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Sales presentation role-play scenarios

Two sales presentation scenarios you can run in your next session. Each has a situation, a private brief for the buyer and a short scoring guide. Judge the answers by your own method.

A seller presenting to two buyers beside a whiteboard

What is a sales presentation role-play?

A sales presentation role-play is a practice conversation held after discovery. One person plays a buyer with a hidden brief. The seller has to present a solution that fits what the buyer said, and agree a clear next step.

Where it fits in a programme

Run these after learners have practised discovery and before they take a live presentation. Many sellers know their product well and still lose the room here, so it pays to rehearse it with a buyer who pushes back.

What good looks like

  • Links each point to something the buyer said earlier.
  • Checks what matters to the buyer before and during the presentation.
  • Ends with a next step that both sides can name.

Scenario 1

Presenting to a buyer who stops listening

  • 10 minutes
  • Starter

The situation

The learner sells a training platform to growing businesses. In the last meeting the buyer named three priorities. Today the learner has been given time to present a solution.

The learner’s goal

Present the parts that fit what she needs, and agree a next step before time runs out.

Private brief for the buyer

Anna, Managing Director of a 60-person services firm.

  • You are busy and a little impatient. You said yes to this meeting, but your day is full.
  • Of the three priorities you named last time, only one matters now: getting new staff up to speed faster. You also have fifteen minutes, not the thirty you agreed.
  • If the seller checks what matters most today and links each point to your own words, open up and say more. If they walk through every feature, give short answers and look at your phone.

The buyer’s opening line

"Go on then, show me what you’ve got."

What to look for

  1. 1 Asks what matters most today before starting.
  2. 2 Links each point to words Anna used last time.
  3. 3 Notices the short answers and changes course.

Debrief questions

  • What did you learn about Anna in the first two minutes, and how did it change your plan?
  • What did you leave out, and how did you decide?

Make it harder

Have Anna take a phone call in the middle of the presentation and come back with five minutes left. The learner has to rebuild the case and still reach a next step.

Scenario 2

Presenting to a warm buyer who will not commit

  • 12 minutes
  • Intermediate

The situation

The learner sells a training platform to growing businesses. They present to a head of department who has been positive from the start. The meeting is going well, and the learner wants a firm next step.

The learner’s goal

Find out what stands between a warm yes and a decision, and agree a next step with a date.

Private brief for the buyer

Oliver, Head of Department at a regional training provider.

  • You like what you see and you are in a good mood. You want this to go ahead.
  • You cannot sign alone. Your board meets on the 20th and needs a one-page case. You have not said so, because you do not want to look junior.
  • If the seller asks how the decision gets made and offers to help with it, say what you need. If they push you to sign today, stay polite and vague.

The buyer’s opening line

"This looks great. Send me the proposal."

What to look for

  1. 1 Asks how the decision gets made, and who is involved.
  2. 2 Offers help with the board case without being asked twice.
  3. 3 Leaves with a named date and an owner for each step.

Debrief questions

  • What told you Oliver could not sign alone?
  • What did you offer that made it easy for him to be honest?

Make it harder

Move the board date up to three days from now, and have Oliver say he wants one more option priced before he will take it forward.

Common questions

How do you run a sales presentation role-play?
Give the seller a short note of what the buyer said in discovery, so they have something to link back to. Give the buyer the private brief. Stop at the end of the time and ask both people to say what next step they agreed. See if the two answers match.
How long should a sales presentation role-play be?
Ten to twelve minutes works well. A real buyer often gives you less time than you planned, so a short slot makes the seller choose what to leave out.
What should you score in a sales presentation role-play?
Pick one or two things and say what they are before the start. Good picks are how often the seller ties a point to the buyer’s own words, and whether the close names a date and an owner.

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