{"id":11793,"date":"2017-02-09T18:18:46","date_gmt":"2017-02-09T18:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandler.dsstaging2.com\/case-study\/how-succeed-role-play\/"},"modified":"2022-12-19T16:39:17","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T16:39:17","slug":"how-succeed-role-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandler.com\/podcasts\/how-succeed-role-play\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Succeed at Role Play"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p><strong>This blog is based on the How to Succeed Podcast with special guest, Hamish Knox. Listen here:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Subscribe to the podcast on&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/how-to-succeed-podcast-by\/id1097591566?ls=1\">iTunes<\/a><strong>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/music\/listen#\/ps\/Is3zlkjurdk2wjbzrjnun5w4mga\">Google Play<\/a><strong>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/howtosucceed.libsyn.com\/\">RSS<\/a><strong>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/howtosucceed\/ep6_-_How_to_Succeed_at_Role_Play.mp3\">Download MP3<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you enjoy the podcast, please&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/how-to-succeed-podcast-by\/id1097591566?ls=1\">leave a review in the iTunes store<\/a>&nbsp;to help us spread the word!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_79_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sandler.com\/podcasts\/how-succeed-role-play\/#Role_Playing_with_your_Employees\" >Role Playing with your Employees<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sandler.com\/podcasts\/how-succeed-role-play\/#Strategies_for_Effective_Sales_Role_Plays\" >Strategies for Effective Sales Role Plays<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Role_Playing_with_your_Employees\"><\/span>Role Playing with your Employees<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Role play is one of the best methods for developing your people, but salespeople loath role play and managers shy away from it, because it often becomes an exercise that leaves participants frustrated.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Putting role play through the lens of David Sandler\u2019s Success Triangle \u2013 attitude, behavior, and technique \u2013 both managers and salespeople could role play more effectively and increase both their role performance, outlook, and technique.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>We are using role play with salespeople as an example here. However, any interaction between two human beings can be role played. Some of my more enjoyable role plays have been with engineers who aren\u2019t client facing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>To paraphrase a Sandler Rule, \u201crole play is not a place to get your emotional needs met.\u201d For managers seeking to implement role play or make current role plays more effective, this is a crucial point. Before joining Sandler, I used to loath role play because it was often a way for my manager to beat me up mentally and emotionally under the guise of \u201cdeveloping\u201d me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>For salespeople, their attitude towards role play must be one of \u201cpractice\u201d instead of \u201cwinning.\u201d When athletes in contact sports (football, rugby, hockey, MMA, etc.) practice they don\u2019t hit as hard as they would during a match because 1) no one learns from that and 2) they aren\u2019t supporting their development or their teammate&#8217;s development. No one \u201cwins\u201d a role play, they either develop or get their needs met.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>A common objection from managers regarding role play is \u201cI don\u2019t have enough time.\u201d From a traditional approach to role play that totally makes sense because managers traditionally don\u2019t establish rules, start points, end points or rules for role plays. We believe role play is a critical part of a manager\u2019s weekly behavior plan, specifically a minimum of once per week per direct report. Sounds like a lot until we also add in a time limit of 20 minutes per scene. That\u2019s enough time to establish the scene, run the scene and debrief.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Strategies_for_Effective_Sales_Role_Plays\"><\/span>Strategies for Effective Sales Role Plays<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Debriefing is the most important part of role play, especially if a manager follows our suggestion that they play salesperson first. Humans find it hard to create things from scratch, but they love to edit and improve what already exists. The manager playing salesperson first gives the employee an opportunity to edit and improve the script, which creates ownership of the concept and increases the probability that the direct report will use that skill when they perform the role of the salesperson.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Like high-performance athletes, especially those in individual sports like tennis or MMA, salespeople get better by practicing with those who are better than them. The more reps salespeople get with someone who is better than them at a specific skill (e.g. uncovering a prospect\u2019s budget), the easier it will be for them to execute that skill in the field.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>A key to successful role play is to \u201cthin slice\u201d specific skills to practice. For example, don\u2019t practice \u201ca whole prospecting call,\u201d because that\u2019s too broad to practice effectively. Instead practice \u201cwhat do you say when someone says, \u2018sounds good. How about you send me some information and I\u2019ll get back to you.\u2019\u201d Thin slicing the skills you practice has two benefits. First, it creates the potential for small wins, and second, those small wins create momentum and positive affirmations which propels your team to develop and role play more.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Successful role plays are like successful improv scenes. Self-contained stories that build as they go and end at a natural point. When role playing, remember the core improv technique of \u201cyes, and\u201d to build your skills and mental muscle memory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Using improv techniques in your role play is a more effective development tool than traditional script-based role plays because your prospect doesn\u2019t stick to the script. By training your salespeople to respond to whatever statement, comment, or question their prospect throws their way instead of following a script increases their credibility and their potential for closing a sale.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>For debriefs and coaching on the scene to be valuable, you\u2019ll want to establish a framework for debriefing before you start, especially if you\u2019re in a group. In group debriefs, there\u2019s a tendency for one person to pontificate on what they would have said during the scene, which stifles real discussion and learning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>Before a role pay with a group debrief, we suggest asking observers to make notes on these three questions.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>What did you see\/hear in the role play that will help you when you\u2019re in a similar situation?<\/li><li>Commends \u2013 what did the person playing salesperson do well?<\/li><li>Recommends \u2013 suggestions for what the person playing salesperson could do differently next time \u2013 anyone who says \u201cI would say,\u201d volunteers to play salesperson next<\/li><\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong>During individual debriefs the three questions we suggest asking your salesperson, who is playing prospect are:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>How did you feel during that scene?<\/li><li>How do you believe your prospect would feel?<\/li><li>What would you say or do differently?<\/li><\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>That last question is critical because it\u2019s the start of your salesperson owning the concept you are role playing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>With the right attitudes, consistent behaviors and conversational techniques you can turn role play into an effective part of developing your team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandler.com\/sandlersummit\">To learn more about creating Vision Driven Success, join us for the 2017 Sandler Annual Sales and Leadership Summit in Orlando, FL, March 9-10.&nbsp;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This blog is based on the How to Succeed Podcast with special guest, Hamish Knox. Listen here: Subscribe to the podcast on&nbsp;iTunes&nbsp;|&nbsp;Google Play&nbsp;|&nbsp;RSS&nbsp;|&nbsp;Download MP3 If you enjoy the podcast, please&nbsp;leave a review in the iTunes store&nbsp;to help us spread the word! Role Playing with your Employees Role play is one of the best methods for&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1204],"tags":[1484,1057,1135,1394],"class_list":["post-11793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-podcasts","tag-podcasts","tag-professional-development","tag-sales-development","tag-sales-role-play"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Succeed at Role Play | Sandler Training<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This blog is based on the How to Succeed Podcast with special guest, Hamish Knox. 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