January 14, 2026

Business by the Book

Genesis 18:25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

When objections arise there are several ways to successfully deal with them. Yesterday we noted the major way in which the Lord dealt with Abraham’s objections was that He chose to make no mention of them. Rather He allowed Abraham to continue speaking, ultimately requesting a concession. The Lord then granted his request. There are at least three other ways to deal with objections.

One is to respond with a question. The Lord did this earlier in the chapter when Sarah laughed at the promise of her having a baby. The Lord asked Wherefore did Sarah laugh… (Verse 13). Asking a clarifying question about an objection often brings to light additional data from which to formulate an effective response.

Another way to respond to an objection is to make a promise that would negate the objection. This can only be used however when the relationship is based upon respect and trust. Certainly Abraham respected and trusted the Lord when He said …At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. (Verse 14b)

A third way to handle an objection is to offer additional information that the one making the objection may not know, or perhaps has overlooked or forgotten. This is exactly what the Lord did when He reminded Abraham of an important truth, Is anything too hard for the LORD?... (Verse 14a). This is the most common way of dealing with objections and can be very effective, but only by proper preparation.

When I was a rookie sales representative there were many objections to my product line. One big objection was that the product was manufactured in Japan (this was the early 80’s). Each time I heard a new objection I wrote it down and later I would write out three answers to overcome the objection. Therefore, for each objection I had three immediate responses to it. The one I used was determined by the situation. I had a technical answer, a political answer, and a humorous answer based upon fact. I learned to love objections instead of being afraid of them. This is part of the hard work of a sales professional that few will perform.

Remember “Sales can be one of the highest paid hard jobs, or the lowest paid easy job there is.”  Each businessperson is a sales person. By promoting ideas, themselves, their products, and their services they are selling. One of the most effective sales people I have ever met was the Vice President of material management for a large group purchasing organization. He always understood that he was selling himself to every salesman that entered his office. He was, and I’m sure still is, a very good salesman because, in part, he was outstanding at overcoming objections.

There are other tactics to handle objections to be sure, but understanding and using these four simple strategies (one yesterday, three today) will enable anyone to become more effective in the area of negotiation.

Dr. William Howe