We’ll hopefully be doing some open-house sessions in Lahore where you can come and ask the successful experts anything you’d like

Osama

There are clearly some pretty complicated cultural shoals here, so I’m not going to try to comment on what might work in Pakistan. However, I do know how to handle objections. If I heard an opening like:

“Look, people like you will probably charge too much more than what I will be able to afford for something that might not be needed, so I don’t think we should move forward”

I would immediately respond:

“I absolutely agree. If you don’t need what we’ve got to offer and we can’t offer it at a price that makes sense to you, it doesn’t make sense to move forward. But I’m curious… what makes you think that we’d try to charge you too much for something you don’t need? Have you had some bad experiences with our competitors?”

Then listen. Then, say something like:

“Wow. I had no idea that our competitors were doing stuff like that. Thinking back, what do you wish that they had done differently? I want to make certain that my firm NEVER EVER does anything that makes you unhappy like that.”

The main thing is to not get hung up on the objections but to get the client talking about how they’d prefer to do business. Consider sharing a time when you felt ripped off and how lousy it made you feel. Do some rapport building. Get on the same side as the customer. Try to understand how they’re thinking and why they’re so hostile. Get curious. Have some fun with it and don’t take it personally. Because if this is a first call, it isn’t about you.

Anyway, that’s how I’d handle it.