The Best Guide to Effective Sales Role Playing

Yes, sellers love to cringe or roll their eyes when we say “role play” in coaching or training sessions. Along with call recording and ride alongs with sales leaders or peers, conducting role play scenarios are hands down one of the most effective tools to improve sellers’ skills and increase results.

Why do sellers hate to do this activity? Multiple reasons:

• It feels silly to pretend
• It’s nerve-wracking to have your performance judged
• They feel like they might sound stupid

And on and on.

That’s pride talking. Pride and insecurity keeping you or your sales team from improving performance.

There is no “one way” to practice role-play scenarios. It’s practice. Think of it that way and that might change reluctant perspectives.

In fact, there are many ways to practice role-play scenarios to improve conversations and outcomes with your customers.

In his recent blog post, Maximizing the Power of Role Play and Sales Scenarios highly insightful Sales Architect and Sales Trainer, Mike Kunkle outlines:

7 Methods to Get Sales Practitioners Practicing Their Roles with Customers

He starts out with the traditional 1:1 Role Play and tackles the Triad, The Fishbowl, The Round Robin, and adds in Scenarios and Case Studies usage.

There are great insights and instruction in his post. I couldn’t have written it better myself.

Follow Mike on Twitter, LinkedIn, his blog...any of these places and you’ll see he’s as adamant (or mad as hell!) about Purposeful Practice and Skill Mastery as I am.

Sales Leaders and individual contributors—it’s time to level up and be intentional, practice, and build skills!