How to Overcome ANY LinkedIn DM Objection

Every salesperson knows that getting objections is part of the game. Whether you’re prospecting through LinkedIn to book meetings or close deals, you’ll almost certainly hit a roadblock or two (or a hundred) along the way.  

We’ve spent the past few months collating the most common objections that salespeople and business owners face on LinkedIn, along with the exact strategies that can turn "not interested" into "tell me more”.

Maybe you're getting ghosted, hitting price barriers, or facing the dreaded "we're all set". This guide will help you handle ANY LinkedIn objection like a pro.

LinkedIn objections are actually good news.

Before we dive into specific objections, let's flip the script on how you think about pushback. Getting an objection means the prospect has enough interest to engage with you, rather than end the conversation. 

Most LinkedIn messages get zero response. When someone takes time to respond with an objection instead of ignoring you completely, they're giving you valuable information about what matters to them. Plus, they’re testing you to see whether you’re worth their time.

An objection is an opportunity to start a conversation. Or, you could accept the objection and end the chat - it’s your choice. 

Different sales approaches need different objection strategies.

Not everyone sells through LinkedIn in the same way. Some people use the platform exclusively to book meetings, while others can complete full sales cycles without ever picking up the phone.

Strategy 1: Using LI to book meetings (most common)

• Who: SaaS salespeople, enterprise sales teams, complex B2B solutions 
• Goal: Book discovery calls and demos 
• Sales cycle: LinkedIn → discovery → demo → proposal → close

If you’re using LinkedIn to pique interest and get that first meeting booked, you’ll probably get objections about:

• Why they should take the meeting
• Whether the timing is right for a conversation
• If you're worth 15-30 minutes of their time

Objection handling focus: Remove friction and make sure the prospect understands that you’re not expecting them to hand over thousands of dollars - your only goal is to book a meeting.

• Focus on low-commitment asks
• Emphasize the value of the conversation, not the product
• Use time-bound offers ("15-minute chat")
• Reference other meetings you've had with similar companies

Strategy 2: Using LI to warm up other channels 

• Who: Account-based sales teams, high-value deal hunters, relationship builders 
• Goal: Warm up prospects before calls and emails 
• Sales cycle: LinkedIn connection → email sequence → cold call → meeting → close

You're not trying to close through LinkedIn; you're using it to make other channels more effective. Common objections here are:

• Skepticism about your credibility
• Wariness about your intentions
• Confusion about how you found them

Objection handling focus: Build trust and credibility to improve cold outreach performance across all channels.

• Position the interaction as relationship building, not selling
• Share industry insights and valuable content
• Ask permission before connecting via other channels
• Use LinkedIn to demonstrate expertise before calling

Strategy 3: Using LI for direct-close sales

• Who: Service providers, freelancers, consultants, course creators with strong personal brands 
• Goal: Complete sales through LinkedIn conversations 
• Sales cycle: LinkedIn connection → DM conversation → contract/purchase

If you've built a strong personal brand and have clear social proof, prospects might buy directly through LinkedIn DMs without ever meeting you. This works especially well for:

• LinkedIn ghostwriters and content creators 
• Marketing agencies with proven case studies
• Business coaches with strong thought leadership
• Freelancers with portfolio evidence

Objection handling focus: Address concerns about working with someone they've never spoken to, payment security, and service delivery.

• Lead with strong social proof and testimonials
• Share detailed case studies and results
• Offer guarantees or trial periods to reduce risk
• Use your personal brand as the primary trust signal

The 8 most common LinkedIn DM objections (and how to handle them).

1. "I'm not interested."

This is the most common LinkedIn objection, and it's usually not about your product. When a prospect says "I’m not interested", they’re trying to end the conversation. 

Your job isn't to make them interested immediately; it's to keep the conversation going long enough to understand what they actually need.

What they're really saying: "You haven't shown me enough value yet" or "This message isn't worth my time right now."

