Role Plays Drive Sales Performance – Learn How!
10 Insights for Successful B2B Sales Role Plays
By Michael J Griffin
How do astronauts do to prepare for their mission?
What do surgeons do to become skillful in operating?
6-minute read
‘Whether the astronaut or the surgeon, both do continuous simulations to practice their skills and processes for a successful space mission or a successful surgery. In the B2B sales arena, we call these simulations “role plays.”
Research shows that only 20% of sales organizations practice role plays on a consistent basis or as part of their training program (Janek). But studies have demonstrated that sales representatives who engage in high-quality sales training that includes role-play practice can improve their sales performance by up to 30%.
Role-playing improves retention of information by 75% compared to traditional training methods leading to better recall of selling skills and product knowledge when in customer meetings. According to a study published in the Journal of Marketing Education, sales role-play exercises can lead to significant improvements in negotiation skills, a key aspect of sales. The study indicates 20-45% higher win rates for the sellers who practiced sales role-playing vs those who didn't.
Recently, ELAvate collaborated with one of our multinational clients to construct B2B sales role plays for a new product launch that included scenarios for new salespeople and for more difficult situations to tackle: apathy, price, and objections. These role plays will be employed across APAC for sales managers to conduct and coach their salespeople in fine-tuning their selling skills with the new product features and benefits to close sales faster by better uncovering and satisfying customer needs.
While constructing the role plays and then deploying them for sales managers to use, I discovered these key points how to ensure role plays play an integral part of sales coaching to boost salespeople’s confidence and success with higher closing rates.
Constructing Role Plays Needs Collaboration. Role play construction should involve a team that includes an experienced sales manager, a marketing support staff that has excellent product and competitive knowledge, and a sales trainer who can guide in establishing good role play process. This combination leads to realistic role plays that work.
Role Plays Should have Varying Degrees of Difficulty. Construct B2B role plays that reinforce core B2B selling skills, then role plays that cover more challenging sales situations such as indifference, price and other objections that require advanced selling and possibly negotiation skills.
Well Scripted Customer Responses and Statements is Must. This sometimes can be the toughest part of developing role plays: developing realistic customer scripts that “guide” the role play salesperson to use his/her B2B selling skills and product knowledge during the session. If role plays fail, it is usually because the customer in the role play was not well prepared with a script that allowed the salesperson to practice selling skills.
Sales Managers Need to be Trained How to Conduct Role Plays. Don’t assume that after you distribute your company role plays, that sales managers are proficient in conducting them. Train your sales managers how to “kick-off” role play sessions, play the role of “customer”, and how to give constructive and respectful feedback to the “salesperson” in the role play.
Role Plays Should Support a Safe Environment with Constructive, Respectful Feedback. The only way constructive role play feedback is valuable is if it is respectful, specific and actionable. After the role play and feedback, salespeople should know exactly what to do to perform better in real conversations. Feedback should include specific actions to improve skills, knowledge or process that can be used to improve sales performance.
The Ultimate Goal of Constructing Role Plays is to Equip Your Sales Managers with the Ability, Skill and Motivation to Develop Role Plays “in situ.” This will involve equipping the sales managers with role play templates, product profiles, and coaching skills for feedback. This is not a flip the switch exercise and usually take about 3 months for sales managers to be fluent in conducting role plays.
Sales Management, not Marketing, should Drive the Role Play Roll out and Training. Most marketing support staff are ignorant of real world selling environments, selling skills and coaching others. Enlist “line managers” or sales managers who have real tough sales experience to add credence to making consistent role plays part of your sales culture.
Record and Review Role Plays. Role plays should always have an “observer” who can record and document skill use and product knowledge: both good use and areas for improvement. This requires that you design a standard observation checklist that makes it easy for the observer to record skill and knowledge of the salesperson. In today’s world of cell & HP’s, the role play environment can have a HP tripod so the salesperson can record his/her role play practice and then review themselves for improvement.
Have Monthly KPI’s for Role Play Practice. I suggest that every salesperson participate in at least three role plays a month either as a role play salesperson, customer, or role play observer. Make this a monthly KPI for your sales managers.
Conducting Role Plays is Like Exercising. As in sports, you exercise to build muscle strength and resilience to “win the race or match.” Successful sales teams regularly exercise to build resilient, strong selling skills with the vitamins of excellent product knowledge to win and close sales faster and inspire customer loyalty.
ELAvate has over 30 years of experience conducting and constructing custom role plays and simulations for their clients. If you wish to discuss how to do this efficiently with an effective roll out, call me at no obligation to explore how we “ELAvate” your organization’s role play success to drive sales.
Keep exercising to win the race, complete the marathon to close that important sale!
Michael J Griffin
CEO & Founder ELAvate
Global Sales Productivity Consultant
Gitomer Certified Consultant
Korn Ferry Associate Sales Trainer
michael.griffin@elavateglobal.com
+65-91194008 (WA)