About this episode
Here’s a question that’ll make every salesperson’s blood pressure spike: What do you do when your cold call gets an objection in the first five seconds because prospects immediately stereotype you as something you’re not?
That’s the challenge facing Rick VanNess from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rick co-founded a company that helps healthcare providers collect on older insurance claims (the ones sitting out 45-90 days that billing departments struggle to get paid). His team augments existing billing operations rather than replacing them.
But here’s the problem: The second Rick mentions what he does, billing directors immediately think “outsourcing” and shut down the conversation. They’ve either had bad experiences with outsourcing or they’re terrified of losing their jobs to a vendor that promises to do it all.
If you’ve ever been stereotyped, dismissed, or written off before you could even explain what you actually do, you know exactly how frustrating this is. And it’s costing you deals.
The Fatal Mistake: Arguing Instead of Agreeing
When a prospect says “We already have billing” or “We don’t outsource,” most salespeople instinctively go into argument mode. They try to explain how they’re different, how they’re not really outsourcing, how their service is special.
This is exactly the wrong move.
Here’s the brutal truth: When you argue with a prospect’s reflexive response, you’re fighting against their primary concern. For a billing director, that concern isn’t whether you can help them. It’s whether you’re going to cost them their job.
Think about that for a second. You’re calling someone whose entire world revolves around protecting their position, especially in an age where AI and automation are threatening white-collar jobs left and right. Their antenna is already up. They’re listening for any reason to say no.
So when you argue with their objection, you’re actually validating their fear. You’re making them dig in deeper.
The Power of the Ledge-Disrupt-Ask Framework
Instead of arguing, try this: Agree with them.
When Rick hears “We already do billing” or “We don’t outsource,” here’s what I told him to say:
“That’s perfect, because none of my customers do outsourcing. They all have internal billing departments. What we do is complement what they’re already doing by picking up the really hard things like collecting on insurance claims that have been sitting for 45 to 90 days and getting them paid faster.”
Notice what’s happening here? You’re using the Ledge framework that top performers use to handle objections:
Ledge: A simple statement that settl