Follow-up strategy:

• Ask a diagnostic question about their current situation
• Reference something specific from their profile or company
• Offer a small piece of value (insight, resource, or tip)

❌ "But wait! Let me tell you about all our amazing features..."

✅ "No problem - you probably get tons of these messages. I noticed [Company] just announced [recent news/growth]. How’s it been scaling your [relevant process] with that kind of expansion?"

Why this works: You're acknowledging their position, showing you've done your homework, and asking about their business challenges rather than pitching your solution.

2. "We're all set with our current solution."

This objection means they have something in place, but it doesn't mean they're happy with it. Most people stick with "good enough" solutions until they see something significantly better.

What they're really saying: "Prove to me that changing is worth the hassle."

Follow-up strategy:

• Ask about their results with the current solution
• Identify gaps or limitations they might be experiencing
• Share relevant case studies of similar companies that switched

❌  "Our tool is so much better than what you're using."

✅ "Nice - [competitor] is solid. What drew you to them initially? And how are you finding the [specific feature/result] side of things?" 

Once they mention a limitation, you can say, "That's actually something we hear a lot. Here's how [similar company] solved that exact issue..."

3. "It's too expensive." / "We don't have the budget."

Price objections are rarely about the actual price. Instead, it’s a matter of value, trust, or urgency. 

What they're really saying: "I don't see how this is worth the cost" or "I don't have budget allocated for this category” or “I don’t trust that you’ll deliver results”.

Follow-up strategy:

• Understand their ROI requirements
• Break down the cost per result/per month
• Compare the cost of inaction vs. cost of solution
• Offer to build a business case together

❌ "Let me offer you a discount." / “Let me know when your budget resets.”

✅ “Totally get it - budget matters. What kind of ROI would you need to see to make sense for [Company]? If this could save your team [X hours/week] or generate [Y additional leads], how would that impact your numbers?"

4. "I need to think about it."

This is usually a stall tactic. They're either not the decision-maker, don't see urgency, or need more information but don't want to admit it.

What they're really saying: "I'm not convinced this is a priority right now" or "I need to check with someone else."

Follow-up strategy:

• Identify what information they need to decide
• Create urgency around their current challenges
• Offer a low-commitment next step (demo, trial, case study)

❌ "Sure, take your time. Let me know when you're ready."

✅ "Of course - which aspects do you want to think through? Is it more about the technical fit, the ROI, or getting team buy-in? Maybe I can help with those questions."

5. "We're too busy right now."

This objection usually means your timing is off, but it might also mean they don't see your solution as a priority.

What they're really saying: "This feels like more work, not less work."

Follow-up strategy:

• Understand their current time-consuming challenges
• Position your solution as something that frees up time for priorities
• Suggest a very low-commitment next step

❌  "This will actually save you time!"

✅ "Totally understand. What's eating up most of your time lately?”

6. "I don't have decision-making authority."

This person might be interested but can't actually buy. Your job is to turn them into an internal champion who can influence the real decision-maker.

What they're really saying: "I'd need to get approval" or "Someone else controls this budget."

Follow-up strategy:

• Understand their decision-making process
• Arm them with information to present internally
• Offer to create materials that make them look good

❌ "Can you connect me with the decision-maker?"

✅ "Got it - who would typically be involved in a decision like this?"

7. "We tried something like this before and it didn't work."

This objection shows that they’ve had a bad experience with another solution. Your job is to understand what went wrong and position your solution differently.

What they're really saying: "Prove to me you're different from what failed before."

Follow-up strategy:

• Understand specific failure points from their experience
• Show how your approach avoids those problems
• Offer proof points from similar situations

❌ "We're completely different from [previous solution]."

✅ "What happened with the previous solution? What made it not work for you?"

8. "Send me some information."

This sounds positive, but it's often a polite way to end the conversation. Information alone rarely converts prospects.

What they're really saying: "I might be interested, but I want to evaluate this on my own timeline."

Follow-up strategy:

• Ask what specific information they need
• Offer customized materials based on their situation
• Include a clear next step beyond just "reviewing materials"

❌ Sending a generic brochure or lengthy message.

