A sales scenario is a way of training and preparing for future sales situations so that you can respond to any potential customer response. It is one of the most common sales techniques, and it is a method of planning and forecasting to ensure effective sales. A salesperson will enter a situation prepared for a variety of sales scenarios, ideally with as much information about the customer as possible. This will enable the salesperson to prepare the best sales scenarios possible in order to close the deal.
Using various sales scenarios in job interviews and training to become a salesperson is common at first. The interviewer may role-play with the interviewee as if he or she is the customer and the interviewee is trying to sell him something during the interview. This gives the interviewer a firsthand look at the applicant’s abilities. This type of training may continue after someone is hired, with the new salesperson being placed in mock sales scenarios to learn how to handle various situations and close sales on a regular basis. Depending on the company and what the person is selling, this training can take a few weeks or even months.
The sales scenario method is then employed as a means of preparing for specific product sales situations. For example, each customer may have unique requirements, and a salesperson who is prepared to meet these requirements is much more likely to close the deal. It might be best to use an example to demonstrate this concept. If a salesperson is selling a piece of software, he or she may encounter customers who have never used it before and must be persuaded as to why they require it. Customers who already use the software, on the other hand, may wonder why they need to upgrade when their current product is perfectly adequate.
Preparing answers in advance for a sales scenario like this will allow the salesperson to persuade customers that they need to buy the products. It may also suggest ways to sell more products or more expensive items, a practice known as “up-selling.” Simply put, a sales scenario enables salespeople to anticipate customer questions or issues and prepare responses in advance to address those issues and, ultimately, close the sale.