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There is a big challenge in today’s marketplace that’s popping up left and right for sales professionals—Decision Deferment Objections.

If you’re running into stakeholders who say, “Let’s just hold off a bit,” “We need more time,” or “We want to wait until the market settles,” then we’re going to dive into why this is happening and, more importantly, how you can handle these sales objections with confidence and skill.

Turbulent Times Breed Buyer Fear

The market is swinging like a pendulum on steroids, and it’s making everyone skittish. You’ve got tariffs, trade wars, and a spike in economic uncertainty.

Buyers read The Wall Street Journal or check their news feeds, and the headlines scream “Turmoil!” They panic. So they defer decisions, walk away from deals, or play the “wait and see” game.

Decision deferment objections are a natural consequence of fear. People want to avoid making the wrong move. It’s easier to hit the pause button than to commit to something they’re not 100% sure about. That fear, in many ways, is irrational. But it’s a brick wall that will shut down your deal if you let it.

So how do you avoid letting hesitation, stalling, and decision deferment kill your deals during market uncertainty?

It starts with a fundamental truth: to succeed in this environment, you must sell better. Because when people are fearful, indecisive, or uncertain, how you sell matters far more than what you sell.

Why Buyers Pull Back and Defer Decisions

In uncertain and volatile times, mistakes come with severe penalties. A stakeholder who chooses the wrong vendor, invests in the wrong technology, or commits resources too soon might put their entire business or career at risk.

So they freeze. They put it off. They say, “We’ll need a little more time to think about it,” or “We need to run the numbers again,” or “Let me talk to my boss.”

If you haven’t uncovered real fears, addressed them, and methodically advanced the deal, you’ll hit a wall of deferment decision objections at maximum force. That’s why I often sound like a broken record—but repetition is the mother of skill. The basic steps to closing in an uncertain market are fundamental:

1. Execute your sales process flawlessly
2. Consistently ask for micro-commitments to advance the sale
3. Present a compelling, airtight case for change
4. Ask your stakeholders to make a decision confidently and without hesitation
5. Handle objections with empathy

Closing Is Not a Single Moment in Time

A lot of sales reps treat the close as one magic moment—like flicking a switch. But in reality, closing is a series of micro-commitments that happen throughout the sales process. Every time you get a commitment to a next step, your buyer to leans in just a bit more, and you set the stage for a final “yes.”

When times are normal, a halfway-decent rep can skip a few steps and still get deals across the finish line. But in a crisis or uncertain market, that sloppy approach falls apart.

You must consistently get micro-commitments and keep advancing—because if you let the ball drop even once, you’ll give your stakeholders an opening to stall or back out with objections like “We going to hold off,”  or “We’re just going to stick with what we have until the economy gets better.”

Tough Objections? Check Your Upstream Sales Process

For this reason, if you are getting hammered at the close with brutal objections, it usually means you made mistakes earlier in the process.

So instead of obsessing over how to wordsmith your objection rebuttals, you might need to re-examine how you qualified and sold from the get-go. Tough objections at the 11th hour are typically a symptom of an earlier problem.

So, what do you do?

1. Qualify better upfront—Are these the right prospects? Are you sure they have a budget, authority, need, and timeline? Is there a compelling reason for them to change?
2. Ensure you’re dealing with real decision makers—If you’re stuck with “influencers” who keep punting it up the chain, guess what? You’re in for a bumpy ride.
3. Surface concerns early—If you wait until the end to discover that your buyer has major financial fears, you’ve already lost.

Get the Truth on the Table Early

That brings us to one of the most important sales tactics in uncertain times like these. It is absolutely crucial that you get buyer worries, fears, and potential objections out in the open and on the table as soon as possible. That means you need deeper discovery and the courage to ask tough questions like:

• “What are you most afraid of?”
• “How do you see the current market volatility impacting your decisions?”
• “What’s your biggest concern about moving forward right now?”
• “If you don’t address this problem soon, what do you think might happen?”

It takes confidence and tact to get your stakeholders talking openly about concerns—and yes, you’ll risk hearing truths that might scare you or them. But the alternative is to bury your head in the sand and get blindsided at the last minute when they say, “We’re gonna wait till next quarter.”

