Common Cold Call Objections and How To Overcome Them

Summary

Trent, a seasoned software sales professional, shares his insights on overcoming cold call objections in this informative video. With over 60,000 calls under his belt, he emphasizes the importance of targeting the right prospects and maintaining a positive attitude despite daily rejections. He outlines a three-part framework for handling objections, including assessing the prospect's mood, providing a clear reason for the call, and responding effectively to common objections like budget constraints or existing solutions. Trent's script and strategies aim to build genuine relationships, not just secure meetings, positioning salespeople for long-term success.

Takeaways

• 😎 Trent, a seasoned software sales professional since 2018, shares insights on overcoming objections in cold calls.
• 📞 Trent emphasizes the importance of maintaining a short memory and not letting a negative interaction affect subsequent calls.
• 👤 He stresses the human aspect of cold calling, reminding that there's a real person behind each call, and to approach with empathy.
• 💡 Trent outlines a three-part framework for handling cold call objections: identifying the right prospects, crafting a compelling cold call script, and overcoming objections.
• 🔍 He advises on the importance of calling the right prospects, considering factors like their ability to make purchases and their relevance to the product or service.
• 🏆 Trent uses the analogy of 'mining for gold' to describe the process of prospecting and emphasizes the need for a diversified pipeline.
• 🗣️ He provides a sample cold call script, starting with a personal greeting, followed by a clear reason for the call, and then a request for time.
• 🛡️ Trent offers strategies for dealing with initial objections, such as asking for 30 seconds to explain the reason for the call or suggesting a specific time for a callback.
• 💼 He discusses handling objections related to budget, existing solutions, or lack of interest by reaffirming the prospect's stance and then focusing on the potential value of a meeting.
• 💼 Trent suggests preparing responses to common objections and being ready to adapt them based on the conversation's flow to build a relationship and demonstrate value.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of Trent's YouTube channel?

Trent's YouTube channel focuses on software sales techniques, particularly on overcoming objections during cold calls.

How long has Trent been working in software sales?

Trent has been working in software sales since 2018.

What is the importance of having a short memory in cold calling as mentioned by Trent?

Having a short memory in cold calling is important because it helps to not let a negative interaction with one prospect affect the approach with the next, maintaining a positive and professional demeanor throughout all calls.

What are the three parts of the framework for cold call objection handling that Trent discusses?

The three parts of the framework for cold call objection handling are: identifying who you are calling, what you are saying on the call (cold call script), and how to overcome objections.

Why is it crucial to call the right prospects according to Trent?

It is crucial to call the right prospects because calling qualified individuals increases the chances of setting meetings, generating pipeline, and closing revenue. It also ensures that the sales efforts are directed towards those who have the authority and budget to make purchasing decisions.

How does Trent suggest handling objections at the beginning of a cold call?

Trent suggests asking for 30 seconds to explain the reason for the call if the prospect tries to rush off the call. If they insist on ending the call, he recommends scheduling a specific time to call back and sending a calendar invite to ensure the call happens.

What is Trent's approach to dealing with objections about budget or existing solutions?

Trent's approach is to reaffirm the prospect's statement, validate their current situation, and then explain the reason for the call without pressuring them to change anything immediately. He emphasizes building a relationship and offering help for potential future needs.

How does Trent recommend preparing for common objections in cold calls?

Trent recommends writing down the most common objections and preparing specific responses to each. This preparation helps in responding automatically and effectively during calls without overthinking.

What is the significance of the 'gold mining' analogy used by Trent?

The 'gold mining' analogy signifies the process of sifting through various prospects to find those who are most likely to convert into successful sales. It emphasizes the importance of quality over quantity in the sales prospecting process.

Why does Trent suggest not rushing the call and asking for 30 seconds to explain the reason for the call?

Asking for 30 seconds ensures that the salesperson has an opportunity to present their value proposition and the reason for the call, which can help in overcoming initial objections and potentially setting up a meeting or follow-up call.

