Sales Rejection Email Response

The “I will not be able to move forward at this time” Email

“How should I respond when a warm (inbound) sales lead that I’ve called, left a message with, and sent an email to, emails me back and says “I appreciate the follow-up. I will not be able to move forward at this time”? Keep in mind that I have yet to actually speak with the prospect.”

Three Popular Reasons a Sales Rejection Email Happens

When a new lead starts to pull back, the primary reasons are usually:

• They had a chance to view your pricing and it scared them off;
• They don’t feel your solution is the right fit;
• They are info-gathering for a possible future purchase.

Of course, other circumstances could have caused them to send you a sales rejection email response, but for the most part, these are the most popular reasons. We won’t know for sure, however, until we get them on the phone, so don’t feel defeated, feel challenged!

How to Respond to a Sales Rejection Email

GAME ON!

It’s our job to find out what problem the prospect was hoping our solution would solve for them. And knowing that price, fit, and timing are the biggest reasons why a lead would shy away after they initially made contact, we can use that to our advantage.

So you’ll want to call them right away, and ask:

“Mr. Prospect I got your email and I just had a quick question for you… when you say “you won’t be able to move forward at this time” is that because of our pricing structure or because our solution isn’t a good fit for your needs?”

Notice I left “timing” out of the opener on the callback. I don’t want to give them three options because they will most likely pick the third one, whether it’s true or not, so I only give them two. If they say “Neither. The timing just isn’t right at the moment”

I’m still in business.

And no matter if they respond that it’s PRICING, WRONG SOLUTION, or TIMING, you can respond with:

PRICING:

“Do you mind if I ask you a few quick questions about your current situation just to see if our solution would be a good fit for you? If it is, I’ll do everything possible to try and earn your business.”

WRONG SOLUTION:

“Do you mind if I ask you a few quick questions about your current situation just to see if we have a solution you’re looking for?”

BAD TIMING:

“Do you mind if I ask you a few quick questions about your current situation just to make sure that we have the right solution for you when you’re ready?”

Notice how I’m not getting into my “OBJECTION HANDLING” mode. For example, if they say it’s PRICING, I’m not going into my pricing objection handling playbook. We aren’t there yet in this scenario.

My original goal/objective is still in play:

To get the prospect willing to answer a few questions in order to determine if they are truly qualified.

– Michael Pedone

Michael Pedone teaches inside sales teams how to pick up the phone and close business. He is the CEO/FOUNDER of SalesBuzz.com – An online sales training company.