Sales coach Christian Polk breaks down how to handle the "I don't have time" objection. He walks through an eight-step rebuttal that moves from clarifying what the prospect means to asking who they need to become to achieve their goal, forcing them to choose between being a short-term quitter or long-term achiever.
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So if a prospect tells you they don't have time, they're completely full of it. And let me show you why. So when a prospect tells you they don't have time to go ahead and do this, you have to understand what they mean, not just what they're saying. Because most of the time when a prospect comes to you and they give you a time objection, the reason they came to you in the first place is because they wanted more time. So what they're saying is, I'm going to put this off until I have time, which translates to, yeah, I want more free time, but I'm too busy being busy to give myself more time. Which translates to, I'm on fire and I'll put myself out once things calm down. So here's exactly how you're going to handle it. First, you're going to clarify. What do you mean by that? Then you're going to diffuse. Hey, not a problem. Then from there, we're going to put to the side and get buy-in. Hey, time aside, like, would you do this? Why? You need to get the why of why they would actually want to do it. Then from there, we're going to go into our reframe. So you getting to XYZ goal, is this a short-term thing or is this more of like a long-term thing? So then you're going to say, well, if we're in it for the long term, when it's tough to do so because of the time, like, that's the exact time to do it because we prove to ourselves that we can make it work no matter what. Because it's pretty safe to assume that you're going to run into being short on time again, right? They're going to say yes. Exactly. Like, that's why we do it regardless of the time, because if we wait for the perfect time, we're just in it for the short term. Because as soon as life happens again, we put our goals on the back burner. So then we're going to go a binary. So who would you rather be? The person who short term and doesn't make the time, or the person who's in it for the long term and dedicated to their goals? Once they say, I'm in it for the long term, you always, always, always need to ask them why. You need to get them to defend their beliefs. Then from there, you're going to consequence. Well, what if we keep it a short-term thing, though, and just keep waiting for the perfect time? Get a consequence. And then we go for the sale. So who do we need to become in order to get XYZ goal? Take the cash money. Follow for more sales tips.