Outlines

00:00

📞 Overcoming Cold Call Objections

Trent, from his YouTube channel, introduces his experience in software sales and sets the stage for a discussion on handling objections in cold calls. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining a short memory when facing rejection and not letting it affect future calls. Trent outlines a three-part framework for cold call objection handling: identifying the right prospects, crafting a compelling cold call script, and overcoming initial and talent objections. He stresses the need for empathy and understanding that prospects are real people whose days are being interrupted. The summary of his cold call script includes a personal greeting, an assessment of the prospect's mood, and a direct lead into the reason for the call.

05:00

🔍 Targeting the Right Prospects and Crafting the Pitch

This paragraph delves into the importance of targeting the right prospects for B2B sales, suggesting that salespeople should be like miners sifting through rocks to find gold. Trent advises on the types of prospects to include in the sales pipeline for a diversified approach. He then describes his personal cold call script, starting with a greeting and a question about the prospect's well-being to gauge their mood. The script continues with a reason for the call, tailored to the company and the value proposition, and ends with an immediate request for the prospect's time, setting the stage for potential objections.

10:02

🛡️ Handling Objections with Strategy and Persistence

Trent discusses the two phases of objections in a cold call: the initial objections that occur within the first 15 seconds and the talent objections that arise when the sales pitch is made. He provides strategies for dealing with each, such as asking for 30 seconds to explain the call's purpose or suggesting a specific time for a callback if the prospect is in a rush. Trent also recommends preparing responses to common objections like lack of budget or existing solutions, and emphasizes the importance of building a relationship rather than making an immediate sale. He suggests that salespeople should aim to earn business over time and use the prospect's time wisely by demonstrating the potential value of the meeting.

🚀 Leveraging Success Stories to Justify the Meeting

In the final paragraph, Trent highlights the importance of having prepared responses to objections and using success stories to justify the value of a meeting. He provides an example of how his solution helped a quick service restaurant organization improve employee retention. Trent encourages salespeople to be agile and prepared to exploit any hint of a prospect's interest or pain points. He concludes by inviting viewers to subscribe to his channel for more insights and offers a detailed cold calling strategy for a small fee, promising a quick return on investment.

Keywords

💡Cold Calls

Cold calls refer to unsolicited sales calls made to potential customers who have not previously expressed interest. In the script, Trent emphasizes the importance of handling objections during cold calls, which is central to the video's theme of overcoming objections in sales.

💡Rejection

Rejection is a common experience in sales, especially during cold calls, where prospects may say 'no' or hang up. The script discusses maintaining a short memory after rejection to prevent it from affecting subsequent calls, illustrating the resilience required in sales.

💡Empathy

Empathy in this context is the ability to understand and share the feelings of the prospect. Trent mentions empathizing with people, acknowledging that cold calls can interrupt their day, which is crucial for building rapport and handling objections effectively.

💡Prospecting

Prospecting is the process of searching for potential customers or clients. Trent uses the analogy of mining for gold to describe the process of finding valuable prospects, emphasizing the importance of targeting the right accounts for sales success.

💡Pipeline

A sales pipeline refers to the series of stages a customer goes through in the sales process. Trent mentions generating pipeline as one of the goals of cold calling, highlighting the importance of creating opportunities that can lead to sales.

💡Value Proposition

A value proposition is a statement that communicates the unique value a product or service provides to the customer. In the script, Trent talks about explaining the reason for the call, which is often the value proposition, to the prospect to pique their interest.

💡Objections

Objections are potential barriers or reasons a prospect might give for not wanting to proceed with a sale. The script outlines strategies for overcoming objections, such as asking for 30 seconds to explain the call's purpose, which is a key part of the video's message.

💡Script

A script in sales is a prepared set of statements designed to guide a sales conversation. Trent shares his cold call script, which includes a greeting, reason for calling, and an ask for time, illustrating a structured approach to handling cold calls.

