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Objection Handling for Account Executives

Understand buyer concerns, defend value thoughtfully and agree credible next steps across discovery, proposals and closing.

You own the number, but not every part of the buying decision. Research competes with meetings, discovery can stay on the surface, and a promising demo can still end in silence. We understand the pressure to create pipeline, earn trust and keep a complex opportunity moving without pushing the buyer. The AE Lab gives you space to sharpen the conversations and judgement behind the result.

Two sellers role-playing a customer conversation while a colleague observes
The Sales House
Explore. Practise. Perform.

Duration

Half day · 3.5 hours per half day

Group size

8–10 delegates

Format

Online or face to face

Price — Face to face

Price on request

+ VAT

Price — Online

Price on request

+ VAT

where understanding becomes useful —

Why this course matters

Confidence in a deal includes the ability to explore a buyer's concern without losing your commercial judgement.

What you’ll explore in the Lab

Account executives encounter objections about budget, timing, competitors, implementation and the decision to change. This half-day workshop develops a calm, consultative approach to understanding the concern before responding.

Delegates practise listening, clarifying, responding and confirming, distinguish a genuine constraint from an unresolved question, and connect their response to the buyer's priorities and evidence. The focus is maintaining trust and deal momentum while recognising when further qualification is needed or an opportunity is not ready to progress.

a real challenge. a purposeful response.

The challenges this addresses

  • Unclear buyer concerns surfacing late in the sale
  • Discounts offered before the value or approval issue is understood
  • Implementation worries mistaken for price resistance during proposal discussions
  • AEs progressing opportunities despite unresolved constraints on buyer decisions

What this can change at work

Help AEs meet buyer resistance with commercial judgement, not a reflex concession. Practising a calm response framework builds the ability to separate an unresolved question from a genuine constraint, then respond with relevant evidence. Managers can use those distinctions to coach next steps and qualification. The business can gain a clearer view of which deals merit further effort, while sellers protect trust and avoid disguising uncertainty with discounts.

Concerns named clearly

AEs clarify whether pushback concerns budget, timing, implementation or another issue before proposing a response in the deal conversation.

Responses grounded in priorities

When a buyer challenges value, the AE connects the response to agreed priorities and evidence rather than immediately changing the price.

Qualification revisited openly

Deal reviews record unresolved constraints and whether the next step is further clarification, renewed qualification or a pause in progression.

Explore. Practise. Perform.

Less theory. More application.

What participants will practise

Realistic sales scenarios, role-play and peer feedback around listening, clarifying, responding and confirming and price, budget and value concerns. Where helpful, participants work on their own live (or anonymised) opportunities.

What they’ll take away

Take-away materials with the questions, frameworks and techniques covered, plus a short personal action plan for the next customer conversations where the skill matters.

How we help it stick

Reflection and action planning are built into the session. Reinforcement such as manager guides, follow-up labs or coaching depends on the programme you choose and is agreed with you.

How we make learning stick

Inside the workshop

AEs bring anonymised objections from current opportunities. Breakouts explore the issue beneath the words before pairs rehearse discovery, proposal and late-stage scenarios. Facilitator and peer feedback sharpen clarification questions and responses to price pressure without automatic discounting. Delegates leave with a practical objection bank, questions to validate concerns and agreed next actions for their opportunities.

Make Objection Handling for Account Executives relevant to your business

Tell us where you want to make progress with listening, clarifying, responding and confirming. We can discuss suitable workplace examples, priorities and access needs before agreeing the scope. Choose live online or face-to-face training for your UK or European team, with delivery arrangements agreed before booking.

Discuss a customised version

What the training covers

The scope below sets out the subjects covered. Workplace examples and practice are shaped around your team within the booked format.

  • Listening, clarifying, responding and confirming
  • Price, budget and value concerns
  • Timing, implementation and internal approval objections
  • Competitors, status quo and no decision
  • Testing concerns with buyer evidence
  • Agreeing next steps and recognising qualification gaps

What’s included in your booking

Your booked time and format
Half day · Live online or face to face, agreed before booking · 8–10 delegates.
Included in every course
  • Interactive, facilitator-led learningLive, hands-on sessions built around practice and participation.
  • Group discussionsShared conversations about real situations, so people learn from each other as well as the facilitator.
  • Breakout exercisesSmall-group practice, role-play and problem-solving, online or in the room.
  • Take-away materialsCourse materials, tools and templates to use back at work.
Facilitated learning and practical application
The subject coverage, exercises and facilitator feedback described above, with space to connect the learning to relevant workplace situations. The workshop description sets out the specific plans, prompts or tools developed in this course.

