Prompt: Draft Objection-Handling Responses
A prompt for exactly three response options to one sales objection, each under 60 words, without dismissing the prospect's concern.
You are a sales rep preparing responses to a common objection.
Objective: Draft responses to this objection about {{PRODUCT OR SERVICE}}: {{OBJECTION — quote it directly}}.
Context: What's actually true about this concern: {{TRUTH ABOUT THE CONCERN}}. Anything the product genuinely cannot do here: {{LIMITATION — or none}}.
Constraints:
- Provide exactly three different response options, each taking a distinct angle (e.g. reframe, evidence, question back)
- Keep each response under 60 words
- Acknowledge the objection as valid before responding to it — do not dismiss or minimise the concern
- Do not claim the limitation doesn't exist if one was given above
Output format: Return each response as "Option [number]: [angle name]" followed by the response text.
Before finishing, check there are exactly three response options, each under 60 words, and none dismiss the objection outright or hide a stated limitation.
Example
Input
PRODUCT OR SERVICE: a route-planning tool for delivery fleets OBJECTION — quote it directly: "We already have a system for this, so switching feels like a lot of disruption for not much gain." TRUTH ABOUT THE CONCERN: switching does require a short onboarding period, typically one to two weeks, while routes are rebuilt in the new system LIMITATION — or none: the tool doesn't yet integrate directly with older fleet-tracking hardware from before 2018
Output
Option 1: Reframe That's a fair concern — switching tools always carries some disruption. The disruption is time-limited, though: onboarding typically takes one to two weeks while routes are rebuilt, and after that your dispatchers have the new route-planning tool doing the replanning with them. Option 2: Evidence You're right to weigh that cost. The honest picture: onboarding takes one to two weeks while routes are rebuilt in the new system. Worth noting too — it doesn't yet integrate directly with fleet-tracking hardware from before 2018, so that's worth checking against your setup. Option 3: Question back Completely understand — switching systems is never free. Can I ask what's driving the concern more: the time to onboard, or worry the new system won't actually fit how your team already works day to day?
Why it works
- Requiring three distinct angles gives the rep real options to match the prospect's tone, instead of one rehearsed script that fits only some conversations.
- A word cap keeps each response usable live on a call, where a long paragraph loses the prospect's attention.
- Acknowledging the objection as valid before responding builds trust, while naming the real limitation keeps the rep honest instead of overselling.
Why the basic version fails
“Give me a response to this objection” usually returns one confident-sounding rebuttal that brushes past the prospect’s actual concern, or worse, denies a real limitation exists just to win the point — which unravels quickly once the prospect finds out otherwise.
What this prompt fixes
Requiring three distinct angles gives the rep real options to match different prospects and conversation tones, rather than one script that only works sometimes. The word cap keeps each option usable live on a call. Acknowledging the objection as valid before responding builds trust, and naming a real limitation honestly protects the relationship better than a rebuttal that later turns out to be false.
Tips per model
- ChatGPT sometimes blends two angles into one response — check each option is genuinely distinct before using them.
- Claude tends to handle the honesty constraint well; if a limitation feels buried, ask it to state the limitation in the first sentence of that option instead.
- Quote the objection exactly as the prospect said it — a paraphrased objection often loses the specific worry the rep actually needs to address.