💡B2B

B2B stands for 'business-to-business,' referring to commerce transactions between businesses. Trent's script and strategies are focused on B2B sales, where understanding the prospect's business needs and objections is critical.

💡Budget Constraints

Budget constraints are limitations on spending that a prospect might mention as an objection. Trent suggests responses to this objection, such as acknowledging the constraint and offering to discuss how the solution can provide value without immediate budgetary demands.

💡Relationship Building

Relationship building is the process of establishing and nurturing connections with customers. Trent emphasizes not selling on the first call but rather building a relationship that could lead to sales in the future, which is a key strategy for long-term success in sales.

Highlights

Trent shares his experience in overcoming objections in cold calls, emphasizing the importance of handling rejection positively.

He mentions the significance of having a short memory in sales to prevent one negative interaction from affecting future calls.

Trent discusses the importance of empathy in cold calling, recognizing that prospects are real people whose day you are interrupting.

The framework for cold call objection handling is introduced, consisting of three parts: who you're calling, what you're saying, and how to overcome objections.

Trent explains the importance of qualifying prospects and ensuring they are capable of making a purchase.

He compares prospecting to mining for gold, emphasizing the need for a diversified pipeline to maximize sales opportunities.

Trent provides a script for cold calling that includes a personalized greeting and a clear reason for the call.

He advises on how to handle objections at the beginning of a call, such as requests to call back later, by asking for 30 seconds to explain the reason for the call.

Trent suggests planning a follow-up call if the prospect is unable to continue the conversation, ensuring you don't lose the opportunity.

He outlines strategies for dealing with common objections like lack of budget, existing solutions, and disinterest.

Trent encourages salespeople to validate the prospect's concerns and then explain the potential benefits of the product or service.

He emphasizes the importance of building a relationship with the prospect rather than making an immediate sale.

Trent shares his approach to earning business over time, focusing on long-term partnerships rather than quick transactions.

He provides examples of how to justify the time investment for a meeting by highlighting the potential benefits and improvements the solution can bring.

Trent advises on being prepared with responses to common objections and to act based on instinct during calls.

He suggests that salespeople should exploit any hint of a problem or pain point to set up a meeting and position their solution as the answer.

Trent concludes by encouraging viewers to subscribe to his channel for more insights on cold calling strategies.

