How to handle sales objections
By Niraj Kapur, 15th July 2026
"We don't need you, we have AI."
I have been hearing this a lot. It sounds confident. It sounds final. And most salespeople hear it and start backing towards the door.
I don't.
My response is simple: "That's great - what results are you getting from AI?"
That question does most of the work. If they genuinely are getting more meetings, more conversations, more sales from AI, then I wish them well and mean it. Good for them. But here is the truth - most people are not. They are getting AI to write their outreach and their content, and it sounds like everyone else's outreach and content, because it was written by the same tool. They are spending time tweaking prompts instead of talking to prospects. They are getting busier without getting better results.
When that is the case, I offer something straightforward: let me show you my sales outreach alongside what your AI is producing, and you can judge which one is more likely to start a conversation. That lands more often than you might expect, because the person already suspects the AI is not delivering. They just needed someone to say it plainly.
The "we have AI" objection is the newest version of a very old pattern. What sounds like a firm no is often something else - uncertainty dressed up as confidence, or a test to see whether you will fold. Learning to read the difference is one of the most useful things you can do in sales.
The difference between a buying signal and a fob-off
Not every objection is the same. Some are genuine requests for more information, even if they do not sound like it.
When someone says "how does that work?" or "I'm not sure about the timing" or "I'd need to think about it", they are often telling you they are interested but not yet convinced. They want more. They are giving you an opening.
Then there are the fob-offs. "Call me in three months." "We already have a supplier." "Send me some information." These can be genuine, but they are often a polite way of ending the conversation without the discomfort of saying no directly.
The way you tell them apart is by staying in the conversation rather than immediately accepting the deflection. Ask a question. See how they respond. Someone who is genuinely interested will engage. Someone who wants out will give you a short answer and go quiet.
"It's too expensive"
This is the objection I hear most often, and the mistake most salespeople make is immediate: they start justifying their price. They talk about value, about what is included, about how competitive they are. And in doing so, they often talk themselves out of the deal entirely.
The right move is to pause and ask one question: "Compared to whom?"
That question opens things up. Sometimes the prospect has a specific alternative in mind and you can address it directly. Sometimes they are comparing you to doing nothing, which is a different conversation. Sometimes they say it out of habit, because "it's too expensive" is the easiest objection to reach for. You will not know until you ask.
For a fuller look at handling price conversations without losing your composure, the guide to closing sales without pressure tactics covers this in more detail.
"Call me back in three months"
The instinct here is to say yes and hang up. Do not do that. Call someone back in three months cold and you are starting from scratch - they have forgotten who you are, what you discussed, and why they were interested. You lose all the ground you gained.
Here is what I do instead. I say: "Happy to - what day and time suits?" Then I send a calendar invite immediately, while we are still on the call.
Then I add: "Three months is a long time in business. So we don't lose touch, I'd like to send you something useful now and then - no spam, I promise. Would that be okay?"
If they say yes, you stay warm. By the time you call back, you are not a stranger. You are someone they have been hearing from, someone who has been giving them useful things without asking for anything. You are 50% of the way there before the conversation even starts.
If they say no - that tells you something important too. Someone who will not accept occasional useful content from a person they have just had a decent conversation with is probably not going to buy. It is not a hard no, but it is a signal worth noting.
"We already have a supplier"
Most people give up here. I do not, and neither should you.
My response: "I thought you might. People do change suppliers - usually not because they went looking, but because something slipped and a better option appeared at the right moment. I would like to make sure that if that ever happens, you think of me. Can I share something useful with you now, even if we never end up working together?"
That works around 20% of the time. The other 80% are letting you down gently, which is also useful information. But that 20% - those are people who were open to a conversation, and you would have walked away from them entirely if you had accepted the first answer.
When to let go
Not every objection can be overcome, and trying too hard to overcome all of them will damage your reputation faster than losing the deal.
There is a version of persistence that turns into pressure, and prospects feel it immediately. If someone has said no in three different ways, that is a no. Thank them, leave the door open, and move on. "No problem at all - if things change or you need anything in the future, I am here." Short, warm, no resentment.
The salespeople who do this well - who can read when to keep going and when to step back gracefully - tend to get more callbacks than the ones who push until the prospect blocks their number. You are building a reputation with every conversation, not just the ones that close.
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