Objection Handling¶
Top objections, ranked by frequency. Each one has the answer the caller should give, plus the underlying issue that's actually driving the objection.
Pricing objections¶
"$29 a month is too expensive"¶
Underlying issue: they don't yet see $29 of monthly value.
Response: "Help me understand the math. The way most field engineers I talk to think about this — if LAIRA saves you 30 minutes a week on one inspection, the app pays for itself in two billable hours a month. How many billable hours a month is your inspection time worth?"
Then follow the math with them. If their billable rate is $50–$150/hr, $29 is a few minutes of their time.
"Polycam is $14.99"¶
Underlying issue: they're comparing scanner-to-scanner instead of tool-to-output.
Response: "Polycam is a great 3D scanner. If 3D scanning is what you need, buy Polycam. LAIRA is a compliance tool — every output cites the section of the standard it implements. If your record has to survive an audit against D6433 or PROWAG or Part 139, Polycam can't produce that. That's the $14 difference."
"Can I get a discount?"¶
Underlying issue: they're testing the floor.
Response: "Standing discount is 20% off annual prepay — that's $230 a year for Pro instead of $288, locks in current pricing through your full subscription year. That's the deepest discount I have authority on. If we need to go further, I can route the conversation up, but I want to be honest — that's usually not what gets a deal done at this tier."
If they push past 20%, escalate. See trial-and-discount-authority.md.
"Send me an enterprise quote"¶
Underlying issue: either they're large, or they're stalling.
Response: "Happy to. To get you the right Enterprise package — how many seats are you sizing for, are you running SSO or MDM, and is this a standard procurement or a federal one? Once I know those three, I'll loop in our enterprise team and we'll get you a quote inside the week."
If 10+ seats, SSO, MDM, or federal — escalate to Airwai. If <10 seats, route to Team tier instead.
Product objections¶
"I don't have an iPhone Pro"¶
Underlying issue: literal device incompatibility, or unfamiliarity with what's required.
Response: "LAIRA needs the LiDAR sensor that's in the iPhone 12 Pro and later. If you've got an iPad Pro M1 or later, that works too. If your firm is on a fleet upgrade cycle, this can be the use case that justifies the next refresh — the LiDAR-equipped Pro is the same iPhone your sales reps already carry."
If they have neither device and aren't planning an upgrade, they're not a fit today. Disqualify gracefully.
"Does it really work as well as a manual D6433 survey?"¶
Underlying issue: legitimate technical skepticism.
Response: "Fair question. Independent comparison: at San Bernardino International Airport, LAIRA caught 3 to 7 times more anomalies than the manual inspection program it replaced, on the same surfaces, in the same time window. Esri published the case study. I'd suggest you run a free-tier scan on a stretch you know cold — a parking lot you walk every week — and compare what LAIRA flags to what you'd flag yourself. If LAIRA misses things, I want to know; if it catches things you missed, that's the conversion."
"What about subsurface / FWD / structural?"¶
Underlying issue: they're testing the boundary of what LAIRA does.
Response: "LAIRA is surface-only. Subsurface structural evaluation requires physical loading — Falling Weight Deflectometer or similar — and LAIRA doesn't replace that. Where LAIRA fits is upstream: our condition data feeds your FWD scheduling. You don't FWD-test surfaces that don't need it; LAIRA tells you which ones do."
"How do I know your detection model is accurate?"¶
Underlying issue: AI / ML skepticism.
Response: "Three sources you can verify. One — every detection cites the section of the standard it's classified against, so you can audit the classification against the source standard. Two — the SBD case study with Esri publishes per-distress accuracy numbers. Three — every paying customer gets a 30-day money-back guarantee if the detection isn't accurate enough for their workflow. We'd rather refund a customer than ship a tool that misclassifies."
"Does it integrate with [PAVER / Cartegraph / Maximo / Lucity / IBM Maximo / specific system]?"¶
Underlying issue: workflow fit.
Response: "LAIRA exports CSV, GeoJSON, IFC, and pushes to ArcGIS feature services. For PAVER specifically, we produce PAVER-compatible CSV out of the box. For [other systems], we typically connect through ArcGIS as the intermediary system — if your tool ingests from ArcGIS, you're set. If there's a specific integration you need that we don't have, that's an Enterprise-tier conversation; let me loop in our product team."
If the integration is genuinely missing, escalate to Manomit / product team.
"What about [a specific competitor I haven't named]?"¶
Underlying issue: they've evaluated something specific.
Response: "Tell me what you've evaluated and where it fell short, and I'll tell you honestly whether LAIRA solves the same problem better, the same, or differently. I'd rather you not pay us if you've already got the right tool."
Lean into honest disqualification when warranted. It builds trust and you don't carry a wrong-fit customer.
