A trusted guide shows you the hazards up front. How do you become a trusted sales guide? Answer objections BEFORE your prospect or client asks them. It may seem counterintuitive, but there a mountain of evidence that shows this to be an effective technique for creating trust and closing sales.
“The more you talk about the thing everyone else is scared to mention, the more you become the trusted voice.” — Marcus Sheridan, They Ask, You Answer
If you have spent any time in sales or marketing, you have probably been told to “stay positive” and “avoid raising objections” that prospects might not even be thinking about. But here is the truth: they are thinking about them. And if you do not bring those objections up first, your competitors, or worse, your prospect’s imagination, will fill the silence.
Sheridan built his entire philosophy on this simple premise: answer the real questions buyers have, openly and early, even if those questions feel uncomfortable. Especially if they feel uncomfortable. When you take the lead on the tough stuff, such as price, weaknesses, limitations, and comparisons, you disarm skepticism, build credibility, and often close sales faster.
Why Hiding Objections Backfires
Silence around objections creates distrust. Neuroscience research shows that when people sense information is being withheld, the brain’s amygdala, the fight-or-flight center, kicks into gear. A 2017 study in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found that uncertainty activates the same neural pathways as physical threats, making people less likely to act and more likely to retreat. In other words, dodging questions feels to the buyer like danger.
Management guru Peter Drucker once wrote, “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” If your prospect is silently asking, “Why does this cost more than the competitor?” and you are ignoring it, they are hearing something loud and clear: you are not being straight with me.
Transparency as a Trust Multiplier
Harvard psychologist Amy Cuddy, in her book Presence, argues that trust is established through two key signals: warmth and competence. Addressing objections early checks both boxes. You show warmth by acknowledging that the prospect’s concern is valid (“That is a fair question”), and you demonstrate competence by confidently answering it with facts and perspective.
It is not just soft skills; it is measurable. A 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer report found that 81% of consumers said trust in a brand was a “deal-breaker” or “deciding factor” in a purchase decision. By proactively tackling objections, you signal: “We have heard this before, we understand your concern, and here is how we address it.” That is trust in action.
Stephen Covey, author of The Speed of Trust, put it this way: “When trust goes up, speed goes up, and cost goes down.” Bringing up objections does not slow the sales cycle, it accelerates it by eliminating the hidden speed bumps that cause hesitation.
The Brain Science of Answering Objections
Behavioral economics gives us another clue as to why Sheridan’s advice works. Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize–winning author of Thinking, Fast and Slow, explains that humans rely on two systems of thought: fast (emotional, instinctive) and slow (deliberate, logical). Objections live in the fast brain. They pop up as emotional red flags: Too expensive. Too risky. Too complicated.
When you address objections directly, you move them out of the emotional system and into the rational one. You are essentially telling the brain: Do not panic, let’s analyze this. Research in NeuroImage has shown that when people are presented with clear explanations of risks, activity decreases in the amygdala and increases in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that handles reasoning. Translation: when you explain the tough stuff, you literally calm the fear center of the brain and engage the logic center.
What Bringing Up Objections Looks Like
Let us be clear: this is not about giving prospects a list of reasons not to buy. It is about framing the conversation honestly and on your terms. Sheridan himself is famous for advising companies to create content that addresses what he calls “The Big 5”:
1. Price/Cost – What does it cost, and why?
2. Problems/Negatives – What could go wrong, or what is not ideal?
3. Versus/Comparisons – How do you stack up to the alternatives?
4. Reviews – What do real customers say?
5. Best in Class – Who are the top players in the space, even if it is not you?
Handled with transparency, these are not sales-killers, they are sales accelerators. Imagine the difference between a prospect Googling “Problems with Product X” on their own (and landing on a competitor’s page) versus finding a video where you openly explain what your product does well, what it does not, and who it is best for. One path builds suspicion. The other builds authority.
Why It Creates Sales, Not Just Trust
Building trust is nice, but let us not forget the point: sales. Here is why bringing up objections actually closes deals:
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It differentiates you. Most competitors will avoid hard questions. By leaning into them, you instantly stand out as more honest and confident.
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It shortens the sales cycle. Prospects do not need to “go think about it” if you have already answered the sticking points they would be pondering.
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It reduces price sensitivity. Research in The Journal of Marketing shows that transparency increases perceived fairness. When you explain your pricing, especially if it is higher, buyers are more likely to accept it.
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It creates psychological relief. By naming the elephant in the room, you remove the low-level anxiety buyers carry into a decision. Less anxiety equals more buying.
Chris Anderson, former curator of TED, once said: “Your number one task as a communicator is to convince people that you know what you are talking about and that you can be trusted.” Nothing does that faster than saying out loud what your prospect is already whispering to themselves.
Final Word
Marcus Sheridan’s mantra is not just a clever line; it is a roadmap for trust, clarity, and conversions: “The more you talk about the thing everyone else is scared to mention, the more you become the trusted voice.”
Hiding objections does not protect you; it sabotages you. Prospects already know the questions. The only real question is: do they trust you to answer them, or will they turn to someone else?
So next time you are writing a blog, recording a video, or sitting in a sales call, do not dodge the tough stuff. Bring it up. Own it. Explain it. Because when you lead with transparency, you do not just win the argument, you win the business. When you don’t, you’re on mute.
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