Use Role-Playing to Engage Your Sales Force

How to use role-playing with your sales team

Since a company’s ability to secure a customer or client often depends on a salesperson’s skills, it is vital to build a highly skilled sales team and a positive sales culture. To achieve this, you’ll want to teach and reinforce the critical sales skills that will help your company meet its performance goals. 

Role-playing is a particularly helpful training technique that engages your sales team in real-world selling scenarios and enhances their knowledge, attitude and skills. Business owners should implement this training method to instill confidence in their reps before they go out into the field. 

“I have often used role play to great effect within presenting and pitching,” said Emma Orr, business development consultant and Winning Business UK Ltd. “The best use of this I have found is in a face-to-face meeting, usually at the final stage of a sales process.”

Below are strategies for effective role-playing with your sales staff.

1. Start with customer research.

You need certain benchmark data to develop meaningful sales training and role-playing scenarios. Consider the following questions:

• Why do your customers choose to do business with you? What are their drivers?
• For your prospects who went elsewhere, what factors influenced their buying decision? Why didn’t you get the business?

You can ask your sales reps these questions, but they may be too close to the situation to give you objective feedback. Nothing beats getting perspective straight from your customers, so conduct client interviews prior to your sales training so you can share and incorporate the results into your role-playing exercises.

“Often there is too much focus on the business selling — how great they are, etc.,” Orr said. “Once you change the narrative to be more focused on the client, [the] results become far greater.”

2. Create a safe environment.

Sales managers and training facilitators should explain at the outset that role-playing requires a safe, positive and respectful environment to bring out the best in participants. As each exercise unfolds, let your team know there are no wrong answers. After all, employees can only engage in the training and improve their performance in a workplace where they feel supported and safe. 

“If a [sales] rep focuses on practice in a controlled environment, this will enable them to try out ideas without the risk of failure …, which prepares them well and boosts their confidence in real sales,” said Will Yang, head of growth and marketing at Instrumentl.

Give your employees room to make mistakes while role-playing. This assures them that you care about their success and want them to grow. [Find out why businesses should invest in employee training.]

3. Provide message training.

Role-playing can be especially powerful when participants rehearse cold calls, elevator pitches, key sales messages, corporate presentations and price negotiations. Message training also helps ensure your sales reps speak about your brand in a consistent and compelling manner.

4. Share successes.

Success stories detailing key wins can be very motivating. Break each story down and analyze what went right and why so your entire team can learn by example. Feature your top salespeople in a best practices panel discussion and encourage other reps to ask them probing questions. Sharing success stories and finding opportunities to learn from one another encourages the rest of the team to believe they can overcome their own hurdles and achieve similar results.

5. Dig deeper.

Educating your sales reps about price, features and benefits is essential but devote discussion to the psychological reasons customers buy as well. Knowledge of consumer behavior can help your sales reps close more deals. Experiment with different customer types and client personalities in your role-playing exercises. See more on this in the examples below.

6. Reduce the pressure.

Role-playing should make employees feel more at ease. Let your team know that it’s OK to make mistakes as they act out different situations. The more comfortable your team feels during role-playing, even when put on the spot, the more likely they will take what they’re learning to heart and put their training into practice.

7. Demonstrate specific scenarios.

Present common objections and scenarios your sales team members will likely encounter, such as dealing with competitors or challenges introducing a new product. Based on the different circumstances, have your team act out creative solutions to close the sale. The customer research you did in advance can help simulate the specific situations your reps are likely to face.

8. Identify key takeaways.

End each role-playing session by recapping the key takeaways. Based on what team members learned by participating in and witnessing the exercises, have them identify the areas they should improve and where they are already doing well. Everyone should walk away from the training with new sales strategies and insights into what it takes to be a successful salesperson for your business.