✅ “Absolutely. What's most important for you to understand - is it more about the technical capabilities, the ROI, or how it compares to other options?" 

Advanced objection handling techniques.

Peeling the onion.

Often, the first objection isn't the real objection. People give surface-level reasons to avoid deeper conversations. We need to keep peeling the onion until we find the truth.

After addressing their first objection, ask: "If I could solve [objection], would you move forward?"

If they hesitate or bring up another concern, keep peeling until you find the core issue.

• Prospect: "It's too expensive." 
• You: [Address pricing] "If we could work out the budget piece, is there anything else that would concern you about moving forward?" 
• Prospect: "Well, I'm not sure if the team would actually use it." 
• You: "Ah, so it's really about adoption, not just price. Tell me more about that concern..."

The feel, felt, found framework.

This classic technique helps prospects feel understood while positioning your solution:

• Feel: "I understand how you feel about [objection]"
• Felt: "Other [similar role/company] have felt the same way"
• Found: "But what they found was [positive outcome]"

Example: "I totally understand your concern about LinkedIn account safety - that's a big deal. I’ve met a lot of Sales Directors who felt the same way when first looking into automation. But what they found was that with the right safety features, they never had to worry about their account being banned or restricted.”

Creating urgency without being pushy.

Instead of building false urgency ("this price expires tomorrow"), create urgency around their current situation:

• "How much longer can your team handle [current pain point]?"
• "What's the cost of waiting another quarter to solve this?"
• "How many deals might you miss while evaluating options?"

Avoiding objections before they happen.

Build authority. 

The best objection handling happens before you send your first message. When prospects visit your profile and see valuable content, they can be pre-sold on your expertise.

Aim to create content that addresses your most common objections. 

For example, to reduce "not interested" objections, share client success stories and write about industry challenges your prospects face. 

To reduce pricing objectives, share ROI case studies, write posts about the cost of inaction, and don’t be afraid to compare your solution’s value to alternatives.

Finally, to reduce “we’re all set” objections, create content about hidden problems with popular solutions, share industry benchmarks that reveal performance gaps, and write posts about emerging challenges that current solutions don't address.

Target the right people.

Most objections happen because you're talking to the wrong prospects. If you're getting lots of "too expensive" objections, you might be targeting companies that are too small or talking to people without budget authority.

Use tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator to:

• Filter for active LinkedIn users (higher response rates)
• Target companies showing growth signals (more likely to invest)
• Focus on job titles that control your category budget
• Identify prospects engaging with relevant content

Then, use Botdog’s AI lead review feature to verify that prospects match your ideal customer profile before sending any outreach. 

Perfect your first message.

Most objections stem from poor first impressions. If prospects consistently say "we're all set," your messages aren't highlighting differentiated value or uncovering hidden problems.

Your initial message should reference something specific about their business, lead with an insight, not a pitch, ask a diagnostic question, and show you've done your homework.

Example: "Hi [Name], noticed [Company] just raised [Series X] and you're expanding into [new market]. Curious - how are you planning to scale lead gen for the new vertical? I've seen similar SaaS companies struggle with [specific challenge] during expansion. Worth a quick chat about what's working for your peers?"

How to overcome ANY LinkedIn DM objection.

Objections don’t have to be conversation-enders. They actually tell you what matters to your prospects and how to help them make the right decision.

The key isn't having perfect responses to every objection. It's listening carefully, asking good questions, and focusing on the prospect's actual needs rather than your desire to make a sale or book a meeting.

Feel free to use the frameworks and examples in this guide, but remember to adapt them to your personality, product, and prospects. Being authentic always beats having a perfect script. 

Ready to reduce LinkedIn objections and increase conversions? 

Botdog can help you target the right prospects with personalized messages, reducing objections before they happen. With built-in safety features and AI lead review, you can focus on having better conversations instead of handling preventable objections.

Start your 7-day free trial today to see how proper targeting and automation can transform your pipeline!