On this week’s Dear Katie, I was asked: I feel like my sales calls go well and often end with them asking for an engagement letter, I send it, and then never hear from them again. Any tips on how to close them?

Oof, sales objections! If you’re a firm owner or helping close sales, you will have to deal with objections sooner or later. 

Objections aren’t a bad thing, either. Your job is to help you and the prospect make the right decision on whether or not you’re a good strategic fit.

However, oftentimes, if you don’t know how to handle objections, then you’ll miss out on being able to help people you truly can help. 

So, let’s talk about the most common objections and how to overcome them today. 

5 Responses to Have Up Your Sleeve After a Sales Call

1. Can You Send an Engagement Letter?

Don’t just send over any engagement letter and let them end up in never-never land. 

When someone asks me, “Can you send over an engagement letter,” and I know it’s an objection, what do I say?

Sure, I’d be happy to. How this process works is we’ll schedule a time together to walk through the engagement letter. I’ll share it while we’re on the call together. This way, there are no questions left unanswered and from there, we can make sure you make the best decision for you together. How does X day at X time work for you? 

Simple and straightforward, but you’re still on call and can push the sale.

2. Sorry, It’s Too Expensive!

Your prices are your prices. Don’t let this objection discourage you or cause you to second guess your worth.

I recommend answering this question in one of many ways:

• “I hear you. The best services usually aren’t the cheapest. You shared that you were paying X before and we found you were leaving Y on the table. So while we may not be the cheapest, the return on your investment is substantially greater than what you were paying before.”
• “How are you coming to the conclusion it’s too expensive?” This is a great question to ask because your prospect has to share why they think you’re too expensive. And then you can address it. 
• “I can see why you think that. We had another client who was uneasy about the price at first, but what they quickly found was…. (insert results). This allows you to empathize with them and then address their concerns with an example. 

If you respond using these recommendations, you’re offering a friendly rebuttal and will change a lot of prospect’s minds in the process, or at the very least, you can get to the root of why they said you’re too expensive (especially when using the last question).

3. Let Me Think About It.

If a prospect wants to think about your offer, your goal should be to identify the hesitation. What’s holding them back from making a decision right now? 

You could say:

 “I’m so glad you take this decision seriously. So I can best address your concerns, what’s holding you back from moving forward?”

If the price is holding them back, then you want them to say that. Remember – the only objection that can’t be handled is the one you don’t know.

Once they share their objection, if you can’t overcome it on the phone call now (for example, I need to have my partner weigh in on the decision), schedule them for a follow-up call.

4. I’m Not Ready Right Now.

If a prospect says they’re not ready, your goal should be to find the real motive behind this objection. Are they truly not ready, or are they just holding themselves back?

To get to the root of the issue, you could respond with:

“I completely get that timing is everything. Just to understand your situation better, what would make this the right time?”

If they truly aren’t ready, you can help them create a plan so that when they time is right, they are prepared to work with you.

5. Can You Lower Your Price?

Pricing objections are common. The best way to overcome them is to make it clear that the price is the price, and your fees are based on the value you deliver. If they want a lower price, they are going to get less.

So, how can you respond to this question in a tactful way? Try this:

“I appreciate you wanting to maximize your investment. Our pricing reflects the value we deliver, including expertise and results that go beyond the surface level. If we remove X, the investment would be Y. Would that fit your budget?”

Remember – everyone deals with sales objections at some point. 

It’s how you handle them that matters. 

View them as an opportunity to better understand your prospect’s concerns and guide them toward the right decision, even if that means not working with you. 

If you take this as an opportunity to deepen the conversation, you can provide more value and ultimately build trust with prospects.

And, that’s a wrap on this Dear Katie question.

__

Now I want to hear from you. Do you have a question? 

Submit it here

Until next time, cheers to your success!

Katie