Executive Summary
When a decision-maker says “send me an email” on a prospecting call, it is usually a polite brush-off, not a buying signal. The right response is to stay on the call and find out what they actually want to know, rather than agreeing and hanging up.
- What it means: nine times out of ten, the prospect wants to end the call, not read your email.
- What most salespeople do: around 85% of untrained salespeople agree, hang up and send a long email that is almost never answered.
- What to do instead: acknowledge the request, then ask what would make the email worth reading, or whether it is a polite “no”.
- Who this is for: MSP owners, sales leaders and salespeople who prospect by phone.
This article covers the three ways people react to the objection (flight, freeze and fight), three word-for-word responses you can use, and how the approach changes when you are speaking to a gatekeeper. It is the first in a four-part series on the most common cold call objections.
What Does "Send Me an Email" Really Mean?
In most cases, “send me an email” means “I want to get off this call”. It is the most common sales objection, yet many salespeople hear it and feel hopeful, as if they are potentially in.
The signal behind it is usually that the person on the other end doesn’t want to deal with this right now, or is getting frustrated with the call. Asking for an email is the quickest, most polite way to end the conversation.
It’s quite easy to spot when you can read people well. Listen to the tone, the pace and what is not being said. If you can’t read what people are saying, or not saying, then that’s a bigger skill gap worth fixing first.
What Are the Four Most Common Cold Call Objections?
In our experience, four responses come up far more than any others:
- Send me an email
- Call me back another time
- I’m not interested
- We already have an existing provider
Flight, Freeze or Fight: How Do Salespeople React to "Send Me an Email"?
Reaction | What happens | How common | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
Flight | They get nervous, say “OK, no problem, I will” and hang up | Around 85% of untrained salespeople | Less than a 1% chance the email gets a response |
Freeze | They go blank and lose their train of thought | Rare, as flight usually takes over | Can be recovered by being honest |
Fight | They stay calm, acknowledge the request and ask a question | The trained response | You find out whether there is real interest |
Flight
Freeze
Fight
How Should You Respond When a Prospect Says "Send Me an Email"?
Response 1: The inbox and the joke
“Happy to send you an email, but to be honest, you’re likely to have hundreds of emails in your inbox already, so do you really want another one? I sense there are two options here. You can be really honest with me and tell me what you’d want to see in that email that would make you think ‘this is interesting’, or I can send you my best joke and see if it makes you laugh. At least with the second one, you’ll have something to use next time you’re with friends and family.”
Response 2: Call out the polite no
“I get that an email could help, but all too often it’s a polite way of saying you aren’t interested. I understand. You get approached a lot, and the last thing I want to be is a pain. Is that what you’re really saying here, or is there something you’d genuinely like to know more about? Let me know what it is so I can make sure what I share is of interest.”
Response 3: Ask for their top three
“I’m happy to send through some information, but before I waste your time and mine sending details over, what would you like to see? Let me know the top two or three things you want to know, and I’ll make sure I cover them.”
Why does delivery matter?
Handling the objection shows you whether the prospect is wasting your time or is interested but needs to get to know you better. If they’re honest that they don’t want to engage, you can try other lines to win them back, or let it go. Either way, you won’t spend time on an email that was always going to be deleted.
Does This Work If You're Speaking to a Gatekeeper?
No. These responses are for when you’re speaking to the decision-maker themselves. If you’re speaking to someone in another department, or a gatekeeper who is just passing on a message, the goal is different: build a relationship with them.
This video from The MSP Growth Channel shows how to approach that conversation
What Do We See When Working With MSP Sales Teams?
At James White Sales Success, we provide outsourced sales leadership to managed service providers (MSPs). Prospecting by phone is a core part of building pipeline for an MSP, and “send me an email” is the objection we hear about most from the teams we lead.
The pattern is consistent. Untrained salespeople take down the email address, send a long and complicated email, and log the call as a warm lead. Pipeline looks fuller than it is, and the follow-up rarely gets a reply.
Frequently asked questions
Is "send me an email" ever a genuine request?
Sometimes, but rarely. If the prospect tells you exactly what they want to see when you ask, the interest is real. If they can’t, it was almost certainly a brush-off.
Won't pushing back annoy the prospect?
Not if you stay calm and friendly. You aren’t arguing; you’re asking a question that saves you both time. Most people respect honesty more than a nervous “OK, I will”.
What if they still want the email after I respond?
Send it, but keep it short and cover only the two or three things they told you they wanted. Then agree a time to follow up before you end the call.
Which of the three responses should I start with?
If you’re new to handling objections, start with Response 3, which asks for their top two or three questions. Move to the punchier options once you’re comfortable with the delivery.
How should I handle "send me an email" from a gatekeeper?
Don’t use these responses. Focus on building a relationship with the gatekeeper instead, as covered in the video above.
How do I get better at handling objections on the phone?
Practise. Role-play the objection with a colleague or manager until the response feels natural, then use it on live calls and review how it went.
