Best Sales Rebuttals for Not Interested

“What Do I Say When the Prospect Rejects My Opening Value Statement? I have a new opener that works very well for me, but occasionally a prospect will say “No, Thanks” – What should I do?”

EDITORS NOTE: An “opening value statement” or “opener” is what you say to a prospect on a first-time call after “Hello, this is (YOUR NAME)”

Since you’ve said your new opener is working very well for you, I wouldn’t change it for the occasional “No”. What I would do is have a backup plan ready to go.

Here’s what works for me:

Sales Rebuttals for Not Interested

When I occasionally hear a prospect respond with a “No, thanks” type of response, I’ve found the following statement to be one of the best sales rebuttals for Not Interested:

“I understand your time is valuable and I certainly wouldn’t be calling if I didn’t think what I have to offer may be of some help to you. I would just need to ask you a few quick questions first to be sure, would that be OK?”

THREE OPTIONS

When you run this play, your prospect only has three options:

1) They could say “NO” again.

If that’s the case, end the call and move on. (By “move-on” I mean throw them back into the ocean and let your drip-marketing campaign take over)

Salespeople lose more time and money chasing prospects that don’t want to be caught and waste a lot of energy doing it. If your OPENER has been a great success for you but failed to pique this prospect’s interest and your backup plan response failed as well, go to the next prospect.

Your job is to close as many qualified prospects as fast as possible. Not close every person that answers the phone.

2) They could say “OK”.

So, you’ve separated yourself from the rest of the sales call herd and earned the right (or at least piqued their interest) to see what it is that you have to offer.

BE READY! Don’t blow the opportunity with “Umm / ah, hmm” stuttering. Have your next question loaded and ready to go!

3) They could say: “I really am busy, but call me at ______” and now you’ve again earned their respect and set an appointment.

Of course your OVS (OPENING VALUE STATEMENT) backup plan isn’t an excuse for a poor opener. If you hear “No, thanks” / “Not interested” or “We’re all set (click)” on a regular basis (and I mean on a daily/weekly basis) that is your clue that your opener is missing the mark and is in need of some help.

– Michael Pedone

Michael Pedone teaches inside sales teams how to pick up the phone and close business. He is the CEO/FOUNDER of SalesBuzz.com – An online sales training company.

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