Want to make sales calls less scary? Try roleplay AI

Salespeople aren’t made of stone. In fact, many are stressed and earn less because they share the same phobias: fear of failure and sounding too salesy. 

One way around this is to practice and roleplay to feel more comfortable and sound natural on sales calls. 

But there’s a problem: traditional roleplaying methods have their limitations. They’re time-consuming, often awkward, and don’t always prepare you for the curveballs real customers throw your way. There’s a whole Reddit thread of sellers commiserating about this:

Now, what if I told you there was a way to turn those nerve-wracking sales calls into confident conversations? A way to practice your pitch, handle objections, and refine your approach without risking losing a real customer or embarrassing yourself in front of your colleagues?

In this article, we’ll explore the key takeaways from a webinar we held on role-playing with AI and why companies are adopting these tools (hint: they enhance sales training using a risk-free environment and give reps the confidence they need to close more deals). So continue reading to see if it’s a must-have tech to add to your sales training. 

Common challenges faced by sales reps during calls and training

Sales calls can be a bit scary, even for pros who have been at it for years. Like the famous Forrest Gump once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates — you never know what you’re gonna get.” And this couldn’t be any more true for prospects you jump on calls with.

Here’s a look at the different issues sales reps face each time they pick up the phone:

• Lack of confidence: Many sales reps struggle with confidence, especially when facing unfamiliar prospects in new industries or high-stakes situations. This self-doubt can lead to stumbling over words, forgetting key points, or worse – sounding unsure about your product.
• Inconsistent performance: One day, you’re on fire, closing deals left and right. The next, you couldn’t sell water in the Sahara. This rollercoaster of performance is a common challenge, often stemming from varying levels of preparation, energy, or vibes between sellers and buyers.
• Difficulty handling objections: “We’re happy with our current solution.” “It’s too expensive.” “Now’s not a good time.” Sound familiar? Objections are the bane of every sales rep’s existence. Thinking on your feet and addressing concerns effectively can make or break a deal. 

And it doesn’t help that training for sales calls comes with a laundry list of challenges. For example:

• Limited practice opportunities: Practicing sales calls can be off-putting. roleplaying with colleagues often feels unnatural, and managers don’t always have the time to run through scenarios with every team member. This lack of realistic practice can leave reps underprepared for the surprises real prospects spring on them. 
• Time-consuming for managers: Your leaders are busy. They’d love to help you practice, but between meetings, reports, and putting out fires, finding time for roleplay sessions is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
• Inconsistent feedback: Your manager’s feedback may depend on whether they’ve had their morning coffee or if their favorite team won last night. Human moods are fickle, and that can lead to wildly varying advice.
• Limited scenarios: Your manager can only play so many roles convincingly. Asking them to be a tech-savvy millennial one minute and a skeptical baby boomer the next is a tall order.
• Awkward interactions: There’s nothing quite like stumbling through a pitch in front of your colleagues to make you wish for an invisibility cloak. The pressure of performing in front of peers can turn even the smoothest talker into a stammering mess.

By addressing these challenges head-on, sales reps can significantly improve their call performance and, ultimately, their success rates. But how can we overcome these hurdles without relying solely on trial-and-error in real customer interactions? Well, AI-powered roleplay solutions offer a better approach to sales call preparation and skill development.

Let’s review how they’re making it happen. 

How roleplay AI beats the challenges (and awkwardness) of traditional sales roleplays

Traditional roleplaying with human colleagues is about as comfortable as wearing wet socks. It’s awkward, takes up everyone’s time, and often leaves you feeling more confused than confident.

Here’s an overview of the benefits of AI-powered sales roleplaying and how it works.

Train with roleplay AI 24/7

Imagine having a patient, tireless training partner available whenever inspiration strikes or panic sets in before a big call. That’s the beauty of AI-powered solutions — whether you’re burning the midnight oil or squeezing in practice during your morning coffee, AI is ready to help you refine your pitch.

“What it can also do is more accurately and consistently emulate that buyer as you saw, that persona, that concern that they’re having,” explains Audrey Polce Principal Sales Engineer at Bigtincan. “And what you’re going to see also is no two roleplays are the same. Even if it’s the same communication style, it’s really ever-changing dialogues.”

Receive personalized real-time feedback that doesn’t pull punches

Sometimes our colleagues and managers sugarcoat their feedback to spare our feelings. AI, on the other hand, doesn’t have an ego to bruise or office politics to navigate. It provides objective, data-driven insights on your performance, helping you identify areas for improvement with laser precision.

Roleplay with realistic simulations of real-world scenarios

Whether you’re pitching to a skeptical CFO or an enthusiastic startup founder, AI adapts to any situation. It’s like having an entire improv troupe at your disposal, each one ready to play the perfect prospect.

Plus, it gives you a judgment-free zone to practice until you’re smoother than a freshly waxed sales floor. Here’s how it helps you level up your prep game:

• Mastering discovery questions: No more asking, “So… um… what keeps you up at night?” AI helps you craft and practice open-ended questions that’ll make prospects spill their pain points faster than a leaky faucet.
• Refining your value proposition: Stop stumbling over your words like you’re trying to explain quantum physics to a toddler. With RolePlayAI, you can hone your pitch until it’s sharper than a samurai’s sword.
• Objection handling bootcamp: “It’s too expensive” won’t make you break a sweat anymore. Practice handling objections so often that your responses become as natural as breathing (but hopefully more persuasive).
• Build active listening skills: Learn to listen like a therapist, minus the couch and the “how does that make you feel?” AI helps you pick up on subtle cues and respond like a pro.

