Hello Reader,

One of the biggest problems salespeople still experience today is objections.

Through all my training, mentoring and speaking events, this is one of the most common issues that keeps resurfacing amongst salespeople.

Now the reason you may think this exists is because salespeople don’t know how to handle objections.

But the problem runs a little deeper.

You see, lots of salespeople don’t even know that they’re handling an objection incorrectly.

And that’s where the problem lies. You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know it exists.

What I find happens is that salespeople will be experiencing objections and reacting naturally to those objections, which causes them to lose the prospect.

In reality, what you should be doing is leveraging emotional intelligence to understand when an objection is raised and then knowing when to pause, when to ask questions, and what questions to ask.

But so many things happen on a call that it’s difficult for them to put their finger on it and determine what exactly they did wrong on the call.

So rather than you having to go through that lengthy process and figure it out yourself, I thought I’d just tell you…

Here are eight ways salespeople mess up when dealing with objections and what to do instead:

1. Interrupting the prospect or anticipating what they’ll say – Cutting them off makes them feel unheard.
How to handle it: Let them speak fully before responding. The more they talk, the more insight you gain.

2. Ignoring or overriding the objection – Brushing past objections or pretending they don’t exist destroys trust.
How to handle it: Acknowledge their concern and ask follow-up questions to understand the real issue.

3. Thinking that just talking at the prospect will solve the objection – More words don’t mean more persuasion. Rambling only confuses and frustrates them.
How to handle it: Keep your response short, clear, and focused on their specific concern.

4. Rushing headlong into talking straight away – Jumping in too quickly makes you seem defensive, not confident.
How to handle it: Pause. Take a second to gather your thoughts, then respond thoughtfully.

5. Being unprepared for what may come your way – If you don’t anticipate objections, you’ll be caught off guard, and prospects will sense your hesitation.
How to handle it: Prepare for common objections in advance and have clear, confident responses ready.

6. Repeating the same response and expecting a different result – If they weren’t convinced the first time, repeating yourself won’t change their mind.
How to handle it: Reframe your response. Try a different angle or ask them what’s still holding them back.

7. Assuming your response means you can go ahead – Just because you’ve answered the objection doesn’t mean they’re 100 percent convinced.
How to handle it: Confirm their buy-in, “Does that address your concern?” before moving forward.

8. Leaving the conversation without clarifying what happens next – If you don’t set next steps, the deal will stall.
How to handle it: End with a clear action: “What would you need to see to feel comfortable moving forward?”

So, the bottom line here is that objections aren’t deal-killers. But handling them poorly is.

Remember this list, print it out if you have to, and keep it next to you when you’re cold calling. If you do face-to-face sales, read through this in the morning before you head out!

You won’t perfect it straight away, but as time goes on, you’ll get better with practice.

You’ll learn how to react and respond to objections in a way that relaxes your prospect and gently nudges them towards buying rather than making them uncomfortable and running away.

And if you want to learn how to identify any objection (not just the ones listed above), check out this video on handling objections. It’ll take you through everything you need to know.

So watch the video and spend this week practicing everything from this email and the video. Reframe your mind to understand that these are the wrong ways to handle objections…

Next week, I’ll share with you how to handle objections the right way, using a framework I find incredibly valuable.

James