What they actually mean
This objection only comes from people who can already picture owning the thing. Nobody worries about the downside of a purchase they are not considering — which makes it one of the most encouraging things a buyer can say.
What they are asking is not “does it work”. It is “what happens to me if it doesn't”. Those need different answers, and the second one is about their exposure, not your product.
The move: Name the downside first
Say the risk out loud before they have to. A seller who volunteers the worst case is immediately more believable than one who has to be asked for it.
Then make the downside small and concrete: what it costs, how they get out, what they keep. Reversibility beats reassurance every time — “you can cancel” does more than “trust me”.
Do not oversell the upside here. Adding more promise to a risk objection reads as pressure and confirms the fear.
How it sounds
“And if it doesn't do anything for me?”
You“Then you've lost a month's subscription and a couple of hours. That's the actual downside — I'd rather you know its size than take my word for the upside.”
Why it works. It shrinks the risk by measuring it, and it declines to change the subject to benefits. Refusing the chance to oversell is itself persuasive.
What loses the deal
“Oh, it'll definitely work — everyone who uses it loves it.”
You answered a question they did not ask, with a claim you cannot support, in the exact register that makes cautious people more cautious.
Practise this one
Reading it is not running it. Closer drills you on risk against an AI prospect that holds its position and only opens when you earn it — then a coach walks the transcript back and shows you where the call turned. There are 8 risk plays in the library, recast around your own offer and price.