What does the “not Interested” objection actually mean?
Well, first of all – it doesn’t necessarily mean “no.”
Now, as a salesperson, I know that hearing this objection can be frustrating – trust me. After all, you’ve put a lot of time and effort into your pitch, and it’s not easy to hear that it’s fallen on deaf ears. However, before you fly off the handle, consider what’s going on behind the “not interested” objection.
You may often read that this is more of a “blow-off” statement than an actual objection. This is true in certain scenarios, but not all.
I’m going to address what NOT to do and then how to handle the “not interested” rebuttal depending on the type of lead or prospect you’re dealing with.
Table of Contents
How NOT to handle the “not interested” objection
- Don’t take it at face value right away.
- Don’t respond by saying, “Not interested in what?”
- Don’t come across as hostile or angry because they blew you off after you spent hours perfecting your script.
- Don’t take it personally.
How to handle “not interested” with a warm lead
What is a warm lead? A warm lead is someone you’ve previously spoken to or have a prior relationship with. You’ve gone down your qualifying questions with this prospect — so you know they’re capable and willing to work with you.
So let me give you a quick scenario: You spoke to this prospect last week about your services, went through your qualifying questions, and they told you they were interested in what you offered and would be looking forward to your follow-up.
Okay, all good so far.
You call them next week, remind them of your follow-up call, and the first thing they say is… “Not interested.” Or maybe they tell you not they aren’t interested 5 minutes into the sales pitch.
Either way, last week, they were all gung-ho and ready to go! This is when the “not interested” objection, is in fact, a blow-off statement.
You know they have at least some interest. How do you know that? They told you so themselves! They spoke with you last week, gave you the okay to follow up, and had a need for your service.
So what do you do?
- Acknowledge their statement.
- Reference your qualifying questions and answers from the original conversation to probe further, resell pain/pleasure points.
- Close again.
Let me give you a quick example of how that would play out:
You: …so like I said, to get started today would run you about $5k – and all I ask in return is you tell some friends about us. Sound fair?
Prospect: Not Interested!
You: I hear you! You told me you weren’t happy with your current provider when we spoke last, right? Let me ask you this. I know it’s a big commitment, but over the next year, if you could avoid all the hassle and problems you had, free up all that time to focus on revenue-generating activities — you’d be more than glad you gave us a shot, right?
If you’re following a structured sales script, you can simply acknowledge their statement, empathize, and move on to the next part.
How to handle “not interested” with a cold lead or cold prospect
What’s a cold lead? A cold lead is someone you’ve never spoken to before. You don’t know anything about them, and they don’t know anything about you. This is usually the stage where you’d ask your qualifying questions to see if they’re a good fit or not for your services.
Typically, the “not interested” will come right at the beginning of your script.
Now here’s the thing. Without the prospect knowing anything about your business or what you do and without you knowing anything about the prospect, the “not interested” isn’t really a valid objection, and at this point in your presentation – you shouldn’t take it as one.
I’ll put it to you like this. If someone were calling because they found your wallet, you’d probably be pretty interested, right? But what if they started the phone call by going, “Hi Dave? Hey, this is Johnny Appleseed from ABC Marketing. How are you?” What would you do? How would you even know Mr. Appleseed had your lost wallet? You’d probably give him a “not interested” and a click.
Obviously, if someone had found your wallet, they probably should have just said so at the beginning of the call, but that’s neither here nor there.
The point is, a “not interested” here is only truly valid if the prospect doesn’t have a need or if there’s no fit for your services.
So what do you do?
Acknowledge them and get into your qualification questions right away. Don’t waste time beating around the bush or trying to sell yourself. Find out if there’s an actual need and a fit, first.
Let me give you a quick example of how that would play out:
You: …so like I said, we’d like to call you back to schedule a demo with our marketing firm, ABC Digital. Would Tuesday work?
Prospect: Not Interested!
You: I hear you! Let me ask you a quick question — are you currently working with any digital marketing agencies?
Prospect: Yes.
(That’s it. Move on to your qualification questions where you find out need/fit/pain points.)
Rebuttals for “Not Interested”
When making your cold calls or cold presentations, the goal is to qualify your lead and find out if it’s a good fit or not. So when using these rebuttals, keep in mind that these are meant to be short, transitionary statements you make to acknowledge their statement, and move on to your qualification questions.
“I didn’t expect you to be interested _________, that’s why I’m not asking you to buy anything today! Like I said…” (Go to your next qualification question)
“I hear you – most of my clients told me the same exact thing in the beginning, but eventually gave me a shot. All I’m asking for is 30 seconds to see if it’ll make sense or not. Like I said…” (Go to your next qualification question)
“I get that, but not being interested and not being informed are two completely different things. All I ask is, give me 30 seconds, and if you like what you hear, maybe we can talk in the future. Like I said…” (Go to your next qualification question)
“I know you probably get a lot of calls, I promise, I’m not calling to waste your time. I’ll get right to the point. Like I said…” (Go to your next qualification question)
“I respect that! I wouldn’t be interested either if someone called me out of the blue without telling me anything about what they do. All I ask is you give me 30 seconds, if what I say makes sense to you, maybe we can talk some more, and if not – I won’t bug you again. Sound fair?” (Go to your next qualification question)
Conclusion
The bottom line is that if you’re getting a “not interested” in your cold calls or sales presentations, don’t take it at face value most of the time. There’s a good chance the prospect just isn’t informed about what you do and how it can help them.
