Objection database
Four printable sheets for your desk or your next coaching session. No sign-up and no email address: print them or save them as PDF from your browser.
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Free to print and share inside your team. No sign-up, no email gate.
Fill it in after a call, or before one you are nervous about.
Keep it next to the phone. The order matters more than the exact words.
Show you heard it, without agreeing or defending: “That makes sense.” / “Thank you for telling me.”
Ask one open question to find the real concern: “What would you compare it with?” / “What is still open for you?”
Answer that concern in one or two sentences, then agree one small next step with a date, or end politely.
What each type of objection usually means and the first move that helps.
| Category | Typical signal | First move | Example sentence | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | “Expensive”, “budget”, comparisons, “can you do better”. | Ask what they compare it with before you defend the price. | “Too expensive compared with what: a budget, another quote or what you expected?” | Cutting the price straight away. |
| Timing | “Not now”, “later”, “busy”, “next quarter”. | Separate a bad moment from a bad fit, then agree a specific time. | “Is it the call or the topic that is badly timed? If it is the call, when would suit you?” | Pushing on, or accepting a vague “later”. |
| Trust | “Never heard of you”, “proof”, “catch”, “burned before”. | Name the doubt and invite the check instead of asking to be believed. | “You are right to check. What would you want to see first?” | Defending yourself or making bigger claims. |
| Competitor | “We already have”, “happy with”, “comparing”, “switching”. | Respect the current choice and ask what would have to change for a look to be worth it. | “Good to hear it works. What would a supplier need to do better for you to take a look?” | Criticising the competitor. |
| Authority | “My boss”, “committee”, “procurement”, “not my decision”. | Find out who else is involved, then help this person take it forward. | “Who else will have a say, and what will they want to know?” | Going around the person or demanding the decision maker. |
| Need | “We don’t need”, “works fine”, “already do that”. | Ask about the situation today before you claim a problem exists. | “How do you handle it today, and what works best about that?” | Telling them what they need. |
| Stall | “Think about it”, “send information”, “get back to you”. | Find the real question behind the delay and agree a dated next step. | “What is still open for you, so I can answer exactly that?” | Accepting “I’ll get back to you” with no date. |
| Brush-off | “Not interested”, “no thanks”, “don’t call”. | Stay brief, respect the answer and earn one more sentence, or end well. | “Understood. May I ask one question, and if it is not relevant I will leave you in peace?” | Arguing or reading the whole script. |
| Contract | “Cancel”, “lock-in”, “terms”, “guarantee”, “not signing”. | Take the fear of commitment seriously and shrink the step. | “What worries you most about committing: the length, the exit or the unknowns?” | Promising what the terms do not say. |
| Gatekeeper | “What is it regarding”, “send an email”, “not available”. | Be honest and courteous, treat them as a colleague and ask for help, not access. | “I would like to speak to whoever looks after this. Who would that be, and when is a good time to reach them?” | Tricks, false familiarity or pushing past. |
Six calls, one line each. Review it weekly and pick one objection to practise.
| Date | Objection heard | Category | What I said | What helped | Try next time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pick the objection from your log, talk to an AI customer and see in the report which sentence helped.
Start practising for free