A renewal call goes better when it starts with the customer's year, not with the quote. This fictional call has a mildly happy customer, one real complaint and one question about price that the seller answers badly.
Fictional practice call. The seller and the buyer are invented. This is not a recording of a real call or a real customer.
Setup
An account manager at a route-planning software company calls a customer whose plan renews in about six weeks. Usage has been steady, but the weekly report loads slowly. The goal is to understand what the year was like, deal with the report, and agree a date for the decision.
Rubric focus: Active listening, Responsiveness to the customer, Value explanation, Earned trust, Structure, Next step.
How to use this page
Read the transcript once for the story. Then read it again with the notes and, before each note, decide what you would have said. Notes marked Worked are worth copying in your own words, not word for word. Notes marked Improve point to a line you can rewrite and say aloud. The scorecard groups what you saw under the criteria DIRI AI uses in its reports, so you can pick one criterion to practise next. Pick one, not six. The call is short on purpose: it shows one pattern clearly, and a real call will not follow it line for line.
Transcript with notes
1. Seller: “Hello Ms Ruiz, it's Ben from Kestrel Route. Your plan renews in about six weeks, and I'd like to hear how the year went before we talk about the renewal. Have you got ten minutes?”
- Worked: Frames the call around her experience and states the time needed.
2. Buyer: “Sure. It's been OK.”
3. Seller: “"OK" is useful to hear. What is one thing that worked and one thing that didn't?”
- Worked: Does not accept "OK" as an answer, and asks for both sides.
4. Buyer: “Planning is quicker. But the weekly report takes forever to load, and my director has stopped opening it.”
5. Seller: “The report problem is on our side. I'll raise it today and tell you by Friday what the fix looks like.”
- Worked: Takes ownership and names a day.
- Improve: He promises before he understands. Ask what the director needs the report for, then promise.
6. Buyer: “He only wanted late deliveries by depot.”
7. Seller: “Late deliveries by depot. Is that the one number he would open every Monday?”
- Worked: Repeats her words exactly and checks the real need behind the report.
8. Buyer: “Yes.”
9. Seller: “Then I'll check whether a saved view can show him just that, without the full report. Would it help if he saw it working before you decide on the renewal?”
- Worked: Connects the fix to the decision she has to make.
10. Buyer: “Maybe. And what will the renewal cost?”
11. Seller: “I'd rather sort the report first and talk about price after that.”
- Improve: She asked a direct question. Say what you know: "I don't have the final figure yet. It will be in Monday's quote, with every change marked."
12. Buyer: “Fine. Send it on Monday.”
13. Seller: “Will do. Could we agree that you decide by the end of the month, once your director has seen the view? If anything is unclear before then, tell me.”
- Worked: Puts the decision date behind a condition she controls, and invites questions.
Scorecard
An illustrative reading of this call against the criteria on How we score.
| Criterion | 0 to 100 | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Active listening | 80 | Picks up the director's one number and repeats it. |
| Responsiveness to the customer | 75 | Answers the report issue; sidesteps the price question. |
| Value explanation | 55 | Value is only discussed through the problem; no mention of what worked. |
| Earned trust | 70 | Owns the fix, but dodges the price in line 11. |
| Structure | 70 | Experience, problem, fix, decision date, in that order. |
| Next step | 85 | A decision date tied to something she controls. |
Each criterion is shown from 0 to 100, as in a report. No total is printed: a real total is built by rules that read the transcript, not by averaging criteria, so adding up this table would mislead. A real report may read the same call differently.
What to take from this call
- Start with the buyer's year. Price comes after you know what the year was like.
- Promise only after you understand the need, and give every promise a day.
- Answer a direct price question with what you know and when the rest will arrive.
Exercise
Ten minutes, one prepared scenario.
- Write an opening that starts with the customer's year, not with the renewal date or the price.
- Practise "one thing that worked and one that didn't", and do not accept "OK" as the full answer.
- Write an honest reply to "what will it cost?" for the case where you do not yet have the figure.
- Run the prepared scenario. Mark every promise you make and check that it has a day attached.
Closest prepared scenario: a friendly customer whose contract is up for renewal.
Practise it out loud. The Free plan covers 3 voice calls a month, up to 5 minutes each; see pricing for current terms.