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A weekly micro-lesson for B2B sales teams. In each 5–10 minute episode, we share one practical idea, model or strategy for how you become brilliant at growing sales with integrity. All focused on building trust and delivering real value to your clients. Find more learning at https://www.showinguplearning.com/
Episode 2 - Objection Handling Like Eminem in 8-Mile
Intro
Hi everybody, great to have you with us. I’m your host, Benjamin Western.
Very Good Sales is the podcast brought to you by Showing Up.
We help people in client-facing roles—be it sales, consultancy or advisory—to be the very best at what they do. Head to showinguplearning.com to access free learning or to sign up to our awesome video learning platform.
And now, let’s get to this week’s micro-lesson: Objection Handling Like Eminem.
Lesson
Charlamagne tha God, the co-host of The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1 FM, is known for being uncompromising in his opinions. In one segment, he summed up a strategy by saying something along the lines of, “You gotta 8 Mile them.” What he meant was simple: if you know people are going to throw criticism your way, say it yourself first. Beat them to the punch. Don’t give them the chance to use it against you.
That idea comes from one of the most famous scenes in hip hop cinema — the finale of Eminem’s semi-autobiographical film 8 Mile.
If you haven’t seen it, here’s the setup. Eminem plays B-Rabbit, a young rapper grinding his way through Detroit’s underground battle scene. A rap battle is a verbal combat — the goal is to out-bar and out-style your opponent in front of a live crowd, usually by ridiculing their weaknesses.
In the film’s final showdown, Eminem faces Papa Doc, the alpha figure of the rival crew. Everything builds to this moment. The crowd is electric. The beat drops (one of the greatest beats ever) — Shook Ones Part II by Mobb Deep — and everyone expects Eminem to go straight for Papa Doc, dismantling him line by line.
But instead, he does something radical. He destroys himself. He points out his own flaws: he’s poor, he lives in a trailer, his best friend just shot himself, his life is a mess. He says every insult Papa Doc could possibly use against him. And by doing so, he takes away all of his opponent’s ammunition.
When Papa Doc finally gets the mic, he has nothing left to say. He freezes. Eminem has already said it all, and owned it. The battle is over before it even starts.
That scene didn’t just win the battle — it rewired the lexicon of hip hop. “To 8 Mile someone” became shorthand for neutralising your opponent by pre-emptively naming your flaws. And that’s what Charlamagne meant: handle objections by calling them out yourself.
Now, let’s translate that into the world of sales and consultancy.
Most companies do the opposite. They polish their image. They claim to be the perfect solution, the one-stop shop, the answer to every possible need. But here’s the problem: no client actually believes that. In fact, the more perfect you claim to be, the less credible you are likely to become.
Clients already know you have weaknesses. Because every company and person does. They know competitors might beat you in some areas. What they value is honesty — self-awareness, humility, and a clear statement of where you’re strong, and where you’re not.
And the best proof? Look at Netflix. When they pivoted from DVD rentals to streaming, they were upfront about their limitations. They admitted the catalogue was small, that the technology wasn’t perfect, and that streaming speeds would frustrate some customers.
They didn’t pretend to be flawless. They positioned themselves instead as “the future of watching movies,” and invited people to grow with them. That honesty didn’t scare customers away. It built trust.
And here’s a bigger truth: if there’s any guarantee in sales or client work, it’s that objections will come. It might be about price. It might be about speed. It might be about your product not doing everything they want. But they will show up. And if you accept that as part of the process, you can prepare for them, name them, and even use them to strengthen your credibility.
So whether you’re Eminem in a rap battle, Charlamagne on the mic, or a company like Netflix in front of skeptical customers — the principle is the same. Own your flaws before someone else uses them against you.
Exercise
Take a blank sheet of paper. At the top, write the question: What could a client say against us? Now list everything that comes to mind. Be ruthless!
• What do competitors do better?
• Where are you objectively weaker?
• Which criticisms are fair?
Once you’ve written them down, ask:
• Are any of these genuine dealbreakers? If yes, what could you do to fix them?
• Which ones can you acknowledge openly, and flip into a strength?
Practice saying them out loud. Get comfortable with them. Next time you’re in a pitch or client conversation, test it. Name an objection before they do and notice how it changes the dynamic.
Outro
Thanks for listening to Showing Up: Very Good Sales. I’m Benjamin Western, and I hope today’s micro-lesson gave you something practical to take into your client conversations this week.
If you’d like to go deeper, our platform gives you complete access to a comprehensive library of learning. It’s designed so you can learn on your own or as a team, whether that’s in a meeting room together or online at a time that suits you. Each module is highly practical, built around real-world scenarios, and focused on helping you build trust, bring value, and grow sales.
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Thanks for listening, take care, and see you next time.