Transcripts

hi this is Trent from Trent's YouTube

channel how are you oh I'm glad to hear

you're doing well I'm doing tremendous

thanks for asking that's how I typically

open cold calls I've been working in

software sales since 2018. and today

we're going to talk about how to

overcome any objection I've made over 60

000 cold calls and I still get

absolutely body bagged on the phone I

face rejection daily I get told no I get

hung up on often and if there's anything

you take away from this video it's

dealing with a rude Prospect customer it

never feels any better but don't let

that ruin your day or carry into other

calls it's important to have a short

memory and just because you had a poor

interaction with person a doesn't mean

that you should carry that attitude or

negative mentality into speaking with

person B the prospect isn't just a name

on a screen it's a real human behind the

call so keep that in mind empathize with

people that they're incredibly and that

you're interrupting their days calling

them out of the blue so naturally you're

going to face a lot of objections and as

I think about the framework for cold

call objection handling there's really

three parts of those part one is who are

you calling part two is what are you

saying on the phone cold call script

that I'll share with you here today and

then next how do we actually overcome

the objections and there's typically two

objections there's either an objection

at the very beginning of the call hey

I'm in a meeting uh you caught me the

blue who are you who are you and what do

you want why are you calling me or it's

the talent objection we don't have any

budget we're not interested we already

have a solution da da da and I'm going

to share exactly what I would say based

on my experience making tens of

thousands of cold calls first and

foremost with who you're calling if

you're getting destroyed on the phone

also ask yourself are you calling the

right Prospect are they even qualified

to buy are you calling VPC levels or are

you calling low-level managers what

quality of accounts are you calling into

if you're B2B like me business to

business are you calling companies with

revenues greater than 100 million are

you calling small companies are you

calling Consumers b2c trying to sell

insurance vacations whatever it may be

so depending on what you're selling this

is going to vary because if you're

speaking with a high power executive

it's going to be a little different than

speaking with just an average consumer

from the lens of B2B I think of

prospecting as mining for gold think

about that show Alaska gold rush they're

on this beautiful Terrain in Alaska

they're next to a river they have a

bunch of miners they have this big

sleuth machine and they're digging dirt

rocks they're putting it in the sleuth

machine the sleuth machine is shaking

out the Rocks spraying water on it and

eventually gold is going to come out of

the other side gold for us salespeople

is setting meetings generating pipeline

closing revenue and getting paid big

commission checks getting promoted and

living a happier life as a result of our

success because success is important we

need to be mindful of what rocks what

prospects we're actually putting in our

sequence and calling we want to have a

diversified pipeline so we want to be

calling the accounts I can spend the

most money with us the prospects that

actually are qualified to buy some

prospects products that may not be able

to spend as much money with us but maybe

more transactional some prospects that

are warmer that maybe interactive with

content or visit our website some

prospects that are cold you want to have

all these different types of rocks

ground whatever in this Loop machine to

get the gold it's the same thing with

prospecting and cold calling so once you

add all these prospects to your sequence

and you start calling you'll start

getting people on the phones when I cold

call I always start out with hey this is

Trent from insert my company name

how are you the reason I use the how are

you is because I want to assess how they

are if they say I'm doing well how are

you like the example we opened the video

with I know that they're in a good mood

and I can get into my pitch if they just

say I'm doing okay you know that you're

already behind the eight ball and you

need to get directly into it hey this is

Trump from insert my company name how

are you oh I'm doing great uh thank you

so much for asking the reason I'm

calling you specifically

is that I'm following up on a recent

email I had sent you does insert my

company name ring a bell the reason I'm

calling you is I notice that you oversee

the Subscribe button hit the Subscribe

button now if you haven't already the

reason I'm calling you is that I noticed

that you oversee the HR vision and

strategy and I partner with other

executive leaders like yourself to help

you to improve Employee Engagement

reduce attrition and other positive

outcomes like that can we find time to

get introduced before the end of the

year during my cold call script I'm

starting with how are you I'm

immediately going into the reason I'm

calling you is and that will be unique

to you your company your value

proposition and who you're speaking with

specifically psychologically when you

call somebody out of the blue they want

to know who are you what do you want why

are you calling them so always hit them

with the reason okay and then insert the

reason that makes most sense for you and

then as soon as you give them a little

bit enough make the ask for their time

immediately and that's when you start

that's when you're gonna start to face a

lot of objections so now in the part

three facing the actual objections

there's really two phases of the cold

call that you're going to experience

objections phase one is immediately in

the intro in the first 5 to 15 seconds

you're gonna ask them how they are and

if they don't respond back to you or

they may say you caught me in the middle

of a meeting and you're thinking okay so

why did you answer the phone during a

meeting you catch them right before

