In part one of our blog on common B2B marketing objections, we discussed how BANT concerns affect your sales process and ways you can address prospects who bring up budget and authority objections.

Now, we’re rounding off our deep dive into BANT objections by delving into the objections of need and timing. We know how much effort goes into making a sale, and we want you to be as prepared as possible the next time you pick up the phone.

Here are a few tips on how to handle need and timing objections when you’re on a sales call:

The Need Objection

When you have complex products and services, you can pretty much expect this objection to arise. Whenever you have someone tell you “This is a complicated product – we’re just going to stick to our current way of doing things,” or “Truthfully, we don’t even need your product or service,” you’ll know they’re objecting the need.

Of all the objections you receive, this one might be the toughest. You’ll want to find out the source of the problem – just like you would with any other objection. You need to understand their views of your product. Do they find the entire product worthless, or are there are few elements they love about it? No matter what their motivations are, you need to uncover them before you do anything else.

The good news is, you have two methods to help you address this objection: content and data. And the responses can be varied, depending on what you’re selling. You can use past blog posts, content offers, and case studies – anything that might interest your prospect. When in doubt, use hard facts. Data can be particularly compelling to even the most skeptical prospect. Statistical facts and figures are far more convincing than “trust me, this product works.”

Keep in mind that with this objection, you may well discover that your product or service isn’t what the prospect needs. It would be impossible for your product or service to align with every company’s goals and meet every requirement. Use this objection as a way for you to pinpoint weaker sales prospects and as a result, focus more time on helping prospects that are a great fit for your product or service.

The Timing Objection

You’ll be able to sense this objection whenever prospects begin to procrastinate or put the sales process on hold. You might hear excuses like “It’s not the right time. In a month or so our budget/hiring plan/project will be up and running and we can revisit this conversation.” But the chances you’ll hear from them again are low.

To handle this noncommittal objection, you need to know the reason behind delaying the sales process. Remember: The way you handle the objection always boils down to the sales prospects’ reason for objecting in the first place.

A good way to combat the timing objection is to remind your sales prospect of the long-term benefits they’ll receive if they purchase your product or service right now. Use their objection to your advantage:

  • Project: If the upcoming project somehow relates to the product you’re selling, be sure to emphasize how valuable it would be to have that product in place before launching a big change.
  • Hiring: Place the emphasis on how much sense it makes to buy the product now so that the new hire will have the right tools they need from the very beginning.
  • Budget: If it’s a distant budget allocation decision, you might end up switching to the approach you use when addressing the authority objection.

When you address the process of your prospects, you’ll not only help them; you’ll help yourself. As long as you know the ‘why’ behind your prospect’s but, you’ll be able to navigate the conversation towards a sale. Better yet, you can use this knowledge to identify whether your product is the right fit for the prospective buyer or not.

This post is part two in a two-part series on BANT objections. Check out part one, where we cover the objections of budget and authority in-depth, while also providing you with ways to handle them.