"It’s too expensive." "We’re happy with our current vendor." "Call me next quarter."
When a prospect drops one of these lines, the biological reaction is immediate: your pulse quickens, your brain freezes, and you revert to defensive mode. This is the "Panic Gap."
To bridge this gap, you don't need to be a robot; you need preparedness. The best reps don't improvise—they rely on proven frameworks. This guide provides 10 battle-tested objection handling scripts for the most common B2B scenarios.
Key takeaways
- Objections are interest. A prospect who doesn't care won't object; they will just ghost you. Treat objections as requests for more information. Gartner – Future of Sales 2025
- Isolate before you answer. Never answer an objection immediately. Clarify it first to ensure you are solving the real problem. Highspot – The Objection-Handling Playbook 2025
- Context is king. A script in a PDF is useless if you can't find it in the 2 seconds before the silence becomes awkward. This is where real-time coaching changes the game.
- AI improves consistency. In-flow guidance helps reps handle objections with the same precision as top performers. McKinsey – The State of AI 2025
Table of contents
- The Golden Rule: Validate, Isolate, Reframe
- Script 1: The Price Objection
- Script 2: The Competitor Objection
- Script 3: The Timing Objection
- Script 4: The Authority Objection
- Scripts 5-10: Specific B2B Scenarios
- Why scripts fail (and how to fix it)
- How Nomi fits
The Golden Rule: Validate, Isolate, Reframe
Before diving into the specific words, remember the mechanism. If you argue, you lose.
- Validate: "I hear you." (Lowers defenses).
- Isolate: "Is price the only thing stopping us?" (Prevents moving goalposts).
- Reframe: "Let's look at cost vs. ROI." (Changes the perspective).
For a deep dive on this framework, check out Cognism’s Sales Objections Guide.
Script 1: The Price Objection
Customer: "We don't have the budget / It's too expensive."
The Trap: Immediately offering a discount. This kills your value.
The Winning Script:
"I completely understand that budget is a priority right now. Let me ask you this: If price wasn't an issue, is this the solution you would choose to solve [Problem]?"
If they say yes: "Okay, so we have the right solution. Let's look at the cost of not fixing [Problem] versus the investment here. Can we walk through the ROI model together?"
Script 2: The Competitor Objection
Customer: "We are already using [Competitor] and we're happy."
The Trap: Bashing the competitor. This makes you look insecure.
The Winning Script:
"That’s great. [Competitor] is a solid tool for [Their Strength]. A lot of our current customers moved over from them specifically because they needed more [Your Unique Differentiator]. How are you currently handling [The Gap in Competitor's Product]?"
Script 3: The Timing Objection
Customer: "This looks good, but reach out next quarter."
The Trap: Saying "Okay" and setting a reminder for 3 months later.
The Winning Script:
"I can certainly do that. But typically, when people ask to wait, it’s because they have other fires to fight. What is going to change between now and next quarter that will make this a better time?"
Follow up: "If we wait 90 days, that’s another [X amount] of lost revenue based on our earlier calculation. Is that a risk you’re comfortable taking?"
Script 4: The Authority Objection
Customer: "I need to run this by my boss/committee."
The Trap: Letting them go into that meeting alone. They will not sell it as well as you.
The Winning Script:
"That makes perfect sense. Since you’re the one who saw the value in [Feature], your boss is likely going to ask about the ROI and implementation time. What questions do you think they will throw at you that we haven't covered yet?"
Follow up: "Would it make sense for us to prepare a quick one-pager together so you don't have to do all the heavy lifting?"
Scripts 5-10: Specific B2B Scenarios
5. The Brush-Off ("Just send me an email")
"I’d be happy to. But I want to make sure I don't flood your inbox with irrelevant info. What one thing would you need to see in that email to make it worth your time to get on a call next week?"
6. The "DIY" Objection ("We can build this internally")
"Your engineering team is definitely capable of that. But usually, internal tools don't get the same maintenance as a core product. If your dev team gets pulled onto a product launch, who supports this internal tool when it breaks?"
7. The Feature Gap ("You don't have X feature")
"You’re right, we don't have that today. Is that feature a 'nice-to-have' or a 'deal-breaker' for solving [Main Pain Point]? If we solve [Main Pain Point] without it, would that still be a win?"
8. The Bandwidth Objection ("We are too busy to implement")
"I hear that a lot. That’s actually why we designed our onboarding to take less than [Time]. If I could guarantee that your team spends less than 1 hour a week on this, would that change your perspective?"
9. The Skeptic ("I don't believe your ROI claims")
"I appreciate the candor. Those numbers are based on averages. Why don't we plug in your actual data right now and see what the model spits out? That way, we know it's real."
10. The Ghost ("I'll get back to you")
"Usually when I hear that, it means I haven't fully answered a concern. Is there something lingering in the back of your mind that makes you hesitate?"
Why scripts fail (and how to fix it)
You now have 10 great scripts. But reading them in a blog post is easy. Remembering Script #6 when a VP of Sales cuts you off mid-sentence is hard.
If you sound like you are reading a script, you lose trust. If you stumble looking for the answer, you lose authority.
To avoid the "Panic Gap," you need a system that serves these scripts contextually. This is crucial if you want to improve your discovery calls and keep the conversation fluid.
How Nomi fits
Nomi turns this static blog post into a Living Playbook.
Instead of memorizing these 10 scripts, Nomi listens to your call. When the prospect says "It's too expensive," Nomi instantly displays Script #1 on your screen.
- No memorization.
- No paper shuffling.
- Just the right words, at the right time.
Teams using Nomi see a 38% reduction in ramp time because new reps handle objections like veterans from Day 1.
Don't let another deal slip because you couldn't find the right words. Try Nomi for free.