Yesterday I wrote a post about what to say when a prospects says "I can't talk; I'm in a meeting."
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My advice was to treat this "objection" as something to understand by saying this:
"I'm sorry, it sounds like I called you at the worst possible time."

My intent of course was to open up the dialogue by making people feel heard.
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A few hours later, I chatted with Jason Fried about the post.
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He made an interesting point.
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"You're lying. You're not sorry. You're still trying to keep someone on the phone so that you can push the sale forward. You're using a trick."
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"When someone says they can't talk, end the call. Call back later."
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As salespeople, we tend to communicate selfishly to move the sale forward.
So we think about what to say instead of listening to what is being said.​
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This is the reason why salespeople have a bad reputation.
We don't listen.
We don't take no for an answer.
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What's the way out?
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Gracefully end the call if a prospect tells you they're in a meeting. Like this:
"That's not a problem. I'll call you in a couple of days."
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Wait a few days.
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Then call back and say, "Hey John, it's Josh with X. We spoke a couple of days ago, and you were in a meeting. Is now a better time to chat or not really?"
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Because you kept your word and didn't try to push, the prospect is more likely to hear you out.

The root cause of pushing?
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Thinking that it's your job to talk everyone into buying.
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You don't have to "win" them all.
There is no objection to overcome here.
If a prospect wants end the call, end the call.
It doesn't matter if they're really in a meeting.
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Focus on people who aren't in meetings (most people).
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You’re sorting out people in meetings.
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Think of yourself as a scientist, not a salesperson.
A scientist has a hypothesis. They gather information, and then they react to the facts. Treat "I'm in a meeting" as a fact.
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The golden rule?
Sell like you would want to be sold to.
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I think Jason is right about this one.
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Do you?