Breaking Down the Smokescreen for Objections in B2B Deals

Securing a sales deal from buyers in B2B deals is becoming increasingly hard. There are so many reasons that make it difficult, but new research is providing insights as to why this is the case, and it’s not what you might think. They fall into two main categories;

• The expansion of stakeholders – in the decision making process, the number is now in double digits, and in most cases, you won’t meet half of them
• Indecision – a newer phenomenon based around making the wrong decision and making a mistake as a result of budgets being tight and the spotlight on investments

Enterprise B2B decisions are complex and expensive, and this is leading buyers to fear making the wrong choice. Increased scrutiny, procurement processes, and tighter budgets are prolonging decision-making, resulting in significantly expanded sales cycles and more frequent deal slippage which leads ultimately to lower conversion on sales opportunities.

Ebsta have seen this symptom in their 2025 Sales Benchmark report. They highlight deal slippage as the “silent killer”, the inevitable outcome of no decision scenarios. The longer that deals slip the less likely they are to convert. This is an early warning signal. Just a 1 week delay will reduce conversion to 18%, 3 months and it is down to 8%, and over 6 months it is as low as 3%. 

To counter this, sales people need a different strategy. They need to understand that this is what is behind the objections and change their approach. I am going to look at these two issues in turn, and offer specific strategies for each. What is clear to me is that customer objection handling is rarely about what is on the surface, it is about the issues that lie underneath.

The article is for sales leaders, sales people and executives engaged in enterprise B2B sales that want to convert deals at a higher rate and win more deals, it is based on my experience and what I think really matters.

What is beneath the objections – #1 More buyers in the process

LinkedIn offers a unique perspective on the evolving landscape of B2B sales.  A recent study called “Unlocking the power of hidden buyers” considered millions of sales conversations that revealed over 40% of B2B deals become stalled due to a lack of consensus. 

With an average of six to ten individuals involved in B2B purchasing decisions, aligning diverse viewpoints becomes a challenge. The deals that do close often do so from a defensive stance, where the safest option is chosen over the best one. 

Factoring these dynamics into your sales strategy can help you move more decisions in your favour. It’s no longer enough (was it ever?) to get one or two key stakeholders in your corner; you need to gain the confidence of the entire buying group. The research by LinkedIn and categorises buying group members into two main types: 

• Target Buyers – technical experts directly using the product or service
• Hidden Buyers – Hidden Buyers are process experts with functional knowledge (e.g., legal, finance).

Surprisingly, Hidden Buyers hold nearly half of all B2B purchasing decision-making power. Their primary values are peace of mind and reliability; they seek safe bets. Target Buyers, conversely, are more open to innovative risks. However, if the broader group perceives an option as risky, Target Buyers must be prepared to advocate strongly for it. Disagreement between these two groups frequently leads to stalled deals. 

Gartner reports that 77% of B2B buyers found their last purchase complex and challenging, which isn’t surprising. B2B purchases are significant investments, involving multiple decision-makers, thorough ROI analysis, and extensive research. There’s a lot of room for complications and delays.

The approach to multiple hidden stakeholders

In order to influence different stakeholders, adapt your messaging to the needs of each to address their specific concerns. Hidden Buyers don’t care as much about groundbreaking solutions or innovative capabilities—you need to convince them that you’re a safe choice. With the advancement in AI-powered tools, you can execute these steps at scale, helping you identify and engage with the right decision makers more effectively.

Sales people like to think they know everyone, there is an easy way to find out, check your CRM and see how many contacts there are and how frequently they have been contacted. I like a pre-made report to have it easily to hand. Typically I like to see how many contacts there are at the customer and how many have been added within a specific timeframe. This is an area where sales people can be lazy, so stay on top of them and challenge who they know and their level of contact.

To ensure your buying group aligns on a favorable decision, implement this three-step strategy:

1. Understand All Decision-Makers and Their Motivations

Go beyond the obvious “target buyers” (typically technical experts) and identify every individual involved in the decision, including “hidden buyers.” Research what each person cares about. For instance, delve into financial reports to understand the finance team’s perspective, identify key individuals on the procurement team, and assess the legal team’s risk aversion. Adapt your product positioning and value proposition to address the specific needs and concerns of both target and hidden buyers.

2. Develop a Cross-Functional Relationship Strategy

Hidden buyers significantly influence decisions, making their support as crucial as that of target buyers. Studies show that a greater number of seller relationships within an account increases the likelihood of closing a deal. However, this responsibility shouldn’t rest solely on sales. A holistic outreach strategy, collaboratively developed by marketing, sales and executives, can be far more impactful. 

Engaging your executives makes your customers feel seen and respected, and it will help you attract resources. Your executives won’t want to lose a deal in which they have been involved.

3. Prioritize Simple and Personalised Execution

Avoid information overload, which can lead to decision paralysis. If your solution appears overly complex, it may trigger buyer anxiety about implementation. Tailor your messaging to each buying committee member’s specific concerns. Hidden buyers prioritise safety and reliability over groundbreaking innovation. 

It is too easy to keep sending information or introducing people to the accounts to address concerns or requests. It is perfectly acceptable for sales reps to ask why and trade for something in return, for example, access to more people. Not every request from a customer is valid, keep your eyes on what the customer outcome will be and the hierarchy of requests, making sure you are getting what you need too.

