Hey {{first_name|team}},
A customer pushes back on your price, and suddenly you’re looking for a discount. Maybe you can shave a little off. Maybe your manager will approve something. The customer has barely finished talking, and you’re already spending your margin.
Stop that.
Think like a good quarterback. When the pocket starts collapsing around you, you need to know the play. Stand firm. Take a breath. You’ve got an objection to work through, and you don’t have to panic your way into a cheaper price.
In Day 3 of my free audio sales training, you can hear exactly what this sounds like. Get the Ag Sales Playbook delivered via audio here.
After the first issue, a reader at a full-line co-op sent me this:
"The biggest issue I see going forward is the uncertainty of the fertilizer market. Phosphorus for over $1,000 is not that appealing."
He also said some of his customers had booked urea at $575 before it jumped to $640. They’re watching those prices. Of course they are. It’s their money. Everyone is cost conscious right now.
I understand that it feels that way. Our customers have been trained over the years by other lazy salespeople that it is always about price/cost.
But let me ask you this… despite high costs and margin pressure, and potentially poor financial management - are they STILL going to farm? Are they STILL going to need inputs?
Yes? More than likely.
Your job is to stop being like the lazy sellers before you, accepting excuses, and do the hard work to get past that - and build relationships like a professional player. This is the playbook. Make sense?
Good. Then read on…
Relationships are never just about cost. Our job is to get to the bottom of what the objection is truly about. When somebody says the price is too high, we need to understand what’s behind that before we start answering and discounting.
A quick thank-you: 18 people joined this newsletter in our first two weeks, all organically. If these plays are helping you, forward this to one person you sell alongside. Here’s the free signup link to pass along.
Still working on getting through the door and getting an appointment? Use last week’s appointment-setting script. We have proven it will convert at least 6 out of 10 times when you finally master how to use it.
The Playbook
The play is A-C-A-V-E: Acknowledge, Clarify, Answer, Verify, End. Learn it so you know what to do when the pressure shows up.
Objections are a sign of life in a sales conversation. Somebody is telling you what’s giving them pause. That doesn’t mean the deal is done, but it gives you something to work with. You can be glad they brought it up.
Stay calm, keep a little joy in the conversation, and run the play. Acknowledge the concern. Let it breathe. Then get curious about what’s behind it. You know what comes next, so you can give the person in front of you your attention instead of scrambling for an answer.
“I understand. It seems like everything costs more these days.”
Here’s the full process:
A — Acknowledge. Honor the fact that the person in front of you has an objection. “I understand” is a place to start. You’re trying to lower the tension so you can have a conversation. Pause and let that breathe.
C — Clarify. Get to the bottom of what the objection is truly about. When they bring up price, ask what else is driving their decision. If they’re loyal to another vendor, find out what that relationship means to them. Spend time here. The first answer may not tell you the whole story.
A — Answer. Now you can explain your recommendation and position its value toward what matters to them. Use what you just learned. This is where you answer the concern they actually have.
V — Verify. Check back with them. “Does that make sense?” Give them a chance to respond before you assume you’ve addressed it.
E — End. Depending on where you are in the conversation, move on, ask for the close, or end the conversation. You don’t need to keep talking just because you still have breath.
“We’ve been with our supplier for years.”
This is the example I use in the audio. It could be a feed supplier, an equipment dealer, or the person who handles their crop inputs. Here’s how I approach it:
Acknowledge: “I understand. You’ve been doing business with them for a long time. I respect that. Loyal customers like that are exactly the type I want to build a book of business with.”
Clarify: “What is it that makes a vendor so good that you would be that loyal?” Then listen. Take notes. Ask more if you need to.
Answer: Once you understand what they value in that relationship, explain what you do that’s relevant. You’ve earned some room to talk about yourself because you took time to learn about them first.
Verify: “Does that make sense?” Hear their response, then decide whether it’s time to move forward or wrap up.
There’s a reason they’ve stayed with that supplier. Find out what it is. The answer tells you something about what they need from a relationship with you, too. Take notes, and follow through on what you learn.
“Your price is higher.”
“You know, Bill, I hear you. I always wanna get the best price for everything I’m buying as well. And let’s be honest, nobody is going to pay more than they have to if they can avoid it. Everything of value costs money. So let me ask you this… in addition to cost, what are the two biggest driving factors helping you make up your mind on this?”
