Do your sales teams practice for the sake of practice or are they seeking conversational mastery, improvement and growth? If your training isn’t designed with mastery in mind, then sellers will be reluctant to engage. To make practice effective and move the needle for sellers, role plays must offer effective coaching and immediate feedback during each session. Personalized feedback that is detailed, accurate, and constructive transforms how sellers learn and perform.
Unfortunately, because of time and bandwidth constraints, many sales managers and enablement leaders cannot prioritize the personalized growth and development they would like to offer for all sellers. So, either some sellers get support while others don’t, or meaningful practice and training are just a “would be nice to have” instead of a “must have”.
Luckily, AI role plays are available today that can close these critical gaps.
Timing Feedback
Feedback is most effective when it’s immediate.
Once a practice conversation ends, sellers need to receive feedback that is specific to their performance. This ensures that the lessons are fresh and actionable, allowing sellers to correct mistakes and build on strengths right away.
When role play conversations are sent out to outside reviewers, the longer the time gap between performance and review of feedback, the less the seller will get out of the feedback. In some cases, sellers won’t even review feedback that is old.
Personalized Coaching
One-size-fits-all feedback doesn’t cut it.
Each seller is unique, with different experiences, strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
Feedback should evolve with performance. Dynamic coaching keeps sellers on the path to mastery. As sellers improve, the feedback should become more advanced, pushing them to achieve even higher levels of performance.
AI role plays must provide personalized feedback that addresses each unique performance. Feedback should feel like a custom-fit suit, tailored to each seller’s needs and growth, given the sales methodology selected by the organization.
Detailed and Constructive
Vague feedback is useless feedback.
Sellers need detailed, constructive feedback that they can trust and act on. Specific, actionable advice turns practice into progress. When feedback is precise and based on a recent performance, sellers are more likely to believe in its value and follow the advice.
Over the last 20 years, I’ve seen quite a bit of bad feedback ranging from “just do more calls” to “that was good” and extremely generic observations like “you used a lot of fillers”. Feedback like this is a waste of time, it is lazy and doesn’t require any sales expertise. Feedback should detail what is expected and offer specific actions to take in the next call to improve results.
Showcase the Learning Journey
When sellers recognize that their efforts lead to better performance, they are more likely to continue practicing. This can be accomplished through data visualization of learning performance over time and in real time data leaderboards that are fueled by AI.
Often sellers don’t realize how far they’ve come, and a visual reminder can be motivating to encourage sustained effort.
Addressing Struggles
Feedback should target the rough spots. Sellers need to feel that the feedback supports them in the areas they struggle with the most. Targeted advice transforms weaknesses into strengths. By focusing on specific challenges, feedback can help sellers overcome obstacles and improve their real-world sales calls.
Often, managers are reluctant to offer critical feedback about weaknesses. Many managers are not prepared for, or don’t have the experience or expertise for offering critical feedback. Not all managers want to have difficult conversations and often they don’t have training on how to properly deliver feedback to diverse salesforces.
Research1 shows discrepancy between how feedback is delivered and well-being. When feedback is negative, it can relate to depersonalization of work, depression and other mental health challenges for sellers, especially women.
Building Confidence Over Time
Consistent and constructive feedback and coaching builds confidence. When sellers receive regular, constructive feedback, they see their growth over time. Confidence comes from seeing and believing in your own progress and promotes a growth mindset. Growth mindset and confidence translates into better performance in real sales calls, creating a positive feedback loop.
Encouraging Repetition
Meaningful feedback makes practice addictive. When feedback is thoughtful and immediate, sellers are encouraged to practice with purpose. The more they practice, the better they get. This cycle of practice and feedback leads to conversational mastery.
In my sales courses, learners previously submitted four role plays over a one-month period, and each set of conversations took me a week to grade. The feedback often wasn’t viewed and learners were reluctant to practice their conversations and submit them.
Now using AI role plays with RNMKRS, learners submit 50 or more role plays in that same period. Feedback is delivered immediately and is customized and meaningful for each learner. Heads of learning and development are seeing a 10x or more on practice repetition by using customized AI role plays, and the increase in practice results in higher levels of confidence and performance when it matters most: conversations with a customer.
When Feedback isn’t Meaningful
AI role plays that do not offer sellers thoughtful feedback will be abandoned after a couple of repetitions. With no expert supervision, meaningful feedback or guidance, sellers may create and reinforce bad habits through practice.
Bottom Line
Effective feedback is essential for sustained learning and improvement in sales performance, yet most organizations don’t prioritize enough time to deliver feedback needed to prepare sellers for their quota carrying roles.Creating AI role plays with meaningful feedback that is delivered immediately will encourage sellers to put in more repetitions until they master the conversation. By focusing on personalized, immediate feedback, sales leaders can make AI role plays an invaluable tool for sales training, driving performance and success in the real world.
Let’s embrace AI role plays that truly empower sellers to succeed.
1Childs, Dayle, Valerie Good, and Stefanie Boyer (February 2024), “His and Hers: Understanding the Contrasting Effects of Sales Manager Feedback Across Gender,” American Marketing Association (AMA) Winter Conference, St. Pete Beach, FL.