6.2 Objection Handling for Unproven Products
Nobody buys your product. They buy confidence that the product will solve their problem. Your job in every sales conversation is to transfer confidence, and that gets harder when you have no case studies, a rough product, and a price tag. Here’s how to handle the four objections that will kill your early deals.
”You don’t have case studies yet”
The wrong answer is to apologize, deflect, or promise you’ll have them soon. The right answer is to be more honest than they expect.
Say this: “You’re right, we don’t. We’re early. What I can tell you is exactly what this product does, and I’ll be transparent about what it doesn’t do yet. If it solves the problem you just described, you’ll know within 30 days. If it doesn’t, I’ll refund you. I’d rather have an honest customer than a tricked one.”
The psychology here is disarmament. When you confirm the objection instead of fighting it, you signal that you have nothing to hide. Skepticism drops. The prospect shifts from defending themselves against a salesperson to evaluating a real offer. What you never say is “we have some early users who love it” without specifics, because vague social proof reads as a lie.
”Your product looks rough around the edges”
Don’t defend the UI. Redirect to the outcome.
Say this: “It is rough. We’re building fast based on what real customers tell us. What that means for you is that if you get in now, you influence what we build next. Customers who joined us at this stage have gotten features built specifically for their workflow. That doesn’t happen when you buy polished software from a company with 200 engineers.”
Alejandro and Mario launched Push School on the back of a fake demo video, got 6 million views, and converted that attention into $10K MRR before the app was fully built. The roughness wasn’t hidden. It was irrelevant because the problem it solved was real and visible. The product’s state matters far less than the prospect’s pain level. Make sure you’re talking to someone in enough pain to tolerate imperfection.
”I need to think about it”
This means one of three things: the pain isn’t urgent enough, the price feels risky, or they haven’t seen enough to trust you yet. You need to find out which one before the call ends.
Say this: “Totally fair. Can I ask what specifically you’d want to think through? I want to make sure I haven’t left a question unanswered.”
Then stop talking. What they say next tells you everything. If it’s price, address the risk directly with a refund window. If it’s urgency, they might just not be a good customer right now and that’s okay. What you never do is say “take your time” and wait for them to email you. They won’t.
”Can you give me a discount?”
Say yes only if it gets you something in return: a testimonial, a case study, a referral introduction, or a faster close on a longer contract. Say no if the ask is just for cheaper pricing with nothing attached.
Say this: “I can work on price if we can agree on a case study once you’ve been using it for 60 days. Does that work?”
Sean built Alia to $4M ARR by being extremely specific about what his product was and wasn’t. That precision made him easier to trust and harder to negotiate against. When you know your value exactly, discounting feels like lying. Protect your price or have a reason for moving it.
Before your next sales call, write out your answer to each of these four objections in one paragraph each. Read them out loud. If you’d be embarrassed to say it to a skeptical buyer, rewrite it until you wouldn’t.