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Role Playing

Sales role-playing allows sales teams to practice interacting with different types of customer personalities they may encounter. It improves sales techniques by familiarizing teams with common customer archetypes, building empathy for customers through role reversals, and learning conflict resolution. The document describes exercises for teams to role-play challenging customer types like hesitant, silent, distrusting, niche, unhappy, and technically-savvy customers. It stresses preparing teams to handle any situation by researching product details and understanding the company's value proposition.

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Maria João Lima
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298 views

Role Playing

Sales role-playing allows sales teams to practice interacting with different types of customer personalities they may encounter. It improves sales techniques by familiarizing teams with common customer archetypes, building empathy for customers through role reversals, and learning conflict resolution. The document describes exercises for teams to role-play challenging customer types like hesitant, silent, distrusting, niche, unhappy, and technically-savvy customers. It stresses preparing teams to handle any situation by researching product details and understanding the company's value proposition.

Uploaded by

Maria João Lima
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Sales role-play - an improvisation 

game where your sales


team interacts with individuals acting out the role of different
customer archetypes - is an underrated tool for preparing
your team for the unexpected.

Having a happy customer who knows exactly what they want and
intends to buy it is great, but you need to be ready for any customer
scenario .
Sales role-playing bolsters your sales techniques by:

 Creating familiarity with the types of individuals your team is most


likely to interact with in the course of their work;

 Building empathy for your customers by having your staff perform


as customers; and

 Learning conflict resolution , through the acting-out of interactions


with dissatisfied clients.
Let’s look at six archetypes for customers who pose different challenges
for your sales team. For the purpose of this article, we’ll set the scene at
a consumer electronics store, but these skills can be readily translated to
any type of business – even online!

Setting up
For a successful role-play, it’s best to let your team know what roles
they’ll be playing (e.g. a customer, a sales team representative) some
time in advance. Have someone - preferably a manager - designated to
run the activity and evaluate the performances. Use a large room with an
open space and good acoustics; this will give your staff an opportunity to
watch others perform while they wait their turn.
The Hesitant Customer
Exercise: A client walks in and spends a few minutes browsing. He
clearly admires the devices on offer, but he doesn’t take one to checkout.
A sales-team member walks up to him, and asks politely if he can help
him. It turns out that he really likes the latest iPhone, but is hesitant to
commit to a purchase at the price listed.
How your team can prepare: Ensure your team members are aware of
inexpensive alternatives that your company could sell, which can better
convert a hesitant customer into a paying one.

The Silent Customer


Exercise: A customer browses at length, rebuffing inquiries from your
staff to see if they can help her. After about twenty minutes, she brings a
budget-line phone to the checkout counter and prepares to pay (we can
accelerate the time for the efficiency of the training session , so the
instructor can simply say “After twenty minutes”, prompting the actor to
move to a simulated checkout section).
How your team can prepare: First, emphasize the importance of asking
every customer if there is anything that they can help them with, both
during the browsing process and at checkout. Second, be sure that the
team members know to respect the wishes of potential customers. Lastly,
remind your staff to ask all customers, before they leave the store, if they
found everything they were looking for and if there is anything else they
can do to help them.

The Distrusting Customer


Exercise: A customer shows interest in the most expensive devices you
have for sale, but they show distrust of your staff members when they
offer help in making a decision. After some discussion, it becomes clear
that they do not have much technical knowledge about the products, and
they do indeed seek information about the devices from your staff.
However, they express concern that they may be pushed to buy
something more expensive primarily for the company’s benefit.
The Niche Customer
Exercise: A customer comes into the store and walks straight to a sales
representative. They are interested in the best Android smartphone
compatible with the open-source LineageOS alternative operating
system. It turns out they are a software developer and place a high value
on the ability to modify their own computing devices.
How your team can prepare: Sales team members need to familiarize
themselves with the various edge-cases they may come across in their
departments.
Sales teams should be able to meet their customers at their level. In this
special case, the customer is an expert in smart technology. The role play
reveals whether the sales rep is able to adapt to that situation and is up-
to-date with recent industry terms. Use team trainings to resolve
potential knowledge deficiencies.

The Unhappy Customer


Exercise: A customer walks into the store, storms over to the Customer
Information desk, and tosses a tablet on the counter. He bought it last
week, and it won’t turn on, despite all he has tried. After some
investigation, it turns out that the tablet is defective. He is very upset and
is demanding a replacement immediately. He refuses to leave until he
feels that his complaint has been addressed.
The Technically-Savvy Customer
Exercise: As soon as you unlock the front door, someone marches in,
asking you to take her to the smartphone section. It turns out she knows
practically everything about the products you have on sale, and she gives
you an extended pop quiz on their specifications; Apple vs Android,
AMOLED vs LCD screens, GPU strength, and so on. Answer her
questions, and you might have her buy a $1,000.00 phone right then and
there. Hesitate, and she walks out, frustrated.
How your team can prepare: Before the training session, instruct your
team to research the details of the products that they are responsible for.
This will ensure that they can handle any questions about them, even
from the most technically-savvy customer.
The Competitor-Savvy Customer
Exercise: After helping a customer with their questions, they ask you:
“Thank you for all your help, but why should I buy this product from
your business? Why are you better than your competition?”
How your team can prepare: Before the role-play, have your sales
team brush up on your company’s value proposition; that is, what is at
the core of your company that no other company can provide?
At the role-play, the sales team member should compliment the customer
on her product choice; this relaxes the tone of the conversation while
also establishing your business as authoritative. Then, they should show
how the product aligns with your company’s value proposition.
If they’re still hesitant, talk about how the features of this product match
their needs, further cementing your company as a knowledgeable force
in the industry. If after all that they remain reluctant, you still have a
potential lead on a sale; you can continue to connect with them, such as
through an offer to demonstrate the product, or by offering a pamphlet
with detailed information about its features.
The Key: Be Prepared For Anyone,
Before They Walk In!
You wouldn’t teach a beginner to swim by throwing them into the deep
end. Similarly, you shouldn’t risk your company’s reputation (and
potential sales) by assigning staff a public role that they are not prepared
for.
Be sure to train them for common, challenging customer archetypes in
advance. That way, you can trust your team to handle anyone that comes
through the door

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