Common sales objections in DMs and what to reply, from "too expensive" to "not now"

When a prospect says "too expensive", ask what they are comparing the price with; when they say "not now", ask when a better moment would be. Both follow one pattern for the common sales objections and responses in DMs: acknowledge the objection in one sentence, ask one question about what is behind it, and offer one small next step. The whole reply fits in one or two short bubbles.

How an objection in a DM differs from one on a call

On a call you hear the tone and can ask straight away. In a DM you get one sentence, and several different things can sit behind it. "Too expensive" can mean "no budget right now", "I got a cheaper quote", "I do not see what I get yet" or "convince me".

Three more things change how you reply:

• You made the first move. After a cold DM, an objection is often a test of whether the reply is written for this business. A reply that picks up on what they said passes it.
• Short replies win. One or two sentences are easy to answer, while a wall of arguments reads like a sales deck.
• You have time to think. That is the advantage of writing: objections repeat, so you can prepare good answers once and reuse them every time.

The pattern: acknowledge, ask, offer one step

1. 1

   Acknowledge

   One sentence, no "but"

2. 2

   Ask

   One question about what is behind the objection

3. 3

   Offer one step

   An example, a range, a sample or a short call

Acknowledge. Show that you read what they wrote. "Fair question", "Makes sense" or "Good to have someone you trust" is enough. Avoid "I understand, but", because the "but" cancels everything before it.

Ask. One question that shows what is really behind the objection. Not three questions at once, and not one that needs a paragraph to answer. The best questions have two or three possible answers: "the price or the timing?", "how many locations do you run?".

Offer one step. Small and easy to accept: an example from their industry, a price range, a sample, fifteen minutes on a call. One step per message.

Eight objections after a cold DM and what to reply

"We already have someone": how to reply without knocking their supplier

This one is easy to answer badly. The first instinct is to list everything you do better. The prospect then hears that their choice was bad, and defends their supplier.

Instead:

1. Respect the choice. Someone who has a supplier knows what they need. That is a good prospect, not a lost one.
2. Ask what works and what is missing. There is often something the current supplier does not cover: a second product, a faster turnaround, a different format.
3. Offer a comparison that needs no switch. A sample, one order, one area nobody handles today. The prospect does not have to give anyone up to say yes.

Good to have someone you trust. Out of curiosity, do they make videos for you too, or mostly photos and posts?

If they get everything from their current supplier, thank them and write a note on the lead about when their current contract ends or when they launch a new menu. Come back at that time with a new reason.

"Send me more info": how to reply so the conversation keeps going

"Send me your offer" can be a polite close, but it is easy to turn into a real conversation. Instead of a full PDF where the right page is hard to find, narrow the request with one question and send the one thing that matters to this business.

Sure. So I do not send the whole catalogue: what matters most to you, price or delivery time?

When they answer, send exactly that, briefly, with a link to your offer page or to a short call. If they ask for an email, give it or ask for their address: a conversation with someone who shares contact details is already warm.

A full thread: from "we already have someone" to the link

This is how an agency that makes short videos for cafés can talk to a café that already has someone doing its social media:

Conversation with wrenhollow.coffee

1. You: Hi, saw you added a seasonal espresso to the menu in September, but there is no reel about it on your profile yet. We make short videos for cafés. Want 2 reel ideas for it?

2. Prospect: Thanks, but we already have someone doing our social media

3. You: Good to have someone you trust. Out of curiosity, do they make videos for you too, or mostly photos and posts?

4. Prospect: Mostly posts. Reels with you are probably pricey though

5. You: Depends on how many you need. Easiest is to show you on your own example: in 15 minutes I'll walk you through 2 reel ideas for the seasonal espresso and what they would cost. Would you be open to a short call?

6. Prospect: Ok, let's talk

7. You: Great, pick a time that suits you: (booking link)

Notice three things. The seller says nothing about the current agency. The "probably pricey" gets neither a discount nor a price list, but an offer where the café sees something concrete on its own example. And the link only goes out after the "ok", when the prospect already has a reason to click.

This is the approach you add to the AI Setter's playbook: the objection "we already have someone", the approach "respect the current partner, ask what nobody does for them today, offer ideas on their own example", with the booking link set as the goal of the conversation.

How DM Hero helps with objections

In DM Hero, your answers to objections live in three places:

• Quick replies. Save the answers from the table as quick replies and insert them in the inbox with a shortcut, such as /price or /supplier. Add one detail about the business before sending, and you are done.
• The AI Setter's objection playbook. Add the six objections you hear most often, with your approach. The AI Setter handles them with your arguments, answers objections that are not on the list like a salesperson, and answers price questions from the knowledge base. For the step by step setup, see How to set up an AI appointment setter for Instagram.
• Setter analytics. It shows how far conversations get and which objection answers are worth improving, and it suggests objections outside your playbook that come up in several conversations, so you can add them. You change the answer once in the playbook and check in analytics whether the next conversations get further.

Start the setter in Suggestions mode: it drafts replies to objections, and you approve or edit them. Once the drafts need no edits, switch it to Autopilot and the setter replies on its own. When a prospect shares a phone number or email address, the setter flags the thread for you, and you get a warm lead in the inbox with the whole conversation history. Any reply from a prospect stops their remaining campaign steps, so follow-ups only go to people who have not replied yet.

Cheat sheet

• One objection, one answer, one or two bubbles.
• Acknowledge first, then ask, then offer one step.
• Answer "how much is it" with a range and a question about scale, and "probably pricey" with something concrete on their own example, not a discount.
• Never criticise the prospect's current supplier.
• Answer "send me info" by narrowing the request with one question.
• Send the link after the "yes", not instead of answering the objection.

For the first message that gets a conversation started at all, see How to write a cold DM on Instagram, for what to do when nobody replies, see Instagram DM follow-ups, and for the whole process from the prospect list to the conversation, see the Instagram cold outreach guide.

You can save the answers from the table as quick replies in DM Hero today, and the AI Setter will handle these objections with your arguments even when you are not in the inbox. The AI Setter is included in the Starter, Growth and Pro plans, Pro multi-reps too. Compare the plans on the pricing page, and we will walk through your objection playbook with you on a demo.