If you are new to sales you are probably scared to death your prospect will give you an objection you cannot answer.

Here’s what you do.

Play the objection back in the form of a question. It clarifies the objection, lets the prospect know you heard the objection and forces the prospect to give you more information.

The following is a true story about how using this technique helped an agent make a sale she might have otherwise lost.

The listing agent was touring a prospect through a small waterfront condominium. The prospect fell in love with the condominium. She told the agent that she loved the condo and would purchase it, but the kitchen was too small.

If you are new, you would tend to agree with the prospect and not have the slightest idea what to say next.

Just for practice, before you read any further, what would you say in response to an objection like this? I’ve heard “It is easy to keep clean” and “It’s a step-saver kitchen.” What would you say?

The agent used the simplest response in sales to clarify the objection, to let the prospect know she heard the objection, and to find out why the prospect felt that the kitchen was too small. She stated the objection as a question.

Agent (smiling): “The kitchen is too small?”

Prospect: “Yes, I have a plastic rooster my family has handed down through the years for good luck, and I don’t see any place to hang the rooster.”

What if the agent had said something about how easy the kitchen is to keep clean? Think she would have gotten the sale? Or do you think the prospect may think the agent is more interested in the commission than the prospect’s needs? Obviously, there was nothing else to discuss until the rooster issue was addressed and resolved.

Here is what the agent said: “Great. Let’s see if we can find a place to hang the rooster.“

The prospect decided that the wall just outside the galley kitchen would work, and she bought the condo.

Keep it simple. Learn to play objections back to the prospect in the form of a question and the odds are that you will make more sales.

Published: September 12, 2003

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David Fletcher has been a Florida licensed real estate broker and new homes sales and marketing consultant for 30 years. Along the way, he has sold more than $3 billion in new homes and condominium products for developers and builder/developers. He has been broker of record for 16 rental conversions and marketing consultant in 29 lender workouts for major communities and condominium projects, a featured speaker at the National Association of Realtors, and chaired the Florida Home Builder Association's Sales and Marketing Council. In 2008 he was named a 'Lifetime Achiever' by Keller Williams Realty's International Division. You may contact him at or call him at 407.234.2349.