Objection library

Position alongside them, not instead of them. "Then you do not need us doing what they do. What are they not getting to?" Sell into the gap the team already knows exists — it is a much easier internal conversation than replacing someone.

Agree, then aim at retention instead of acquisition. "Word of mouth is the best channel there is — I would not touch it. The gap is what happens after the first visit." Then use the rebook number: patients who come once instead of four times a year is where the money already is.

Almost never a lead-quality problem — it is a positioning and speed problem. Ask two questions: how fast the first call back happens, and what the site says about them other than the service list. Price shopping is what buyers do when nothing else distinguishes you.

This is a better problem than they think and you should say so. Do not sell more leads — sell capacity and margin. "Then more leads would make it worse. The money here is in raising your average ticket and stopping the ones you already get from leaking." That reframe usually doubles the deal size.

This is usually a polite exit. Test it: "Happy to. So I send the right thing rather than a brochure — what is the one thing you need to see to decide?" If they cannot name it, the interest is not real and you should say so kindly and stop selling.

Take it seriously — sometimes they can. "You probably could. What is the honest reason it has not happened yet?" It is almost always time or the specific skill nobody has. Price against that: what a hire costs, and what the delay costs while they look for one.

Do not guarantee outcomes you cannot control, and do not dodge. "I can guarantee what we do, not what your market does. Here is what I will commit to in writing: [specific deliverables and dates]. And here is what happens if we miss the target we agree in month three."

Find out whether this is a real constraint or a soft no. "Is that a cash thing, a capacity thing, or is this just not near the top of the list?" If it is capacity, the delay is legitimate and you should book the date. If it is priority, put the cost number back on the table: waiting a quarter costs them a quarter of that figure.

Never rubbish them. "Good — you should compare. What did you like about their approach?" Listen for what they value, then ask the question that exposes the difference: how the other agency measures success, and what happens when the numbers do not move. Buyers rarely have a good answer to the second one.

Do not answer with a case study yet. Ask what would have to be true for them to believe it, then match it: same vertical, same size, same problem. If you genuinely have no match, say so — "I have not done this in your exact niche, here is what is the same and what is not" — and offer a smaller first step.

Agree with them first, then separate yourself with specifics rather than promises. "Most of them deserve that reputation. What did they actually do — was it reporting, communication, or the work itself?" Then name the exact mechanism that stops it here: who they talk to, how often, what happens if the numbers do not move by a stated date.

Do not fight it, get into the room. "Makes sense. What is the part they will be most sceptical about?" Answer that objection now, then offer to join the conversation: "Would it be easier if I spent fifteen minutes with both of you rather than you having to sell my thing for me?"

Never accept this as an answer, and never push against it either. "Of course. What specifically do you want to think through — the money, the timing, or whether it will actually work?" Whichever they name is the real objection, and now you can handle it. Put a date on the follow-up before the call ends.

Go back to their own number before defending yours. "You told me you are losing about X a year to this. The question is not whether Y is a lot of money — it is whether Y buys back X. If it does not, we should not do this." Then ask what number would make it obviously worth doing.