The 12 Objections You Hear Every Week, and What to Actually Say
Every objection you hear on the floor is one of about twelve. Twelve. That is the whole list. And most reps lose to them not because the objection was clever, but because the rep had no idea what to say, so they either argued or they folded.
Here is the framework first, then the twelve, word for word.
The three moves: Agree, Ask, Advance
Never argue with an objection. The second you push back, you have made it a contest, and the customer wins every contest by leaving.
Agree. Take the pressure off. "Totally fair." "That makes sense." "I would want that too."
Ask. Get to the real reason. Almost nothing a customer says first is the actual objection.
Advance. Give them the next small step, not the whole mountain.
That is it. Every rebuttal below is just those three moves in different clothes.
1. "I'm just looking"
"Good, you should be. Nobody should buy the first thing they see. Do me one favor while you look: tell me what you're driving now, so I don't walk you to something that's a step backward."
Why it works: you agreed with them, so there is nothing to fight. And you asked a question anyone can answer without feeling sold.
2. "I need to think about it"
"Of course. I'd never want you to feel rushed. Just so I know I did my job, what part are you thinking about? The car, the money, or the timing?"
Why it works: "think about it" is not an objection, it is a curtain. Those three doors cover almost everything behind it, and people will almost always pick one.
3. "I need to talk to my husband / wife / partner"
"Absolutely, that's how it should work. Let's get them on the phone right now while you're sitting in it, so they're hearing it from you instead of a text message at nine o'clock tonight."
Why it works: you did not challenge the decision-maker. You just collapsed the timeline. If they will not call, you have learned something real about where this deal actually is.
4. "Your price is too high"
"Too high compared to what? I'm not being smart, I actually want to know, because if somebody's got a better number on the same car with the same miles, I'd want to see it too."
Why it works: price is a relative word. Until you know what they are comparing to, you are negotiating against a ghost. Half the time the comparison is a different trim, a different year, or a number they saw in an ad with four thousand down.
5. "I can get it cheaper down the street"
"You probably can. There's always a cheaper one. Can I ask you something straight? If they're that far under everybody, what do you think they're making it up on?"
Then stop. Let them answer it themselves. You are not attacking the other store, you are handing them a question they already had.
6. "I'm not paying that much a month"
"Okay. What number were you expecting to be at? Give me the real one, not the polite one, and let me see if there's a way to get there."
Why it works: "that much" is not a number. You cannot solve for a feeling. Ask for the real figure and most people give it to you, because you asked like a person instead of a desk.
7. "You're not giving me enough for my trade"
"I hear you. Tell me what you had in mind, and where that number came from. If it's real I'll take it to my manager myself and fight for it."
Then, if the number came from an online estimate:
"Those tools never see the car. They don't know about the curb rash or the check engine light, and they also don't know you kept every service record. Let's get it looked at properly."
8. "I want to shop around"
"Smart. Here's what I'd do if I were you: shop the same trim, the same mileage, and the same out-the-door number, not the advertised price. Here's my card and my cell. When somebody gives you a number that beats this, call me before you sign, and I'll tell you straight whether it's a real deal or a shell game."
Why it works: you gave them permission and a reason to come back to you. You also just became the honest one in the story they tell the next salesperson.
9. "I'm not buying today"
"That's fine, I'm not asking you to. Let's just do the two things that take ten minutes, look at the trade and see the real numbers, so that when you are ready, there's nothing left to figure out."
10. "I need to check with my bank"
"Do it. And bring me their number when you get it. We work with a lot of lenders, and about half the time we beat the bank. If we don't, you use the bank and I still sold a car. Either way you win."
11. "Just give me your best price" (on the phone)
"I can do that, and I will. Before I do, one question: are you looking at this one specifically, or are you comparing a couple? Because the number changes depending on what we do with your trade, and I'd rather give you a real number than a low one you find out isn't real when you get here."
Why it works: you did not refuse. Refusing on the phone gets you hung up on. You agreed and then earned one more question. Phone leads set appointments at 74 percent, which is nearly double what internet leads do, so the phone is worth getting right.
12. "I had a bad experience at a dealership"
"Then you should be careful with me. Tell me what happened, so I know exactly what not to do."
Then listen without defending anybody. That is the whole rebuttal. Most of these customers have never had a salesperson simply let them finish the story.
The rule underneath all twelve
An objection is a request for more information delivered in a defensive tone. That is all it is. The customer is not saying no. They are saying "I don't have enough to say yes yet, and I don't trust you enough to ask for it nicely."
So do not answer the objection. Answer the question hiding inside it.
One more thing worth knowing
You can be perfect at all twelve of these and still lose the deal, if you get to the customer too late. Leads worked in the first three days close at 12.4 percent. The same leads on day four through seven close at 2.3 percent.
The best rebuttal in this business is being first.
Go deeper on objections
Most objections are built earlier in the deal. Run the 7 steps to the sale in order and you will hear fewer of them.