Then let Bill answer. You’ve acknowledged that cost matters to him. Now you’re learning what else is driving his decision. Spend time clarifying those factors before you answer, then explain your recommendation in terms of what he told you matters. Verify that you’ve addressed his concern before you move on.
Where do you tend to skip ahead?
Think about the last objection you got. Walk back through it:
Did I acknowledge the concern and give it a moment, or did I start defending myself?
Did I clarify what they meant? Did I ask enough to understand it?
Did my answer address what they told me mattered to them?
Did I verify that my answer made sense to them?
Did I move on, ask for the close, or end the conversation when it was time?
Pay particular attention to those first two steps. It’s hard to give a useful answer when you haven’t taken the time to understand the objection.
If you missed the first issue, the five steps of the Ag Sales Playbook are here.
Brought to you by Jericho
Want to practice before the customer is sitting across from you? Work through it with Jericho. Bring the exact objection you’re hearing to our sales agent, and try a different response before your next call.
The Market Read and How to Use It.
Market snapshot: October 5, 2026 close. December corn finished at $4.97¼ a bushel, down half a cent on the day and nearly a quarter lower than the $5.22 we quoted last week. November soybeans gained 2½ cents to $12.80¾. December Chicago wheat rose 9¼ cents to $6.92¼.
Livestock went separate ways. December live cattle slipped $1.50 to $219.97 per hundredweight, and November feeder cattle lost $1.02 to $330.12. December lean hogs rose 82 cents to $70.95. These are futures prices, not your customer’s local cash bids. Read the grain and livestock close.
Fertilizer needs its own conversation. DTN’s survey for September 21 through 25 had six of eight fertilizers higher than a month ago and all eight above last year. National retail averages: urea $675 a ton, DAP $926, MAP $970, and anhydrous $977, up 6% in a month and 25% from a year ago. Those are survey averages, not a substitute for a current local quote. See DTN’s fertilizer breakdown.
The producer selling calves and the feedyard buying them have very different reasons to watch cattle prices. Same goes for the grower selling corn and the dairy buying feed. These numbers give you some context when a customer brings up cost. Acknowledge the concern, then clarify what it means for their operation and what’s really behind the objection. That’s how you get to an answer that matters to them.
Brought to you by The Momentum Company
Let’s work on this with your whole team.
For a limited time, Momentum Core includes two days of custom, onsite training for your organization. We build it around what your people actually need help with.
And when we head home, the work continues: monthly deep-dive sessions, 24/7 coaching through Jericho, and a monthly one-on-one leadership update with our team. You’ll know what we’re working on and what comes next.
Want to talk through what that could look like for your team? Hit reply and say CORE.
Film Room
In the Day 3 audio, listen to what happens before I explain anything about my offer. I acknowledge the concern and spend time clarifying it.
The longtime-vendor example is worth practicing out loud. Being told “we already work with someone” can make you feel like the conversation is over. You still have a chance to learn what they value.
“What is it that makes a vendor so good that you would be that loyal?”
Ask that because you want to know. Let them tell you. There may be more to learn before you have anything useful to say about your own business.
Get the free audio playbook and listen to Day 3. Pay attention to the pause, the question, and the time spent understanding before answering.
Run It This Week
Two things:
Pick one objection you keep hearing. Practice working through A-C-A-V-E with a coworker, or try it with Jericho. Bring the actual objection from your last call.
On your next call, notice when you want to jump straight to your answer. Acknowledge first. Pause. Clarify. Then answer, verify, and decide how to end. Hit reply and tell me how it went.
The next time you get an objection, stay in the pocket. You know the play. Acknowledge, clarify, answer, verify, end. Run it calmly, find out what’s really going on, and give yourself a chance to help.
Go get after it.
Grow your momentum,
Mark Jewell
The Momentum Company
P.S. Help me get this into one more pickup. We added 18 subscribers organically in our first two weeks. Thank you. If you’ve got a coworker or friend who would use this, forward it and tell them why. They can get the free weekly newsletter here.
What’s the objection you keep getting stuck on? Send me your biggest sales challenge, or just hit reply. Tell me what the customer said, what you said next, and where it stalled. I’ll address reader challenges in future newsletters. That’s how the fertilizer question made it into this one.
Prefer to listen on the drive? Get the free audio sales-training series.
On a computer? Scan this with your phone and it'll open the text for you.