What is beneath the objections – #2 Indecision

Ask any sales person or leader who they think is their number one competitor. It is likely to be “No Decision” or “Did Nothing”, what we perceive as keeping with the status quo. When we think in terms of how to overcome the customer’s status quo, we think of traditional objection handling and getting some momentum into the deal. More firepower, more energy and things will get going again.

The objections are smokescreens for fear. Fear of Messing Up, FOMU, the new relative of FOMO. 

In their HBR article “Stop losing sales to indecision” Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna conducted research across 2.5 million recorded sales conversations across simple and complex sales and found that between 40-60% end up lost by prospects that demonstrate the intent to buy but ultimately make no decision. 

This is an astounding insight, over half of deals lead to nothing! Often these prospects have gone through the entire sales campaign, consuming valuable time and resources, perhaps engaging in pilots and proof of concepts only to end in silence.

When you see deals slipping there is a high likelihood that the prospect is stuck in a no decision spiral driven by FOMU.

Why is indecision a different kind of problem

Dixon and McKenna’s research shows that indecision has a different kind of hold on the customers than a preference for status quo. 

While customer preference for the status quo is rooted in human biases that lead them to resist change, even when presented with superior options, customer indecision stems from a distinct psychological effect known as omission bias. This bias, in a sales context, reflects a customer’s desire to avoid actions that could result in a loss. 

Omission bias poses a significant challenge for salespeople. Their research showed that 56% of “no decision” losses were due to customer indecision, compared to 44% caused by a preference for the status quo. Essentially, customers are more concerned with making mistakes than with missing opportunities.

The problem of indecision is exacerbated by shifts in the customer buying environment. Unlike a preference for the status quo, indecision is driven by specific psychological factors. The research identifies three primary drivers:

1. Valuation problems – difficulty choosing among options
2. Lack of information – feeling insufficient research has been done
3. Outcome uncertainty – fear of not realising expected benefits 

As product options, available information, and the cost/risk of solutions increase, so does the likelihood of customer indecision, often resulting in no action at all. Compounding this challenge, salespeople unknowingly contribute to the issue. Tackling indecision requires a fundamentally different approach. 

While overcoming the status quo involves amplifying the fear of not purchasing, overcoming indecision demands reducing the fear of purchasing. Applying the wrong strategy, their research indicates, can have severely negative consequences.

However, their findings also present good news. Top-performing sales reps, without formal training, have independently developed a second, more effective strategy to overcome customer indecision. This isn’t merely about superior execution of standard techniques; in fact, many of these behaviors contradict the long-standing “status quo playbook” taught by sales trainers.

Regardless of whether these sales objections are genuine concerns or simply mental hurdles, they offer a valuable chance for sales executives and leaders to build trust and demonstrate value. When objections emerge in B2B sales, they pave the way for more significant conversations. This is an ideal moment to delve into and address your prospects’ concerns, illustrating precisely how your solution meets their needs.

A modern approach for indecision

Dixon and McKenna have created an approach that outlines four key behaviors in this successful approach, which is called the “JOLT Method”:

1. Judge the level of customer indecision: High performers qualify opportunities not only by the customer’s “ability to buy” but also by their “ability to decide.” From the outset, they actively look for signs of indecision. Moderate indecision may lead to a longer sales cycle forecast, but highly indecisive customers are often disqualified.
2. Offer their recommendation: Instead of solely asking customers what they want, top reps tell them what they should buy. While offering choices is useful early in the sales process, too many options later on can lead to indecision. This contrasts sharply with the traditional emphasis on diagnosing customer needs. The research shows that relying solely on diagnosis yields only a 14% win rate, but combining diagnosis with a strong recommendation boosts win rates to 36%.
3. Limit the exploration: High performers understand that excessive information can hinder decision-making. Indulging customer requests for more information throughout the sale results in only a 16% win rate. To build trust and guide customers, top reps demonstrate expertise and credibility (e.g. by avoiding introducing additional subject matter experts and proactively addressing unstated objections) while also mitigating the “agency dilemma” (the customer’s belief the salesperson is overselling, for instance, by advising against certain purchases). These actions reduce unnecessary information requests and lead to win rates exceeding 42%.
4. Take risk off the table: To secure commitment, successful reps offer creative safety net options, such as opt-out clauses or tailored contracts. These measures instill buyer confidence and reduce perceived outcome uncertainty. Without options to limit downside risk, win rates are around 22%; with them, conversion rates jump to 46%.

Top salespeople using the JOLT method close more deals than average performers, especially with indecisive customers. They convert 69% of decisive customers (compared to 39% for average reps), 57% of moderately indecisive customers (vs. 26% for average), and 31% of highly indecisive customers (vs. a mere 6% for average).

Final Thoughts

In your everyday life when people voice their concerns, there is often an underlying issue that is not being addressed. People either cannot articulate or do not understand what is behind their fears. In the sales environment this is no different. This inevitably results in false objections, requests for more information or more people being involved. As sales people we need to get better at realising this is happening and try to understand what is really going on.

Making the wrong decision is what is driving the fear for organisations, understandable when budgets are tight and competition is high. FOMU has become your biggest competitor.

Simply answering the requests for more information from the customer can make the situation worse. Diagnosing that this is about decision paralysis from too many stakeholders or driven by fear of getting it wrong means that you can apply the right strategy.

As Chris Voss says in his book “Never split the difference”, negotiation starts at the objection, don’t turn down the opportunity to drive your deal forward and differentiate yourself from your competitors.