they're about to run into a meeting or

they'll immediately say wait who are you

that's just an entry level objection and

the key principle here is do not let the

prospect Rush the call if it feels

rushed it's you who are rushing the call

so if they try and say I'm in a meeting

call me back later

say can I have 30 seconds for me to tell

you the reason why I'm calling you

that's how I respond every time if they

ever give me an objection at the

beginning look can I have 30 seconds for

me to tell you the reason why I'm

calling you and if they push back on

that say

look I'll plan on following up with you

later

um how does this afternoon at 3 pm work

for me to give you a quick call back and

if they say okay okay say I'll send you

a calendar invite for them so that you

can expect my call so if they try and

rush you off try and get them to stay on

so you can go in your pitch it's better

to speak with someone now than an

arbitrary time in the future that they

may or may not agree to

if they absolutely rush you off say look

I'm not going away anytime soon I'm

going to give you a call back let's find

some time for you to actually expect my

call and sometimes that will work I set

a meeting this week with a large

restaurant brand I had been calling her

for months so she knew that I wasn't

going to give up and she's like yeah you

can follow with me and schedule a call I

say perfect okay let me confirm your

email I'll send you a calendar invite

for later this week and the purpose of

the call is to discuss your top

priorities allow me to share a

customized overview how my solution can

help and then if we see alignment great

we can continue the conversation and if

not we absolutely can part ways so

that's how you deal with that first

subjection the next cohort of objections

is when you make the ask for the time or

you give your value prop they're then

gonna hit you with I don't have budget

we already have a solution I'm not

interested those are the big three what

I would suggest you do is an exercise

after this video is get out a piece of

paper like I do right here and write

down what are the most common objections

you face beginning with those three and

then write down exactly what you would

say in response so that when you hear

them on the phone you're automatic

you're not thinking you're just you're

acting based on Instinct and that's how

the best athletes are they play on

Instinct they don't overthink the

general framework for responding to

these objections is always reaffirm back

to them

hey I'm not asking for any budget today

you've confirmed that you heard them and

you acknowledge that they said they

don't have any budget oh we have a

solution hey I imagine you had a

solution in place today for an

organization of your quality okay we

validated them oh you're not interested

okay well we're not looking to um to

change anything today so so now they're

thinking okay well look less pressure

you you validate them and then you

immediately say look the reason for my

call is I believe that we can help your

organization for this specific reason

I'm not looking to change anything I

just want to get interviews with you in

the spirit of partnership so that we can

determine if we can help you recognize

incremental value today but also

potential for long-term partnership as

well and you want to remove the stakes

remove the the burden of oh I don't want

to meet with this guy because I don't

see the upside you need them to see okay

I'm not looking to sell you today I'm

not even looking to sell you in the next

call I'm looking to build a relationship

with you when I started my software

sales career as a sales developer it was

all about transactional set meetings at

all costs does not matter and you're

just you're just trying to set meetings

and that's important you are selling

time in B2B you always want to set the

meeting always want to sell time

but also tell them look I get it that's

okay you don't have any budget we're

looking to earn your business in the

next 12 to 24 months we just want an

opportunity to get in the door to meet

with you and the reason why that meeting

matters for you and you should justify

20 minutes out of your time is because

we help this other quick service

restaurant organization they had

significant attrition by day 60

employees we are able to set up an

onboarding feedback program and we were

able to help them better understand the

points of friction and improve their

business and take risk out of it if

we're able to help you do the same would

that be worth your time you want to have

these these responses just ready to go

so that based on the way the

conversation goes you want to be agile

because you can't over prepare you can't

listen to this video and write down

everything I say and just repeat it back

you got to write down what you would say

so that you can then insert okay I need

to play this card in this situation and

you ultimately want them to say you know

what this person's not going away

they've made a few good points

um although I I already have a solution

I'm interested in hearing them out so

that I can understand best practices and

just maybe make enhancements to my

program or understand what's what else

is out there on the market or maybe I

truly have I would sometimes I'll say

look well is there anything you would

change about your process today and as

you think about negative consequences

and pain it always revolves around

people process technology time and also

cost as well those are the five levers

that they may be having problems with

and if you can even get a hint of it a

sniff of it

you want to set up the meeting you want

to exploit that and you're in a position

why your solution is going to be the

answer to all those problems if you

recognize value in today's video

subscribe to the channel now and click

on the first link in the description

below for a look at my actual cold

calling script in a couple different

scenarios in my entire cold calling

strategy and framework that I think

you'll find immense value out of for

only thirty dollars you'll make it back

in literally one day of cold calling