Don't Panic

April 24, 2025

Don't Panic- it's just an objection

However well you prepare there is always a chance in sales for the unexpected. This is usually when a prospect raises a question or more likely an objection that you haven’t heard before.  This is quite frequent in the early days of any startup when you are still trying to build product market fit and then when you are working on evolving the product and the accompanying sales collateral.

As you test the product and iterate based on feedback you are also testing the script. This is a trial and error process. As I have said in previous blogs, every objection that you get you have created with something that you have said or not said. As you build the script testing its effectiveness you need to work out what you are saying to create these objections. By having a consistent script you can identify which objections are occurring consistently. In the early days you can then work out if it is a product feature that is creating these objections or if it is something you are saying. While no product is ever completely finished, once it has reached a relatively stable state with only occasional minor updates you will still need to constantly refine the script to ensure you are maximising every sales opportunity. Whatever part of the process you are at, you will always face objections and potentially objections that seem completely new and that you haven't heard before. As you haven't heard it before you haven't had a chance to practice the answer so are unprepared and unsure what to say next.

The first rule every time is the same and is taken straight from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy- DON’T PANIC. It sounds obvious but it’s amazing how often even season sales execs, when confronted with an objection that they haven't heard before, panic and start going off script offering all sorts of things that they shouldn’t or making claims that can't be substantiated. This invariably leads to having to either backtrack with the prospect ( once you#'ve calmed down and realised your erroneous claim) which destroys your credibility or begging or pleading with product or sales heads to be allowed to fulfil whatever crazy promise you threw out there in the heat of the moment. Neither outcome is desirable.

Most objections are the same. There are really only ten objections in the world. The difference is in how they are phrased and packaged and given to you. After step 1- don’t panic- step 2 is the Politician’s answer. This is in effect to answer a totally different question. If you’ve ever seen a politicians interviewed then this is what they invariably do if they're given a hard question or one they don’t want to answer. However, unlike a politician who just ducks the question, you are not going to do that. You are buying time.

This is why the explicit vs implicit piece is so important Spot the gorilla playing basketball! | LinkedIn. You have to be using the implicit part of your brain to answer the question while the rest of your brain is frantically scrambling to answer some key questions that enable you to better understand the objection. Is this an objection I’ve heard before but just phrased differently? Which one is it? Is this a new objection that has been caused by the product and not by my script? How you will deal with the objection will depend on which one of these it is but either way remember the five steps of objection handling; Agree, Empathise, Overturn, Close, Door Open. Don’t win the battle and lose the war | LinkedIn When you get to step 3 if appropriate remember the third party answer. Do you want the red pill or blue pill? | LinkedIn

Whatever happens you need to fix it so this doesn’t happen again either by addressing the script or, if necessary and if possible, then by addressing the product. Firstly, if you’re in a team then share what just happened.  Make sure everyone is aware of this new variant and has thoughts on how to deal with it. That’s why you sit together in teams!

 Secondly you need to answer whether or not it is the script that is generating the objection, i.e. something you are saying, or whether it is the product. In the early days it could be either. Once the product is more mature its likely to be you and your script. Either way if it’s the product you need to give the feedback directly to that team so they can consider whether or not its worth refining the product. Is this the first prospect who has raised this or the tenth? If it’s a consistent objection from a number of your prospects then it is worth at least considering amending or refining the product or feature, assuming that is a possibility.

If it is the script or some thing in your delivery then that needs to be addressed instantly. You must work out what you are saying that is causing this objection in the mind of the prospect and then amend that so it doesn’t. This is a lot easier to write than to do!

This is also a process of trial and error. Just as you need to keep iterating with the product in the early days to arrive at product market fit you need to constantly iterate and test every single line in the script to see if it is helping or hindering.

This process never ends. This is the fun of sales.

As your script gets better and better the product features will, if not always be evolving, then usually evolving on at least a regular basis. Every new feature and upgrade needs to go through this process. As well as this the environment you are selling into is always changing. As well as macro changes like the economy or the advent of new technology there are also continual micro changes; your brand and/ or product are getting more recognised, you have a focus on new business this quarter so are able to offer more discounts, you are looking to raise prices. Whatever the reason your sales script will always be in a constant state of flux as you adjust to the ever shifting variables around you, meaning that this process of identifying new objection variants, understanding that you have created them, working to identify and amend the script so that you are no longer doing this and always tyring to improve the script is the key to successful sales. Like a lot of things in life when you work hard at it you never stop improving- just don't panic :)