# Objection Reframe Cheat Sheet

> Sandler-style reversals for the 20 objections reps hear most, every one answered with a question that reopens the conversation instead of a rebuttal that shuts it down.

Free cheat sheet for sales reps. Topic: [Sales Process & Methodology (MEDDIC, SPIN, Challenger)](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/topic/sales-process-methodology-meddic-spin-challenger/). Published by PeerLab in the [Sales Enablement Resource Library](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/). Source: https://www.peerlab.ai/library/objection-reframe-cheat-sheet/

## How to use it

Keep this open on a second screen (or printed by your desk) during live calls; when you hear one of the 20 objections, respond with the matching reversal question verbatim, then stop talking and let the prospect fill the silence.

## What's inside

- 20 of the most common sales objections, verbatim as buyers actually say them
- A word-for-word reversal question for each one, Sandler-style (answer a question with a question)
- A one-line note on what each reversal is designed to surface
- Grouped by objection type: timing/stall, budget, competitor loyalty, authority, and price
- A short explainer on why reversals outperform rebuttals
- Ground rules for tone so the reversal reads as curious, not confrontational

The Sandler principle behind every line here: **never answer an objection directly, reverse it back with a question that makes the prospect do the work of explaining themselves.** A rebuttal invites a debate. A reversal invites a real answer, and real answers are what let you qualify or disqualify fast.

Say these in your own natural voice. The structure matters more than the exact wording.

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**1. "We're not ready to buy right now."**
→ *"Not ready is fair. Is it the timing that's wrong, or is it that you're not convinced this solves the right problem yet?"*
*(Splits a real stall from a soft no.)*

**2. "Send me some information."**
→ *"Happy to. When you say 'information,' what specifically are you hoping it answers?"*
*(Turns a brush-off into a real requirement you can respond to.)*

**3. "We don't have budget."**
→ *"Good to know. Is there no budget for this at all, or no budget for it yet, this quarter?"*
*(Distinguishes a hard no from a timing/sequencing issue.)*

**4. "We're happy with our current vendor."**
→ *"That's good to hear. What would have to change about them for 'happy' to become 'not happy'?"*
*(Surfaces the switching threshold instead of arguing against a vendor you can't see.)*

**5. "I need to think about it."**
→ *"Of course. What specifically do you need to think through: the fit, the price, or something else?"*
*(Names the real blocker instead of letting "think about it" become silence.)*

**6. "Your price is too high."**
→ *"Too high compared to what? Help me understand what you're comparing it against."*
*(Exposes whether the anchor is a competitor, an internal budget, or nothing at all.)*

**7. "We need to check with legal/procurement."**
→ *"Makes sense. What does legal/procurement typically need from us to move quickly, can we get that started now instead of after you decide?"*
*(Moves paper process into parallel instead of sequential.)*

**8. "I'm not the decision maker."**
→ *"Understood. Who else, along with you, would need to agree, and what matters most to them?"*
*(Maps the real committee instead of stalling on one person.)*

**9. "Call me back next quarter."**
→ *"I can do that. What changes between now and then that makes next quarter a better time than now?"*
*(Tests whether there's a real trigger event or just avoidance.)*

**10. "We tried something like this before and it didn't work."**
→ *"That's important context. What was different about that attempt versus what we're discussing now?"*
*(Surfaces the real failure cause instead of letting history kill the deal by association.)*

**11. "We're doing this in-house."**
→ *"That's a real option. What's the in-house build costing you in time and opportunity that you're not accounting for yet?"*
*(Reframes build-vs-buy as a cost question, not a capability debate.)*

**12. "I don't see the ROI."**
→ *"Fair. Walk me through the numbers you'd need to see to be confident in it."*
*(Hands the burden of defining proof back to the person who has to be convinced.)*

**13. "This isn't a priority right now."**
→ *"Understood: what is the priority right now, and what would have to happen for this to move up the list?"*
*(Finds out if you're actually competing for attention, or just not urgent at all.)*

**14. "We're locked into a contract."**
→ *"Good to know. When does that come up for renewal, and would it help to have options on the table before that date?"*
*(Converts a hard stop into a timeline to plan around.)*

**15. "I need to loop in more stakeholders."**
→ *"Absolutely: who else should be in the room, and what would they need to hear to get on board?"*
*(Turns a delay tactic into a real committee-mapping question.)*

**16. "Can you just send a proposal?"**
→ *"I can, but a proposal without knowing a few things first would just be a guess dressed up as a number. Can we cover those quickly?"*
*(Protects you from pricing yourself out with incomplete information.)*

**17. "We're too small/big for this."**
→ *"What makes you say that: is it about scale, or something specific about how this typically gets used?"*
*(Tests whether it's a real disqualifier or an assumption from a different product category.)*

**18. "How is this different from [Competitor]?"**
→ *"Great question, what have you seen from them so far that's caught your attention?"*
*(Lets you respond to their actual comparison instead of guessing at it.)*

**19. "I don't have time for a call."**
→ *"Totally get it. If I could get what you need in 10 minutes instead of 30, would that change things?"*
*(Removes the time objection instead of arguing against it.)*

**20. "Just email me the pricing."**
→ *"I will, pricing depends on a couple of things though. Can I ask two quick questions first, so the number I send you is actually the right one?"*
*(Keeps a conversation instead of becoming a vending machine for a number with no context.)*

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## Ground rules for using these

- **Tone is everything.** Every line above should sound genuinely curious, said with a slight upward inflection, not like a lawyer's cross-examination. If it sounds like a "gotcha," you're doing it wrong.
- **Silence after you ask is the point.** Ask the reversal, then stop talking. The next person to speak loses control of the frame, let it be them.
- **Never stack two reversals in a row.** If they answer your reversal with another objection, that second one gets a real, direct response, reversing twice in a row reads as evasive.
- **These qualify, they don't manipulate.** If the honest answer is "no, this really isn't a fit," a good reversal should surface that just as fast as it surfaces a real yes.