We have prepared objection playbooks for 87 AI and developer-tool companies, most of them around Series A. Each one predicts what that company's buyers are likely to push back with, based on research into the product, the market and the buyers. They are predictions, not transcripts of real sales calls. But across 87 companies, the same handful of objections kept coming back.
Here are the six that appeared most often, from most to least common, with what usually sits underneath each and what to do instead of arguing.
1. "We already have something for this"
This was the most common objection by a wide margin. It shows up as "our current tool works fine", "we'll build it ourselves" or "our team already handles that".
What's underneath: switching has a cost, and what they have mostly works. They are not wrong to defend it.
What to do: don't attack the tool they already use. Find the moment it lets them down. Ask: "When did your current setup last fail you, and what did that cost?" If they can't name a time, they may be right, and that is useful to learn early. If they can, you are no longer arguing with their tool; you are talking about their problem.
2. "It's too expensive" or "Show me the ROI"
What's underneath: usually not the price itself. The buyer has nothing to compare it with, and has to defend the purchase to someone who wasn't in the room.
What to do: anchor to what the problem costs them today, in their own numbers: hours lost, deals stalled, people hired to work around it. Ask: "What does this problem cost you now?" Then offer to build the business case with them. Never quote a return you can't back up; a made-up number is the fastest way to lose a technical buyer.
3. "What about security and compliance?"
What's underneath: someone else has to say yes, often a security or legal reviewer the champion doesn't control.
What to do: treat it as a process to run, not an objection to beat. Ask who signs off and what they need. Send your security documentation before they ask for it, and start the review early so it isn't the last thing between you and a signature.
4. "Will you be around in two years?"
What's underneath: career risk. The person championing you is betting their own reputation on a young company.
What to do: lower the cost of being wrong. Be honest about your stage, then explain what happens to their data and their work if you disappear: export, short initial terms, a clear exit. Buyers trust a founder who answers this plainly far more than one who deflects it.
5. "Not now, maybe next quarter"
What's underneath: there is no trigger event, or this simply isn't their top priority.
What to do: ask what would make it a priority, and agree on a specific date to revisit. If the honest answer is "nothing", let it go. A clean "not now" is better than months of follow-ups that go nowhere.
6. "Show me proof at our scale"
What's underneath: they haven't seen anyone like them succeed with you.
What to do: if you don't have that reference yet, don't pretend you do. Offer a small test on their own data, with the success criteria agreed before it starts. A test they designed is often more convincing than a logo they've never heard of.
The pattern behind all six
Most objections are not a "no". They are a request for help defending the decision to someone else: a CFO, a security team, a boss, their own future self. The founders who handle objections well stop rebutting and start asking the question that brings the real concern into the open.
Andru builds a playbook like this around your company's specific buyers.