The Emotional Barrier: Fear of Conflict and Rejection

Asking the hard questions is where many reps falter. Let’s be honest: nobody likes conflict. And direct questions can feel confrontational. We worry, “What if they shut me down or I push them away?” So we back off, we tiptoe around real issues, we avoid pressing them on timelines or next steps. That might keep the conversation calm, but it sets you up for a big heartbreak later.

The biggest agony in sales is pouring time, energy, and emotion into a deal—only to lose it at the finish line when a stakeholder reveals an objection that, had you known about it weeks ago, you could have handled.

This is why you must push through your own discomfort and bring hidden fears to the surface early. It’s infinitely less painful to deal with them upfront than to discover them at the worst possible moment.

Deal With Sales Objections Head On

There’s a quote I love from philosopher Julian Baggini: “If you believe you are right, then you should believe that you can make the case that you’re right. This requires you to deal with serious objections properly.”

I can’t think of a better summary of what it takes to handle decision deferment objections. If you truly believe your offering is the best path forward, it’s your duty to address your buyer’s fears, hesitations, and perceived alternatives.

You’ve got to want them to put every worry on the table so you can tackle it head-on. Sure, you’ll get your nose bloodied sometimes. But if you’re truly confident in your solution, you’ll find a way to show your buyer why moving forward makes sense—even in choppy waters.

Common Decision Deferment Objections

Most of the objections you’ll face during times of uncertainty are decision deferment objections like:

• “Give us a few days to consider your proposal.”
• “We’d like to run this by the entire team before we commit.”
• “We’re going to hold off for a month and see what happens with the economy.”
• “We want to compare a few other vendors before making a decision.”
• “We’re just not ready to make a long-term commitment right now.”
• “We decided to give our current vendor one last chance.”

The reality is that they are afraid so they’re stalling. They’re not saying “no” outright; they’re saying “maybe,” “later,” or “we’ll see.” And that’s the tricky part. Because “maybe” can feel like a small open door, but it’s actually a massive speed bump that can drag your deal out indefinitely if you accept it and walk away.

5 Steps to Overcome Decision Deferment Objections

That’s why when buyers hit you with decision deferment objections, you need a systematic approach to help them break through their fear. Use this five-step framework:

Relate

Start with empathy. This isn’t about agreeing with their reasons, but acknowledging them as a human. “I get where you’re coming from, and it’s smart to be cautious.” That’s it. No discounting their worry, no jumping into a debate. Just letting them know you’re listening.

Why? Because they’re braced for you to argue or push. By empathizing, you lower their guard and show you’re on their side. It also buys you a moment to compose yourself and think strategically before responding.

Isolate

You want to make sure there aren’t multiple hidden objections. If they say, “Let us think about it,” is that the only issue, or are they also worried about budget, timelines, or a preference for a competitor? Gently probe: “Aside from needing more time, is there anything else holding you back?” The last thing you want is to solve one problem only to be ambushed by a bigger one later.

Clarify

Never assume you know exactly what they mean. Always take a moment to clarify their objection.  When they say: “We need to run the numbers.” Maybe they really do need a cost breakdown, maybe they doubt the ROI, or maybe they’re afraid of something else. Ask open-ended questions: “When you say you need to review the math, how do you mean?” Good clarifying questions unearth the real meaning behind the words.

Minimize

Now that you know the real deal, you want to minimize their fear by reconnecting them to their desired outcomes. Remind them of the pains they wanted solved, the benefits they hoped to gain, and how your solution addresses that. Show them the math if needed, demonstrate ROI, and paint the brighter future. By focusing on what they stand to gain—and the cost of doing nothing—you shrink the size of their fear while maximizing the benefit of moving forward.

Ask

Finally, ask again. Your buyer won’t do the job for you. The key is asking with relaxed, assertive confidence because your confidence gives them confidence to push past their fear and make the right decision.

Buyers are Jumpy, Be Ready For It

Look, times are unstable. Buyers are jumpy. They’d rather punt than make a risky call. But you’re a sales professional, and that means you stand in the gap—helping them navigate doubt and find a solution that actually benefits them. Don’t shy away from the “We need more time” or “We’re going to hold off.” Expect it, be ready for it, and use it as an opening to get real issues on the table.

In volatile times, it is hard to sell. Yet, you are still under the same pressure to make your sales number. This is why you’ll want to download our FREE Selling in a Crisis workbook today.