9. Make role-play training an ongoing event.

Repetition is the key to mastering any skill. Therefore, role-playing with your sales team should not be a one-time endeavor. You may need to do it regularly, even once a week, for your reps to learn as much as they can and hone their skills continually. Role-playing is often the easiest way to teach salespeople communication skills and to analyze their daily performance and challenges. Fortunately, the only thing it’ll cost you is time.

“Sessions should be conducted regularly to kindle [best] practices and spur improvements,” Yang said. “Seek suggestions from colleagues whenever possible to ensure that the entire sales team does not rely on a single session and can offer and fit in multiple solutions.”

The benefits of role-playing in sales training

Just like Broadway actors, good sales performers need to practice their lines before they go live — and increased sales may result. Businesses should incorporate role-playing into their sales training because:

It allows sales reps to experience real-life sales scenarios and gain confidence in their abilities.

When role-playing real-life sales situations, your sales reps will gain experience dealing with a variety of challenges, such as gruff potential clients or customers who don’t know what they want to buy. Your team members will navigate these role-playing scenarios in a stress-free and safe setting. This will allow them the freedom to explore in a consequence-free environment where they can build up their confidence for navigating these challenges when selling in the real world.

Orr suggested that role-playing participants speak from a target customer’s viewpoint to simulate real-life scenarios. “We talk from [customers’] perspective, almost a look into the future of what life could be like if they work with us,” she said. “[For one target customer], it might be increased sales, greater customer retention, [or] improved reviews, whereas [another target customer might want] fewer complaints, happy customers, [or] more [fulfillment] in their job.”

It improves listening and communication skills.

A critical component of good role-playing and good salesmanship is strong listening skills. Your sales reps need to be able to listen closely to what their prospects are saying and pay attention to nonverbal cues and body language. This way, they will be attuned to what the customer needs. Role-playing gives employees opportunities to practice their listening skills and different communication styles so they’re prepared for interactions in the field.

It provides sales reps with the opportunity to develop creative problem-solving skills.

Even though salespeople can practice out-of-the-box scenarios when role-playing, surprising and outlandish challenges arise in real-life sales pitching that even a whole sales team cannot anticipate. Nevertheless, imaginative role-playing allows your team to develop creative problem-solving skills to better navigate such scenarios during real sales pitches. The more your employees work on problem-solving in these fictional situations, the more they’ll be able to apply such skills during the real thing.

It is efficient to learn in a group setting.

Since your sales force is learning as a group, everyone will benefit from exposure to a multitude of perspectives and scenarios in a short time frame. They can give feedback to each other, provide pointers for different situations and be exposed to tactics they might not have thought of otherwise. In this sense, role-playing sessions can be more efficient than individual training. Plus, these exercises can fuel teamwork in the workplace that isn’t limited to sales activities. [See the habits effective teams have in common.]

It lets salespeople get feedback from multiple team members.

Role-playing with team members allows your sales reps to get feedback from people at all stages of their careers with a wide range of experiences. While one-on-one coaching and mentoring relationships can be beneficial, the person being mentored is limited to the guidance their individual coach can offer. In contrast, role-playing incorporates multiple perspectives, which allows for more well-rounded instruction.

Sales role-playing examples & scenarios

To help you establish sales role-playing exercises, examples of scenarios your team can practice are listed below. Keep in mind that while the basics of the sales process are consistent from company to company, the most effective role-playing sessions will be based on customer research specific to your client base and the experiences your salespeople regularly have. It’s always best to tailor your role-playing situations to your business.

1. Role-playing with an indecisive customer

Indecision is a normal customer emotion during the buying journey. Some prospects are so overwhelmed with information that they experience decision paralysis. For these situations, you’ll want to practice persuasiveness techniques so you can convince the customer to make a purchase and close the deal.

2. Role-playing with a detail-oriented customer

Some prospective customers enter sales meetings with a thorough understanding of what you’re selling. They’ve already done their research, so a cold-call-type pitch is unlikely to be effective. Instead, sales preps should practice answering in-depth questions and be prepared to cover even the most intricate details.

