Team/Manager
Script/Swipe
Free
New-Hire Certification Role-Play Scenario Bank
40 graded role-play prompts across discovery, objection handling and negotiation, ready to run from onboarding week three through certification, each scored against the standard rubric.
What's inside
- 14 discovery scenarios (stalls, conflicting stakeholders, competitive displacement, and more)
- 14 objection-handling scenarios (budget, procurement, in-house build, past-service issues, and more)
- 12 negotiation scenarios (late discounting demands, scope creep, competitor re-entry, legal redlines, and more)
- Rep objective defined for every scenario
- Pass-bar guidance by onboarding stage (Developing at week 3, Proficient at certification)
- Facilitator grading notes (grade the behavior, not whether the roleplay was "won")
40 graded scenarios across Discovery (14), Objection Handling (14) and Negotiation (12). Use at Weeks 3, 5 and 8 of onboarding; grade against the Sales Certification Rubric. Pass bar at Week 3 = Developing; pass bar at certification (Week 12) = Proficient.
Discovery & Needs Diagnosis (14)
| # | Scenario | Rep objective |
|---|---|---|
| D1 | Economic buyer says "honestly, this isn't really a priority for us right now." | Uncover the real business impact without becoming pushy |
| D2 | Champion hands over a requirements doc and says "just quote against this." | Probe past the document to the underlying problem |
| D3 | Technical buyer wants to jump straight into a feature comparison. | Redirect to business outcomes before feature talk |
| D4 | Two stakeholders on the call state conflicting priorities. | Surface and name the conflict, don't ignore it |
| D5 | Buyer claims "we don't really have this problem" despite contrary usage data. | Reconcile the claim with the evidence, respectfully |
| D6 | Economic buyer has 10 minutes and says "just give me the pitch." | Get one diagnostic question in before pitching |
| D7 | Renewal call where the buyer assumes nothing has changed. | Re-run discovery instead of assuming continuity |
| D8 | Buyer describes a symptom ("reps miss quota") with no root cause. | Diagnose the root cause behind the symptom |
| D9 | Competitive displacement — buyer downplays incumbent's gaps. | Surface the real cost of the current gap |
| D10 | Mid-level influencer without visibility into the economic buyer's priorities. | Identify who actually owns the priority |
| D11 | Post-restructure account; team is smaller, priorities have shifted. | Re-baseline discovery rather than reuse old notes |
| D12 | Buyer answers every question with "it depends." | Get to a specific, concrete answer |
| D13 | International stakeholder with a different regulatory priority. | Adapt discovery questions to the actual context |
| D14 | Loudest voice on the call is not the decision-maker. | Identify and redirect to the real decision-maker |
Objection Handling & Negotiation — Objections (14)
| # | Objection | Rep objective |
|---|---|---|
| O1 | "We don't have budget this year." | Diagnose whether it's budget, priority, or timing |
| O2 | "We tried something like this before and it failed." | Surface what specifically failed before defending |
| O3 | "This looks like more work for my team, not less." | Address the adoption fear directly |
| O4 | "I need to run this by legal/procurement first." | Get a concrete next step, not an open-ended delay |
| O5 | "Your competitor is cheaper." | Reframe to value, without badmouthing the competitor |
| O6 | "We already built something similar in-house." | Surface the hidden cost of the in-house build |
| O7 | "I like it but my boss won't approve it." | Get to the real approver and their criteria |
| O8 | "We're happy with our current vendor." | Find the gap they haven't voiced yet |
| O9 | "This feels like a big change-management lift." | Address the people-side objection, not just the product |
| O10 | "Just send a proposal so I can review it internally." | Avoid the stall; secure a live next step |
| O11 | "We want 3 more references before moving forward." | Diagnose the real hesitation behind the ask |
| O12 | "I'm worried this won't integrate with [legacy system]." | Address specifics, don't wave it away |
| O13 | "Your last rollout caused problems for another team of ours." | Acknowledge directly, don't get defensive |
| O14 | "We're going to wait until next fiscal year." | Uncover the real cost of waiting |
Negotiation (12)
| # | Scenario | Rep objective |
|---|---|---|
| N1 | Buyer opens with "give us 30% off and we sign today." | Trade, don't cave |
| N2 | Procurement introduces a new stakeholder late with fresh objections. | Re-anchor without restarting the whole deal |
| N3 | Buyer asks for extra scope at no extra cost. | Trade scope for a reciprocal commitment |
| N4 | Buyer threatens to walk over payment terms (wants net-90). | Hold structure, find a different lever |
| N5 | Competitor re-enters with a lower bid at the 11th hour. | Reframe to differentiated value, not price-match |
| N6 | Buyer wants a 1-year term at the 3-year discount. | Protect the pricing logic |
| N7 | Rep's own manager pressures a discount rep believes erodes value. | Push back internally with a reasoned alternative |
| N8 | Buyer wants unlimited seats for a fixed price. | Structure a workable alternative |
| N9 | Buyer wants price protection with no increases, ever, on a multi-year deal. | Negotiate a bounded alternative |
| N10 | Legal redlines a core commercial term (e.g., liability cap). | Navigate without personally overriding legal |
| N11 | Buyer wants to slice the deal into a smaller pilot at unchanged pricing logic. | Recognize when pricing logic needs to change with scope |
| N12 | Buyer says "we know you need this by Friday" at quarter-end. | Negotiate from strength despite time pressure |
Grading Notes for Facilitators
- Grade the competency behavior, not whether the roleplay "closed." A rep who protects value and loses the roleplay can still score Proficient; a rep who caves and "wins" scores Developing at best.
- Rotate scenarios each cohort — reps talk, and a memorized scenario stops testing the skill.
- Always debrief with the rubric open so the language of feedback matches the language of certification.
How to use it
Assign scenarios by category at the matching onboarding week, rotate scenarios each cohort, and grade every roleplay against the certification rubric rather than a win/loss outcome.