The Top 3 Cold Call Objections and How to Overcome Them

B2B SaaS sales is highly competitive and challenging. Objection handling is an essential skill for outbound SaaS sellers. Mastering the art of objection handling during cold calls is crucial for success. SDRs, BDRs, and their leaders often face an uphill battle with objections that can turn an expensive lead into a missed opportunity if not handled properly. From budget concerns to skepticism about your product's value, these objections require consistent practice to navigate effectively. In this guide, we will explore the top 3 objections encountered in cold calls and how to handle common sales objections.

Mastering Common Objections in B2B SaaS Sales

A Framework for Every Objection

Your prospect doesn't care about your product.

Your prospect cares about solutions to their own problems and their company's issues.

With that in mind, consider this process to address every objection.

Step 1: Understand the Objection and Provide Reason

Permission-based communication builds trust with your prospects.

Providing a reason, when relevant, to your question adds further transparency to your call.

Use a permission-based response to address an objection directly.

There are more than a few ways to handle that objection. This response opens up the conversation, allowing you to understand the problems your prospect is currently facing.

Step 2: Actively Listen to the Person's Response

If your prospect gives you their time to respond and explain more about their objection, listen to them! We often have a response in our head ready before we even hear the other person. Slow down, listen to what they have to say, then craft your response.

Step 3: Provide Value in Your Response

If your prospect has given you their time, you should have enough information to provide a response rooted in value.

Does our solution solve a problem they are actively trying to address?

Great! Our prospect likely faces similar problems to those our current customers have. We should tailor our response to their specific issues and explain how we solve those problems.

How to Handle 3 Common Cold Call Objections in B2B Sales

"I don't have time to talk right now," "I'm about to head into a meeting"

If a prospect answers the phone, there's a high likelihood that they have 30 seconds to hear you out.

Let's use our framework to overcome this common sales objection.

Understand the objection by asking for permission.

"I assumed you'd be busy. I was calling to learn about how you're training your reps for cold calls. Would you like to hang up? Or could I get 30 seconds to explain why I chose to call today? If we don't see any value, I'll hang up, and never call you again."

Listen to your prospect's response.

If they don't want to give you 30 seconds, there are 100 other people to start calling. Chances are, they will give you that time. Listen to what they say and tailor your pitch accordingly.

Provide value in your response based on your prospect's possible problems.

Your pitch should always be tailored to your prospect's title, potential pain points, and the solutions your product offers.

"Can you send me an email?"

Your prospect likely says this because they're not interested in your product. They are trying to find a polite way to get you off the phone, and that's fine.

Let's use our framework to overcome this common sales objection.

Understand the objection by asking for permission.

"I definitely can. Could I ask, what would be most important information for me to share with you in that email that relates back to the problems you're trying to solve now?"

Listen to your prospect's response.

There are thousands of different ways your prospect might respond as you address this cold call objection.

They might shut you down entirely.

The upside of an open-ended question is the potential response that highlights your prospect's current problems, what their team is working on improving, and whether your product can help them with those issues.

Provide value in your response based on your prospect's reply

"Scaling a sales team can be exciting but also super challenging. Acme Co used FullyRamped to scale their sales team from 10 to 50! They were able to provide more training and more personalized training for their reps. They ramped faster and scaled the team more efficiently. If that sounds helpful I'd be happy to intro you both to chat about scaling teams.

This call can have a thousand possible outcomes. Since you listened to their reply, you'll be well-equipped to explain how your product helps them with their specific problem.

"We're already using a competitor"

Chances are, you're not the only solution on the market, and that's perfectly fine. Customers choose solutions that solve their business problems at that point in time. Yours might be a better fit based on where they are now.

Let's use our framework to overcome this common sales objection.

Understand the objection by asking for permission.

Listen to your prospect's response.

If your prospect absolutely does not want to hear about your product, remember, there are 100 other prospects that might.

If they want to hear about your product, there's a high chance their current product is falling short in some area.

Provide value in your response based on what your company does better than anyone else.

"FullyRamped differentiates from [competitor] as we are more focused on providing the most realistic cold call experience for large sales teams. We keep sales reps where they live, in their dialer, and provide a platform for managers like you that helps you know where to spend more time coaching and training. [Competitor] is more focused on [xyz].

Finish with a question. Don't expect your prospect to jump out of their seat with their wallet in hand after that.

"Is reducing your teams tech stack, or coaching and training a priority for you right?"

Proven Sales Training Tools and Methods

So what's next? Practice, of course!

But how can you practice these objections in a way that actually prepares you for the real thing?

Recording and Reviewing Calls

Recording and reviewing calls is an essential practice technique for sales teams. By capturing actual conversations, reps can gain valuable insights into their performance.

You'll first need a reliable call recording tool like Orum.

After recording, schedule regular review sessions. During these sessions, listen to key moments in the calls, focusing on how objections were handled. Discuss what went well and identify areas for improvement.

This process helps reps understand their strengths and weaknesses, providing a clear path for development. It also allows managers to offer targeted coaching and support.

Listening to call recordings helps your sales training be more effective. You and your reps will know which areas need practice.

Role-Playing Scenarios or Mock Calls

"Ring ring"

👀

"Oh yeah, just pretend I'm a prospect 😄"

The dreaded but necessary mock call is proven time and time again to be great for sales training.

Role-playing scenarios provide a safe environment to practice handling objections, simulating real-life conversations to refine responses.

Start by listing common objections like budget or timing issues, and assign roles—one as the prospect, the other as the sales rep.

During role-play, ensure the "prospect" challenges the rep with tough questions. This helps reps think quickly and develop confident responses.

After each session, offer constructive feedback and highlight strengths. Recording sessions can be beneficial for review, helping reps identify areas for improvement. Regular role-playing builds the muscle memory needed to handle objections smoothly in real-world scenarios.

AI Sales Cold Call Roleplay & Sales Training Software

So you've done your call listening. You and your reps know what areas to work on. You've run 2 or 3 mock calls with the team. What next? Do they go practice on real prospects?

Today, sales teams take their training even further. After a mock call session, call listening, or coaching call, sales teams send their reps to FullyRamped to practice those learnings in a safe environment, away from your expensive leads.

Like any athlete, practice makes perfect.

You don’t have to wait for your next 1:1 with your manager to get practice and feedback.

You can role-play outside of traditional mock calls with your manager by using FullyRamped.

FullyRamped uses Generative AI to create custom, hyper-realistic practice prospects that sound just like the people you call every day. The AI can be tailored to your company-specific ICP (Ideal Customer Profile).

Now, AI sales roleplay isn’t going to replace traditional mock calls and sales role play, but there's definitely no going back.

The ability to practice whenever you want and without the need for a partner means that AI sales role-play will be a significant part of sales training going forward. Those who adopt it first will be way ahead of their peers who rely solely on traditional mock calls.

Request a trial to get started today!