Objections beyond price: status quo, risk, timing, authority and competitors
Most deals aren't lost on price: they stall because the buyer stays with what they have, fears a risky change, isn't ready now, needs someone else's approval or is comparing you with a rival. Learn a routine for any objection, put a number on the cost of doing nothing using the customer's own figures, reduce risk honestly with well-designed pilots, and compare competitors fairly and verifiably.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 60 minutes
- Contents
- 3 lessons · 1 video · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 1 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Classify an objection as status quo, risk, timing, authority or competitor before responding
- Ask clarifying questions that uncover what's behind the objection
- Calculate the cost of the current process from the customer's own stated figures, with assumptions shown
- Design a pilot with a scope, an end date, success criteria and a decision owner
- Compare a competitor using truthful, verifiable, dated facts without disparaging them
- Recognize when an objection is a genuine misfit and say so honestly
Course outline
- 1.Objections beyond priceVideo · 2 min
- 2.A routine for any objectionLesson · 15 min
- 3.Status quo and riskLesson · 16 min
- 4.Timing, authority and competitorsLesson · 17 min
- 5.Objections beyond price: status quo, risk, timing, authority and competitors: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 21 questions
- 6."We'll stick with our spreadsheet"Scenario
- 7.Final exam12 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- US FTC: Statement of Policy Regarding Comparative Advertising (1979)
- UK Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulations 2008, regulation 4: comparative advertising
- US FTC: Advertising FAQs: A guide for small business (substantiation)
- General marketing and sales practice (starter content; have a subject expert review it)
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.