How To Communicate With Prospects On The Phone
Learn how to handle cold calling objections with creative responses and how to qualify prospects on the first call.
Understanding Objections
A core attribution to a business's success is being financially strategic. If they already have a system going, there may be friction with trying something new. You're providing something these people need—resistance is typically caused by natural tendencies to stick with what you know.
Remember: Objections are NOT "No's." If they haven't hung up on you yet, they're still listening and hoping for you to overcome the objection!
The 3-A Framework for Handling Objections
Acknowledge
Repeat the concern back to them and get confirmation. "So if I understand correctly, you're worried about X"
Align
Get on their team. "That's a totally reasonable concern and honestly it's one of the reasons why our company exists"
Assure
Let them know why they can trust you. "Honestly, many of our clients had the same worry, and this is how we helped them"
Objection Handling Examples
"Send Me An Email"
"I'm Too Busy"
"Send Me More Info"
🎯 Key Insight
Notice how each objection response keeps the conversation moving forward. The goal isn't to overcome the objection entirely—it's to gather information and maintain the relationship for a future opportunity.
Qualifying Questions to Ask
Great cold callers don't just book meetings—they qualify prospects to ensure they're a good fit. Here are questions to ask during or after overcoming an objection:
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1
Pain Point Discovery
"What's the biggest challenge you're facing with [relevant topic] right now?"
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2
Current Solution
"How are you currently handling [specific process]? Is that working well for your team?"
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3
Decision Making
"Besides yourself, who else would be involved in evaluating a solution like this?"
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4
Timeline
"Is improving [relevant metric] a priority for this quarter, or is this more of a next-year initiative?"
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5
Budget Awareness
"Have you allocated budget for improving [area], or would this be something new to explore?"
Frequently Asked Questions
Instead of treating those phrases as a hard no, treat them as soft objections and keep the conversation moving. Acknowledge their request, agree to it, then use a follow‑up question to lock in a time or learn more (for example, “Happy to send an email—what day next week would be best if it makes sense to talk further?”). This approach respects their time while still progressing toward a meeting or qualification.
The 3-A framework stands for Acknowledge, Align, and Assure. First, you repeat and confirm the concern (Acknowledge), then show you understand and share their viewpoint (Align), and finally provide social proof or a clear reason they can trust you (Assure). Using this structure keeps you calm, keeps prospects talking, and turns resistance into a more open conversation.
Focus on open-ended questions around pain points, current solutions, decision-making, timeline, and budget. For example, ask what their biggest challenge is in the relevant area, how they’re handling it today, who else would be involved in evaluating a solution, whether solving it is a priority this quarter, and if there’s budget allocated. Framing these as helping you understand whether it even makes sense to keep talking makes the questions feel collaborative, not interrogational.
We use structured frameworks like the 3-A model alongside real objection scripts (e.g., “send me an email,” “I’m too busy,” “send more info”) and roleplay them extensively with our SDRs. SalesHive’s team of hundreds of trained B2B reps combines this playbook-driven coaching with our AI-powered platform, so objection handling is continuously refined based on what’s actually converting across 250+ clients.
Yes—our Cold Calling (US & Philippines), SDR Outsourcing, and Appointment Setting services are built to manage the full call flow: opening, handling objections, asking qualifying questions, and booking meetings directly onto your team’s calendar. Since 2016, we’ve used this approach plus our AI-powered sales platform (including our eMod personalization engine) to book over 100,000 qualified meetings for 250+ B2B companies on flexible month-to-month agreements.
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