Procurement / process objections¶
"I need to talk to my boss / procurement / legal"¶
Underlying issue: real internal process, or stall.
Response: "Totally understand. Three things I can do to make that conversation easier — one, I can send you a one-pager you can hand off without rewriting it. Two, I can send the link to docs.airwai.com where every standard claim is publicly cited, so legal / compliance can review the audit posture directly. Three, if your boss wants to see it, I'll do a 15-minute screen-share with both of you on the same call. Which of those helps?"
"We have to go through procurement / RFP"¶
Underlying issue: large org with formal procurement.
Response: "If it's a federal procurement that requires a formal solicitation, we have a separate process for that — let me get you in front of our enterprise team. For standard B2B procurement, Pro and Team are click-through subscriptions; most companies treat them like a SaaS app and the corporate-card path works. Which one is this?"
If federal formal solicitation OR multi-week procurement OR redlined MSA required — escalate to Airwai.
"Send me the security / SOC 2 / DPA package"¶
Underlying issue: legitimate compliance review.
Response: "Standard package: the click-through ToS, a data-processing addendum, our security overview, and the certification roadmap. I'll route the request to our security team — typical turnaround is 3 business days. Anything specific you want them to cover beyond the standard?"
Escalate to Airwai for the actual security package; the call center should not be sending these directly.
"We need an annual contract / MSA"¶
Underlying issue: standard B2B procurement at small to mid-size orgs.
Response: "Annual prepay is the standard path — $288 for Pro for the year, or per-seat for Team. That's the contract. If you need an MSA on top of that, we can do it; that's an Enterprise conversation and the team will issue you a separate quote with the MSA template attached."
Timing objections¶
"Now's not the right time"¶
Underlying issue: real timing constraint, or polite no.
Response: "What would make it the right time? Specific project? Budget cycle? Internal initiative kicking off? If I know what you're waiting for, I can either help accelerate it or get out of your way until it's real."
If they name a concrete trigger (budget Jan, project Q3, etc.), schedule a follow-up for that window. If they can't name one, treat it as a soft no — exit gracefully, re-engage in 90 days.
"Call me in 6 months"¶
Underlying issue: very polite no, or genuine future readiness.
Response: "Got it. Two things — first, the Free tier is available now, no commitment, takes 5 minutes to install. If you want to noodle on it between now and then, that costs nothing. Second, what changes in 6 months that makes the conversation different?"
Capture the "what changes" answer in HubSpot. That's the hook for the re-engagement.
Trust / brand objections¶
"I've never heard of Airwai"¶
Underlying issue: legitimate. You're a startup.
Response: "Fair. We're a 2-year-old company, $3M seed round, currently live at San Bernardino International Airport with the Esri-published case study, Letter of Authorization signed with the Air Force at Wright-Patterson, and the Navy committed $1.7M in non-dilutive SBIR Phase II funding to the platform. The reasons to take us seriously are public; the reasons to wait 24 months until we're a household name are real. The middle ground is the free tier — try the product on your own pavement, decide on the product, not on the company brand."
"What happens if Airwai goes out of business?"¶
Underlying issue: legitimate continuity question.
Response: "Your data lives in your ArcGIS tenant, not on Airwai's infrastructure — so if we vanish overnight, you don't lose your inspection records. Subscription model means you've never paid more than a month or a year ahead. We mitigate the risk in how the product is built; we don't ask you to take a 5-year bet."
"Why should I trust your AI?"¶
Underlying issue: general AI/ML skepticism.
Response: "Don't trust the AI; trust the citations. Every detection ties to a section of a published standard. If LAIRA classifies a distress as D6433 §X1.14, you can open D6433 §X1.14 and check the classification yourself. The AI gets you to the citation faster than you'd get yourself; the citation is the source of truth, not the AI."
The "I'll think about it" close¶
When you've handled the objections and the prospect says they need to think:
Response: "Of course. One ask — set a date for when we'll talk next, and I'll send you everything you need to make the decision by then. What's a fair date — Friday, next Tuesday, end of month?"
A specific date commits them. "Think about it" with no date is a stall; with a date, it's a process.
When to walk away¶
There are three signs the prospect is not a fit and you should disqualify gracefully:
- They never use any of the language of the persona. If you're talking to "Maya" and she's never said D6433, PCI, PAVER, AASHTO, or HPMS, she's not actually the persona — she might just be a city employee at a different desk.
- They cannot articulate a current pain. If they say "we do fine with our current process" three times across the conversation, they're not in the market.
- They keep asking about features outside LAIRA's scope. Subsurface, friction, aerial-only, indoor BIM. Wrong tool. Disqualify, suggest they look at the right tool, exit on good terms.
Walking away graciously preserves the relationship for later. Forcing a wrong-fit deal costs more in churn than the revenue.