Follow-up coaching, refresher sessions and additional delivery days are not automatic inclusions; any additions are agreed in your proposal. Travel, venue arrangements and any software licences are confirmed separately where relevant. Prices exclude VAT.

Outcomes

The capabilities delegates work towards through the training and practice:

  • Uncover the concern behind buyer pushback
  • Respond to value and price objections without reflexive discounting
  • Handle late-stage concerns with calm confidence
  • Agree a credible next step or revisit qualification

the next conversation is where it counts —

Take it back to work.

Choose a real situation where you want to apply the learning. Use it to turn an outcome into a manageable first step, then reflect on what changes.

Choose

Start with one priority: Uncover the concern behind buyer pushback.

Apply

Try the approach in a relevant task or conversation. Note what felt useful and what you would adapt.

Review

Reflect on what happened, seek feedback where appropriate and choose your next step. Follow-up support can be discussed separately.

Bring this topic to your next event

We can discuss adapting Objection Handling for Account Executives into a keynote or large-group session, focusing on the themes most relevant to your audience. Depth, activities, timings and any follow-up depend on the format and package you choose; an event session is not a substitute for the full course.

Explore Speaking & Events

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Flagship programme

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Five live online labs that sharpen how account executives plan their week, lead discovery, qualify with MEDDPICC, handle objections and keep deals moving.

5 × 2.5-hour live online sessions (12.5 hours)Maximum 8 participants

Course synopsis

Strong opportunities are built week by week — in the questions you ask, the evidence you gather and the next step you secure. AE Online Lab Part 1 equips account executives with the skills, confidence and commercial discipline to create stronger opportunities, improve deal qualification and win more business. Across five live online sessions, AEs take control of their sales week, move discovery beyond the surface, apply MEDDPICC with confidence, explore objections without becoming defensive and drive clear next steps. Each session is a small-group working lab with breakouts, role-play and personal coaching. Between sessions, AEs apply an agreed action and bring their experience back to the group.

5 live sessions · 2.5 hours each

Outcomes — you'll be able to

  • Plan a sales week around high-impact activity and routines
  • Lead discovery that uncovers and quantifies business pain
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  • Respond to objections on pricing, timing, competitors and value
  • Secure clear next steps and mutual commitments

Included in every course

  • Interactive, facilitator-led learning
  • Group discussions
  • Breakout exercises
  • Take-away materials

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Course details

Flagship programme

AE Online Lab Pt 2:
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Three live online labs to deliver proposals that win, protect your value in negotiation and close with confidence — without high-pressure tactics.

3 × 2.5-hour live online sessions (7.5 hours)Maximum 8 participants

Course synopsis

Late-stage selling is where value is tested — in the proposal, the negotiation and the moment a customer decides. AE Online Lab Part 2 strengthens the commercial skills account executives need to present compelling solutions, negotiate effectively and secure customer commitment. Across three live online sessions, AEs structure customer-focused proposals, plan negotiations around trade-offs rather than discounts, and build closing strategies aligned with how the customer actually decides. Practice uses real-world deal scenarios, role-play and personal coaching, so every participant leaves with a plan for a live opportunity.

3 live sessions · 2.5 hours each

Outcomes — you'll be able to

  • Structure a customer-focused proposal with a differentiated value proposition
  • Plan a negotiation with clear trade-offs and protected margins
  • Handle discount requests and pricing pressure confidently
  • Recognise buying signals and gain commitment without high-pressure tactics

Included in every course

  • Interactive, facilitator-led learning
  • Group discussions
  • Breakout exercises
  • Take-away materials

Live online

From £3,300 per group+ VAT

Course details

your sales team. your priorities. your programme. —

Build your own sales programme.

Combine courses, focus on your skills gaps and shape the learning around your sales cycle. Standard workshops run with 8–10 delegates; BDR and MEDDPICC sessions have a maximum of eight; Sales Leadership workshops run with 6–8. Smaller bespoke cohorts can be discussed, with pricing agreed for your programme.

Where better selling begins.

Your team doesn’t need more slides. They need skills that stick.

Know you need help? Book a relaxed, no-obligation 30-minute call. We’ll talk through your team and challenge, and you’ll leave with an honest view of the options — no brief or programme needed.