An objection isn't a rejection and it's not a no. It's also almost never about the price. What?!
An objection is a signal that you or your patient don't have enough clarity to move forward. What do you think is the most common reason for this? You guessed it, the education didn't happen.
Why Objections Exist at All
Entire sales methodologies are built around handling objections (I have created many myself). They are usually in preparation for the inevitable: resistance, rebuttals, counters and all the questions. Usually created with a script and framework to hopefully turn the "no" into a "yes."
Here's a thought: What if the objection wasn't necessary? I want you to think about the last time a patient or an account said "I'll think about it" or "It's expensive right now." What were they actually saying? Did they get enough clarity? Perhaps not enough context or understanding that this was the right decision for them specifically right now.
None of these are solved by a rebuttal. They are solved with a better conversation, earlier, prior to the hesitation having a chance to form.
When someone says "it is too expensive," more often the price isn't connected to the outcome they care about. The value wasn't presented and the investment wasn't put into context for them to understand. The education didn't happen so the objection did.
What Happens When Education Comes First
I've educated thousands of professionals across the industry and the ones with the lowest objection rates aren't the best closers, they are the best educators. They ask before they inform and connect the science to the specific concern they are presenting, ensuring whoever they are speaking with understands prior to making a single recommendation. By the time that recommendation lands, the potential patient or account is already halfway there because they understand. Because someone took the time to educate them.
Objections don't disappear because they are handled skillfully, they disappear as they are no longer needed.
The Bottom Line
We need to stop treating objections as barriers to push through and perhaps start treating them as feedback on the conversation that came before. Every "I'll think about it" is telling you that it may not be about the budget but rather about their gap in understanding that you left behind. Try to close the gap first and the objections may take care of themselves. Boring objection handling scripts are not my thing. Preventing objections through education is. That's The Education Effect™ and it starts before the objection ever forms.