Of all the brush offs you get while prospecting, the good old standby: “I’m too busy to talk now,” is right up there with, “I’m not interested,” and “Just email me something.” The reason this is such a popular response with prospects is that most sales people don’t know how to handle it, and so are easily put off and happy to “call back later.” Of course, this is just what the prospect wants them to do, and, since they now have your caller ID#, they’ll know to let the call go to voicemail the next time they see it!
The key to handling this stall – as with all others – is to sidestep it first and earn the right to ask a few, quick qualifying questions to see if you’re really dealing with a qualified buyer or not. And that’s what the following rebuttals allow you to do.
As with any brush off, objection or stall, though, this one is easy to handle if you just take the time to learn some proven responses to it, and then use them with confidence when you get it. To help you deal with this brush off more effectively, I urge you to pick any of the responses below that best suits your style, product and service. Feel free to change them slightly so they are most comfortable for you to use, and then practice them each and every time you get this objection. Here they are:
“I’m too busy to talk right now”
Response One:
“I completely understand, and I know what it’s like to be interrupted. Tell you what: Before I schedule a call back with you – let’s take just a moment now to make sure this is something that’s even worth it for me to call you back on.
Quick question: How open are you to considering a new vendor to handle your (product or service), if you found you could realistically save your already limited time and money?”
OR
“Quick question: We supply/have a solution for/provide (your product or service), and the clients who schedule a 10 minute call with us are really happy they learned about it. I’m willing to call you back later today or even tomorrow morning, but first – what would you say your level of interest would be in making a move to a more efficient way of (doing what your product or service does)?”
Response Two:
“I’m with you, and let’s face it – we’re all too busy until we hear about something that can really benefit us. Let me tell you in a nutshell how this can help you, and then if you’d like to know more, we can schedule a time that’s better later – fair enough?”
[If yes, then briefly give a description and use a qualifying tie-down question.]
Response Three:
“Got it and I won’t keep you. Quick question: Are you the right person to speak with in regards to (your product or service)?”
[If yes]
“Great, then before I schedule a time to get back with you, let me just ask you two quick things:
Number one, if you found that you could increase (list a benefit or two), and reduce your (again, list a benefit or two), how open would you be to viewing a demo on it?”
And two, if you decided this was worthy enough to seriously consider, who, besides yourself, would weigh in on making that decision?”
“Great, then let’s go ahead and schedule that. I’ve got two times tomorrow…”
Response Four:
“Wow, you do sound busy! No worries – I can either call you back in 20 minutes, or we can spend just two minutes now to see if this is a fit for you – if not, then I won’t have to bother you again. How does that sound?”
OR
“Yes, you do sound busy. O.K., would you like me to call you back in an hour or later this afternoon?”
OR
“O.K., no problem. Let me see….Well, I could call you back this afternoon or we could set up a brief 5 minute call tomorrow morning – which works best for you?”
Response Five:
“Hey, I know what it’s like to be busy – but the last thing I want to do is schedule a call back if you’re really not interested in what I’ve got. Let’s do this: I’ll ask you just a quick question or two and if there’s some interest on your end, then we’ll schedule some time later – fair enough?
[If yes]
“Great. _________, are you open to purchasing/investing/learning about a new way to handle your (your product) if you were convinced it would save you time/make your job easier/be better at…?”
OR
“Quickly, what would your timeline be for (changing/investing/trying) a new service for your (what your product or service does) if you found you could dramatically increase/save, etc.?”
Once again, remember that your job is to earn the right to ask a few qualifying questions to see if your prospect is even worth putting on your call back list. And by using the scripts above, you’ll be able to do just that.