This diversity in practice scenarios ensures you’re prepared for whatever comes during a sales call. 

“We’ve seen a lot of benefits from our customers right now, where many of them have been beta testing our RolePlayAI,” shares Polce. “And now that it’s available, we’re finding that people love that it’s easy to set up these various scenarios.”

Practice with multiple communication styles

Salespeople come across different communicator types — the enthusiastic engager, the skeptical analyst, the indifferent browser, the direct negotiator, the reflective thinker, and the casual conversationalist.

AI can embody these various buyer personas, so you can practice with everyone from the “enthusiastic engager” to the “skeptical analyst.” It’s like facing a different opponent in each practice round, ensuring you’re ready for whatever personality jumps on your sales call. 

Level up your entire team

For sales leaders, AI training tools are a game-changer. Instead of spending countless hours conducting one-on-one roleplays, you can deploy AI-powered training across your entire team simultaneously. This scalability ensures consistent training quality and allows managers to focus on strategic coaching rather than basic skill development.

And the impact of AI on sales training is more than just hype. In their 2023 Sales Performance Scorecard study, Sales Mastery found that sales organizations using AI saw improvements in sales coaching, which translated into increases in win rates and revenue per salesperson, among other sales metrics. You can see a snippet of their results visualized here:

Get Sales Mastery’s full report.

Customize and adapt your sales training

Say you’re a sales rep for a major CPG company that sells, well, everything from soup to nuts. Literally. One day you’re pitching gourmet soup to a five-star restaurant, the next you’re convincing a hardware store to stock your premium bolts. Talk about needing to wear different hats! That’s where AI’s customization and adaptability features come in, ready to transform you from a soup connoisseur to a nuts-and-bolts expert fast. 

Measure and improve sales team performance

It’s time to talk about everyone’s favorite topic: metrics! (Cue the collective groan.) But before you roll your eyes so hard they fall out of your head, hear me out. AI isn’t just another number-crunching robot – it’s your personal sales performance guru, minus the expensive suits and motivational catchphrases.

Here’s what roleplay AI analytics brings to the table:

1. Call duration insights: Ever wonder if you’re talking too much or not enough? RolePlayAI tracks your call durations. It’ll let you know if you’re hitting the sweet spot or veering off the yellow brick road.
2. Question quality analysis: Are your questions sharper than a tack or duller than a butter knife? RolePlayAI evaluates the quality of your queries, helping you craft better questions. 
3. Objection handling effectiveness: Think you’re the objection-handling champion? RolePlayAI will be the judge of that. It analyzes how well you tackle those tricky customer concerns, giving you a score that’ll either inflate your ego or motivate you to up your game.
4. Overall conversation flow: Is your sales pitch smoother than ice or choppier than a blender full of rocks? RolePlayAI assesses your conversation flow, ensuring you’re not jumping topics faster than prospects can keep up with.

Turn insights into actions

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Great, more numbers to obsess over!” But there’s a silver lining: AI doesn’t just throw data at you and wish you good luck. It’s like having a personal coach who’s actually paying attention (unlike that one who kept checking their phone during your last training session).

For example, here’s how RolePlayAI helps you turn those metrics into cold, hard cash:

• Personalized improvement plans: Based on your performance metrics, RolePlayAI crafts custom improvement plans. It’s like having a tailor for your sales skills, minus the awkward measuring tape moments.
• Real-time feedback: No more waiting for your quarterly review to find out you’ve been mispronouncing the product name for months. RolePlayAI provides instant feedback, helping you course-correct fast.
• Trend analysis: Spot patterns in your performance before they become expensive habits that cost you your bottom line.
• Consistent messaging across all sales tools: No more “left hand doesn’t know what the right is doing” syndrome. When your content, learning, and practice tools are in sync, your messaging stays consistent across the board. It’s like having a company-wide hive mind, minus the creepy sci-fi implications.
• Simplified workflow for sales reps: Your reps can go from learning about a new product to practicing their pitch to analyzing their performance, all without leaving the Bigtincan ecosystem. It’s like a one-stop shop for sales excellence, minus the cheesy infomercial vibe.
• Comprehensive performance tracking: With RolePlayAI integrated into your existing tools, you get a 360-degree view of your sales team’s performance. It’s like having X-ray vision into your sales process.

Use artificial intelligence to create real sales training scenarios 

Turning your sales team from nervous nellies to confident closers is possible with AI. 

It provides a 24/7 sparring partner that won’t judge you for stumbling over your words at 3 am (unlike that one overly enthusiastic colleague from the Reddit thread).

So, are you ready to ditch the sweaty palms and embrace the future of sales training? Your AI-powered sales transformation awaits. Don’t just survive your next sales call — crush it.

To see RolePlayAI in action, hop over to our on-demand webinar and witness the magic yourself.