“Let’s Talk in the New Financial Year” Is It a Real Timing Barrier?
It a Real Timing Barrier… or Did We Simply Not Create Enough Value?
One of the most common responses in B2B sales is:
“Let’s revisit this in the new financial year.”
“Now is not the right time.”
“Let’s talk again in a few months.”
And just like the budget objection, many sales professionals immediately move into objection-handling mode.
They either start trying to “handle” the objection…
Or they immediately ask:
“When should I call you?”
“Can I follow up next month?”
“Should we reconnect next quarter?”
But sales is not about chasing vague timelines.
The first step is identifying what is actually happening in the conversation.
Because there are usually only two possibilities:
Either:
• The client is making an excuse
Or:
• Timing is genuinely the problem
That difference matters.
Because sometimes “not now” is a real business barrier…
And sometimes it simply means:
“We don’t yet see enough value to make this a priority.”
When Timing Is a Genuine Business Barrier
In B2B environments, timing and priority are often legitimate operational realities.
Businesses deal with:
• Financial cycles
• Internal projects
• Resource limitations
• Procurement processes
• Operational pressures
• Compliance deadlines
• Leadership approvals
Sometimes the timing genuinely isn’t right.
You’ll usually hear more specific responses like:
“We’re currently in the middle of a system migration.”
“Our financial year closes next month.”
“This project is planned for Q3.”
“Operations are overloaded right now.”
“We need to finalise our restructuring first.”
Notice the difference?
The explanation is specific. Logical. Measurable.
The client is not avoiding the conversation, they are explaining a real operational constraint.
In these situations, your role is not to pressure.
Your role becomes:
• Understanding timelines
• Understanding business priorities
• Staying connected
• Collaborating on future planning
• Positioning yourself as a trusted advisor
That is modern B2B sales..
When “Not Now” Is Actually About Value
Sometimes:
“Let’s talk next financial year”
has very little to do with timing.
Sometimes it simply means:
“This is not important enough right now.”
And that’s where many sales professionals miss what is really happening.
Because businesses do not delay things they see as urgent, valuable, or commercially important.
They prioritise them.
If a client truly believes your solution will:
✔ Save money
✔ Reduce risk
✔ Increase revenue
✔ Improve efficiency
✔ Solve an operational problem
…timing suddenly becomes far more flexible.
That’s why “not now” is often not about timing at all.
It’s about:
• Lack of urgency
• Lack of perceived business impact
• Lack of trust
• Or insufficient value created during the sales conversation
And this is where honest self-reflection matters, because sometimes the issue is not the client.
Sometimes we simply haven’t connected the solution strongly enough to a real business problem.
The Biggest Mistake Sales Professionals Make
The biggest mistake is treating every delay as a timing issue.
Then the salesperson:
• Follows up endlessly
• Waits passively
• Sends “just checking in” emails
• Or discounts unnecessarily
Instead of asking:
“Did the client truly understand the business value?”
How to Navigate the Timing Objection
When a client says:
“Let’s revisit this later”
Don’t immediately push back.
Clarify first.
Ask questions like:
“What specifically makes the timing difficult right now?”
This will help uncover whether you’re dealing with a real operational barrier or a lack of urgency and value perception.
Want to Minimise Objections, Excuses, and Resistance in Sales?
If you want to learn how to approach the entire sales process in a way that minimises objections, excuses, and unnecessary resistance — join The Modern Sales Method 4-Week Sales Program starting soon.
Learn how modern sales professionals:
• Create real business value
• Ask better questions
• Build trust faster
• Handle business barriers strategically
• And move beyond traditional “push selling”
Because the best sales conversations don’t feel like selling at all.
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Created by The Virtual-Link