potential customer’s concerns might be. Instead of waiting to let them raise the issue themselves, jump ahead and control the flow of the conversation. 

For example, you might know that a competitor’s product is the market leader. Early on in the conversation, tackle this stat head-on and let the customer know why your product is the superior choice. 

Asking open-ended questions

Questions that come with a strict yes or no create a high-risk and high-reward approach to sales, and it rarely works in your favor. 

If absolutes were the bread-winning sales strategies, we’d be asking customers, “Will you buy this?” and moving on when they answer “yes” or “no.” 

Open-ended questions allow you to probe deeper into a conversation without putting either party in a corner where they can’t progress. Once a dialogue has led to a dead end, it’s incredibly difficult to make any positive progress, and the lead is almost always lost. 

It can be as simple as asking questions relative to the customer. In a B2B example, ask questions like: 

“How has business been?”

“What matters most to you?”

“What solutions do you use currently?”

“Where do you see your business in five years?”

They’re simple questions and aren’t necessarily sales-focused or product-focused at all. This approach is designed to get them talking about their situation and to provide valuable information to inform future objection handling tactics. 

What are the main types of sales objections?

While the specifics of an objection will be unique to the customer and situation, there are several types that most sales objections will fall into. These categories can help identify the objections as well as the techniques that are best for handling them. 

Price objections

Price objections are the most common type of objection, especially as the cost of a product rises. The features might be well defined, but if the price is prohibitively expensive or makes customers concerned about whether it’s worth it, you’re in for a tough time. 

Timing objections

Customers might not have the time to invest in a lengthy sales dialogue and will use this as a strategy to pressure sales staff. 

Competitor objections

You’ll always be compared to other businesses and products. It’s a necessary evil everyone faces. Savvy customers will have researched the purchase and explored competitor offerings, making your life much harder as a salesperson. 

Need objections

Certain products are more susceptible to this objection than others, specifically when they’re lifestyle or entertainment-related. Customers simply question if they even need to buy the product at all. 

Authority objections

Authority objections are tricky to navigate. In many cases, the person you’re speaking to will lack the authority to make the final purchasing decision, meaning that you’re now working to convince someone to put you in touch with the real authority figure. It’s almost like selling twice at that stage, lengthening the process greatly. 

Trust objections

Trust objections will often originate from an area of truth. This could be from a subset of negative reviews or press online, or from a lack of meaningful engagement from your brand. It’s incredibly hard to justify your brand as a trusted source without supporting material; however, with the right tools, it is possible to build trust with anyone. 

Risk objections

Risks involved in a purchase can quickly sour an otherwise enticing deal. Risk objections can take the form of poor warranty periods relative to the product value or as a long-term commitment that customers will be tied into.

Product objections

Customers can simply have objections to the product itself. A certain feature or lack thereof could be the sticking point, along with optional extras that customers might feel uncomfortable about having to pay for. 

Product objections are difficult to manage, as they are typically not solvable in the typical sense. It takes creativity to work around a set objection surrounding the product itself.

Indifference objections

Customers who aren’t yet committed to a purchase or have existing reservations will be more likely to show indifference to the process. This can be amplified by overpressing sales tactics or a mounting number of obstructions complicating the sale. 

Four typical objection handling examples

1) “I’m using a product that’s similar.”

The challenge: In this scenario, the customer is expressing that your product lacks enough of a USP (unique selling point) to warrant it over a competing product. The key here, however, is that they already own the competitor’s product. 

The solution: Recognize that they’ve engaged in the buying process for a reason and that their current product must be lacking in features or performance to warrant them looking elsewhere. Use this as a jumping-off point to showcase why your product is superior and worth the switch.

2) “I’m short on time.”

The challenge: The customer is showing impatience and isn’t willing to invest lengthy amounts of time in the sales process. 

The solution: Be mindful and respectful of their time and sidestep any lengthy objection dialogues.

3) “Is this a sales pitch?”

The challenge: A potential customer feels like you’re putting on the hard sell to try to part them with their money. 

The solution: Ease up on the pressure and bring the conversation to a friendlier place. Ask questions so they are talking instead of you, and let them sell to themselves.

4) “This doesn’t interest me.”

The challenge: Disinterested customers are hard to convince. The challenge is less about whether your solution makes a difference and more about whether it is even recognized by the customer.

The solution: Explore the conversation to date and identify any instances where the customer engaged. Return to these points of discussion and try to rebuild the relationship. Look for exciting factors that could make the difference. 

Objection handling script sample

We’ve provided a script example below to show how an objection can be received and managed effectively in a B2B setting. Keep in mind that every customer is unique, as are the sales teams, and no two sales conversations will ever be the same.

Despite this, our objection handling script is a useful jumping-off point to explore how you might navigate common issues that stall your sales process and guide prospects to sales solutions that are beneficial to everyone. 

Customer: “I’m not sure it meets our needs.”

Response: “What are your immediate and most important requirements? We’re firm believers in our product and believe that it can be the solution.”

Customer: “Are you trying to make a sale here?”

Response: “Not at all! We’re trying to find partners that value a relationship built on trust. It isn’t a sales call. It’s an opportunity to explore each other’s businesses and see whether there’s a mutually beneficial arrangement here.”

We’ve also included an example script based on the most common objection of all—pricing. 

Salesperson: Hi there. Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. I’d love to show you how our software can help streamline your processes and improve efficiency. Can you tell me a bit about your current system and what you're hoping to improve?

Customer: Well, it sounds interesting, but the pricing seems pretty high for what we’re looking for.

Salesperson: I completely understand. Price is always an important consideration. Can I ask if the price is simply too high or if the features don’t match the price?

Customer: It’s just that we’re on a tight budget right now, and I don’t know if the investment is worth it.

Salesperson: I hear you, and many of our customers initially felt the same way. If you don’t mind me asking, could you share what your current system is costing you, both in terms of time and resources?

Customer: We spend a lot of time managing things manually, and there are a few inefficiencies that cause delays. But I’m still not sure this software will solve everything.

Salesperson: I understand your concern. Many of our clients experienced similar challenges before implementing our software. In fact, one of them saw a 30% reduction in manual work within the first three months, which more than covered the cost of the platform. With that kind of time and cost savings, would it make more sense for the investment?

Customer: That’s interesting, but still, the upfront cost is a bit intimidating.

Salesperson: That’s fair. If I could show you how the software would pay for itself within the first quarter, would that help you feel more confident about the investment? I can provide a demo, too, to showcase how it can make a direct impact. 

Customer: Well, that would help me feel better about it. I’d appreciate being able to try the features out before making any commitments. 

Salesperson: Great! Let’s take a closer look at the numbers together and see how we can make this a solid return on your investment. How does that sound?

Customer: Okay, let’s do that.

Can objection handling in sales be learned and improved over time?

Objection handling is almost entirely measured by experience. A seasoned salesperson will have seen it all over their career and know what approaches work and don’t. In honesty, improvement over time is practically a necessity. 

Strengthen your objection handling with Dealfront

Part of the challenge in dealing with objections comes from the target customers themselves. If you’re working with poor-quality leads, you’re already on the back foot going into the conversation. Unfortunately, it isn’t always a simple process to secure the high-value and high-intent sales leads that make sales easy. 

Dealfront can change all of that. Dealfront helps with objection handling by equipping sales teams with real-time company intelligence and intent data, allowing them to anticipate, understand, and overcome objections more effectively.

It’s designed around collaboration, supporting cross-department accounts and workflows. Furthermore, it integrates with a host of popular marketing and sales tools to give companies more power at their fingertips. 

Request a demo to see what Dealfront has to offer today and how it can help your business.