3. Role-playing with a distrustful customer

Just because a prospect agrees to hear your pitch doesn’t mean you’ll have their true attention. Some people are inherently disinterested in what salespeople have to say because they don’t trust them. Practicing relationship building can help sales reps win over distrustful prospects.

4. Role-playing with your typical customer

Orr recommended using your sales team’s typical target audience in your role-playing. As an example, she relayed her own experience role-playing a standard hospitality sale.

“[I] and two colleagues will often “dress up” — wear name badges, a hat, etc. — and we usually play the role of three people: the CEO, the general manager and the receptionist,” she said. “This can be a bit silly but is also memorable and helps us to stand out. It changes the psyche of the customer when positioned differently.”

5. Role-playing with customers who raise objections

It’s far from unheard of for sales prospects to object to pricing. There are also many more unusual objections your sales team could encounter — really, anything is on the table. Role-playing can help your team expect the unexpected and respectfully address objections in ways that make sales more likely.

6. Role-playing to reach decision-makers

Sometimes, the audience for a sales pitch lacks decision-making power, requiring the salesperson to get access to someone with more authority. Role-playing this scenario can help your team figure out how to reach these decision-makers. Or, for scenarios when the decision-maker is present, role-playing can guide your salespeople toward tactics that often persuade hesitant spenders.

7. Role-playing to position your business above its competitors

Sales prospects who have deeply researched your industry may ask you how your products or services outperform your competitors. Role-play this scenario with your team — it’s one of the easier situations to work through together. Your salespeople can research your competitors beforehand and go into role-playing with coherent arguments in your favor.

8. Role-playing negotiation with an interested customer

Certain prospects will only say yes after negotiating on the package or price you offer. Role-play this scenario with your salespeople to teach them how to meet the customer’s needs without sacrificing your company’s goals. Simulate a meeting in which a prospect asks your salesperson to come down on price to beat out a competitor, and help your salesperson secure the deal without slashing your revenue.

9. Role-playing with a customer looking to rush into an agreement

Top-quality products and services often take some time to properly implement or provide. However, some sales prospects may demand you start doing so in a time frame shorter than what’s feasible for your company. Role-play this scenario with your salespeople so they can show a prospect they understand this desire while mapping out a more realistic timeline.

10. Role-playing with a withholding customer

Making a sale requires active listening to a customer’s needs — but what if a customer just isn’t sharing this information? This scenario requires some extra work on the salesperson’s part to develop enough trust with the prospect that they start elaborating. Role-playing this situation can help your salespeople transform withholding customers into more forthright ones.

11. Role-playing with customers from different cultures or countries

Business etiquette differs around the world and gaps in cultural customs may emerge during a sales meeting with international prospects. Namely, a prospect’s verbal communication and body language may feel unfamiliar or confusing to a salesperson and vice versa. Instead of asking your salespeople to memorize different cultures’ customs, role-play how to detect different etiquette standards and adjust accordingly.

12. Role-playing when there’s a plot twist

A smooth process that seems likely to yield a sale can be suddenly derailed by new wants or needs on the prospect’s side. This jarring scenario requires quick problem-solving that’s respectful, considerate of the prospect’s goals and feasible for your company to implement. Role-play this scenario so that your team can be adaptable, confident and level-headed as these plot twists emerge.

13. Role-playing when there’s more than one prospect

Selling to a company may involve persuading more than one decision-maker. Each decision-maker might have different wants and needs, so role-play this scenario to train your sales team on how to balance all these desires and goals. Doing so can feel overwhelming, but after role-playing this scenario, it might become a total cakewalk.

Playing the role of a great salesperson

Try role-playing with your team to maximize their chances of getting your prospects to make a purchase. After all, team members who can simulate being great salespeople are more likely to be actual great salespeople out in the real world. The best part? Role-playing costs no extra money — it’s a return on investment if there ever was one.

Max Freedman contributed to this article.