A good role play scenario fits on one card: who the buyer is, the first thing they say, what the seller must achieve and the one trap that catches most people. Below are 25 of them, grouped by call type. Every scenario exists in the public DIRI AI scenario library, so you can run it with a colleague today or by voice against an AI customer.
Want to start with one now? Run scenario 1 free and read the report afterwards. The Free plan is 3 voice calls a month, up to 5 minutes each, no card.
How to run a role play in 10 minutes
- Set up (2 minutes). Read the card aloud. The buyer keeps the first line and the trap to themselves until the call starts.
- Play (5 minutes). The seller has one goal. The buyer gives in only to a good answer, never to persistence.
- Score in three lines (3 minutes). What was said at the key moment, what effect it had, what to say instead. Then swap roles or run it again with the one change.
Buyer lines below are fictional and written for practice.
Cold call scenarios
- Short cold call with a dominant executive. Buyer: "You've got thirty seconds." Goal: book a meeting. Trap: using the thirty seconds to pitch instead of asking one sharp question.
- Meeting with a busy customer. Buyer: "I'm between two meetings, what is it?" Goal: agree a time for a proper call. Trap: talking faster instead of shorter.
- Cold call: the first twenty seconds. Buyer: "Who is this, and how did you get my number?" Goal: open the call in line with the rules and ask permission to continue. Trap: dodging the question about the number.
- Cold call to a sole trader. Buyer: "I'm self-employed, I don't have time for insurance chats." Goal: get a short needs conversation. Trap: listing products before asking how they would cover a month off work.
- Qualifying through a technical owner. Buyer: "I'm not the one who buys, but I'll hear you out." Goal: qualify the opportunity and learn who decides. Trap: treating the technical owner as an obstacle.
- Inbound lead without a clear budget. Buyer: "We filled in the form, but we haven't set a budget." Goal: qualify the lead. Trap: quoting a price before you know the problem.
- Life insurance: first contact from a referral. Buyer: "Oh, Petra mentioned you might call." Goal: book a consultation. Trap: assuming the referral means they are ready to buy.
- Respectful scheduling of a follow-up. Buyer: "Can you call me back some other time?" Goal: agree a concrete time. Trap: accepting "some other time" without a day.
Discovery scenarios
- Analytical discovery of business needs. Buyer: "Before we go on, what exactly do you measure?" Goal: uncover the real need. Trap: answering every question and asking none.
- Discovery with a customer who gives very brief answers. Buyer: "Fine." "Yes." "Not really." Goal: get the buyer talking. Trap: filling every silence yourself.
- Life insurance: a family with one income. Buyer: "We're fine, my husband works and I'm at home with the kids." Goal: run a needs analysis. Trap: scaring the buyer instead of asking what happens if the income stops.
- Property: underinsured household and excess. Buyer: "The house is insured, that's all I need to know." Goal: find the gap between the sum insured and the real value. Trap: lecturing about underinsurance.
- Meeting with a divided decision-making committee. Buyer: "Finance and operations don't agree on this, so keep it brief." Goal: align the group on one next step. Trap: siding with the loudest person.
- Making the investment case to the CFO. Buyer: "Show me the payback, not the features." Goal: explain the business value in the CFO's terms. Trap: inventing numbers you cannot support.
Objection scenarios
- Price objection after an offer. Buyer: "It's more than we expected." Goal: handle the objection. Trap: offering a discount in the first reply. Try: "Fair. What are you comparing it with?"
- Price objection from an analytical buyer. Buyer: "Break the price down for me line by line." Goal: defend the value with facts. Trap: getting defensive about each line.
- Competitor comparison for company leadership. Buyer: "Your competitor offered us the same for less." Goal: respond to the competitor without attacking them. Trap: criticising the other vendor.
- Risk insurance: customer wants to consult a partner. Buyer: "I need to talk it over with my partner first." Goal: handle the objection honestly. Trap: pushing for a decision today. Try: "Of course. What do you think your partner will ask?"
- Follow-up with a low-trust customer. Buyer: "Last time someone promised a lot and nothing happened." Goal: schedule a follow-up. Trap: promising more.
- Decision delayed by internal priorities. Buyer: "We're interested, but this quarter is already full." Goal: close a concrete next step. Trap: accepting the delay without asking what would move it.
Renewal and retention scenarios
- Contract renewal with a cautious buyer. Buyer: "Procurement wants three quotes this time." Goal: renew the relationship. Trap: dropping the price before you know what procurement scores.
- Renewal with a hesitant customer. Buyer: "We like you, we're just not sure we use it enough." Goal: renew. Trap: arguing about usage instead of asking what they wanted to use it for.
- Expanding the relationship with an existing customer. Buyer: "We're happy, but we're not looking to add anything." Goal: explain the value of the next step. Trap: pitching before you ask what changed in their business.
Customer-service de-escalation scenarios
- Resolving a serious service problem. Buyer: "This is the third time I'm calling about this." Goal: rebuild trust. Trap: explaining the process before acknowledging the problem.
- Saving a relationship with a departing customer. Buyer: "I want to cancel. Don't try to talk me out of it." Goal: keep a dissatisfied customer, or let them go well. Trap: an offer before you understand why they are leaving.
Mistakes when running role plays with colleagues
- The buyer is too kind. Agree beforehand that the buyer gives in only to a good answer.
- Too many goals. One goal per round. "Book a meeting" is a goal; "be better" is not.
- Feedback as a list of faults. One moment, one change, one more round.
- No second attempt. The repeat is where the change sticks.
- Always the same partner. Swap so you hear different voices and objections.
FAQ
How long should a sales role play be?
About ten minutes per scenario: two to set up, five to play and three for feedback. Run the same scenario again with one change rather than starting a new one.
Can I run these scenarios alone?
Yes. Read the buyer line aloud and answer it, or run the scenario by voice in DIRI AI, where an AI customer plays the buyer and a report follows the call.
Which scenario should a new seller start with?
A cold call opener (scenario 1 or 2) and the price objection (scenario 15). They come up most often and are short enough to repeat several times.
Related: 9 sales call roleplay exercises, Sales role-play exercises for teams, AI role-play vs practising with a colleague, Sales roleplay guide.