The quality of salespeople employed by a company is essential to its success in the market. In the end, no matter how relevant and attractive they are, products and services do not sell themselves.
And also with good marketing strategies, it is necessary to have professionals who really know how to close sales.
Sales representatives acquire their skills in different ways. Courses, training sessions and natural skills are very important, but some experience in business transactions is essential to present satisfactory performance.
The problem is that there is not always time to gain that experience — and that is where the concept of role play comes in. That type of dynamic is essential to qualify sellers and increase conversion rates.
What is role play?
To understand what that concept is, let’s start by explaining the term. In the free translation into Spanish, role play can be understood as the role that someone plays in a hypothetical situation.
It is something very enjoyable, which refers to children’s games — like a child pretending to be an astronaut, for example.
When within the context of sales, role play allows the salesperson to simulate different situations, imagining different outcomes and training how to deal with them.
In most cases, the person responsible for applying the methodology, generally a manager or a coach, plays the role of lead, while the salesperson tries to persuade him to make a certain decision or simply tries to serve him in the best possible way. .
The hypothetical scenario is decided according to the particularities of the professional, the company and the client. A role play session can easily include more than one salesperson. This practice is even encouraged, as it facilitates joint learning and fosters principles of collaboration.
What is the purpose of the Role Play methodology?
As you can imagine, the main objective of role plays is to prepare the sales team to deal with different clients and scenarios. By adopting a more entertaining approach, the company favors the pedagogical process and facilitates the learning of its employees.
The specific objectives of each role play session are defined according to the scenario. Imagine, for example, the onboarding process of a new employee who, although qualified, is not used to the sales approaches proposed by the company.
Even if you have experience working at other companies, the way you handle the lead varies from company to company. Furthermore, it does not depend only on the company’s solutions, but also on the particularities of the person.
Therefore, role plays function as a training dynamic that allows standardizing the use of best sales practices. Even the most experienced company professionals can practice the exercises to:
- correct vices,
- adapt to new clients,
- exercise rapport,
- become familiar with the company’s value proposition
- and learn new negotiation techniques.
What are the advantages of role plays?
Group dynamics and training programs are, without a doubt, essential practices to keep the sales team updated and motivated. However, it is necessary to innovate and create stimulating exercises; in the end, the pedagogical process depends a lot on the engagement of the participants.
Due to its ingenious and, to a certain extent, relaxed nature, role play is a way of generating knowledge from the direct and committed participation of sellers.
At the same time, this type of simulation allows the creation of the most diverse scenarios, allowing the instructor to make the most of the strengths and weaknesses of the team’s components.
Another advantage of the practice is that, unlike most sales dynamics, role play allows the exact adaptation of the person’s characteristics. If, for example, the customer is known to be skeptical of the product and frequently asks questions, salespeople learn to handle it.
If, on the other hand, the client likes longer and more complete explanations of the features of the solution, the role play participant is recommended to talk more than listen.
It is, therefore, an extremely versatile technique, which has the potential to positively impact your sales closing rate and, consequently, your profit.
How to apply role play in practice?
Now that you know what role play is, what its objectives are and how it can benefit your company, it is time to understand how to implement it in your team.
Before including this exercise in your sales plan, follow these tips.
Practice extreme situations
In the world of sports, it is often used as a reference for training, it is common for coaches to apply overload exercises to athletes.
The idea is that if someone is able to handle an extreme situation during training, it will be easier for them to perform well under normal conditions.
That can — and should — be applied role play. Think about extreme situations that can occur during a sale, such as tight deadlines, rude customers, legal complications, and delays. Apply that in the simulation and encourage salespeople to solve problems.
Leave open the possibility of not convincing the lead
More than anything, it is necessary to remember that the focus of the role play should be the development of the seller, which involves trusting him. Therefore, it is not wise to demand success in all situations, as that does not reflect in real life.
Therefore, a role play exercise that can be useful is one that focuses on giving up the sale. The reason could be the incompatibility of the solution with the person or the perception that negotiation is a waste of time.
It means that the important thing is to teach the teams that these situations happen, so that they are prepared to face them without damaging the company’s image.
Prepare sellers for different types of consumers
That is one of the pillars of a role play exercise. It is essential that sellers are prepared to deal with the most diverse types of consumers. So draw a map of the ones that most relate to you and simulate a convincing situation.
Some customers, for example, have the habit of interrupting the salesperson during their boarding. Others simply do not object. There are more detailed consumers and others more practical, who only want to know the characteristics of the product.
Identify and work on sellers’ weak point
In addition to addressing different types of consumers, it is important to pay attention to the diversity in seller characteristics. Therefore, identify the weaknesses of each of your professionals and explore them in order to find solutions to eliminate them.
It could be, for example, that one of your salespeople gets nervous when confronted by a customer. Emulate a situation in which this happens and pay attention to how it goes, taking notes to convey useful information to the seller.
It is important that the exercise be repeated a few times, so that the employee can, little by little, feel more comfortable with the scenario.
Role play is a very effective technique for training and qualifying salespeople. By representing different scenarios, you can work on the skills of professionals and, at the same time, train them to acquire practical experience.
