# New-Hire Certification Role-Play Scenario Bank

> 40 graded role-play prompts across discovery, objection handling and negotiation, ready to run from onboarding week three through certification, each scored against the standard rubric.

Free script/swipe for sales managers. Topic: [Sales Kickoffs, Training & Enablement Programs](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/topic/sales-kickoffs-training-enablement-programs/). Published by PeerLab in the [Sales Enablement Resource Library](https://www.peerlab.ai/library/). Source: https://www.peerlab.ai/library/new-hire-certification-role-play-scenario-bank/

## How to use it

Assign scenarios by category at the matching onboarding week, rotate scenarios each cohort, and grade every roleplay against the certification rubric rather than a win/loss outcome.

## What's inside

- 14 discovery scenarios (stalls, conflicting stakeholders, competitive displacement, and more)
- 14 objection-handling scenarios (budget, procurement, in-house build, past-service issues, and more)
- 12 negotiation scenarios (late discounting demands, scope creep, competitor re-entry, legal redlines, and more)
- Rep objective defined for every scenario
- Pass-bar guidance by onboarding stage (Developing at week 3, Proficient at certification)
- Facilitator grading notes (grade the behavior, not whether the roleplay was "won")

40 graded scenarios across Discovery (14), Objection Handling (14) and Negotiation (12). Use at Weeks 3, 5 and 8 of onboarding; grade against the Sales Certification Rubric. Pass bar at Week 3 = Developing; pass bar at certification (Week 12) = Proficient.

## Discovery & Needs Diagnosis (14)

| # | Scenario | Rep objective |
|---|---|---|
| D1 | Economic buyer says "honestly, this isn't really a priority for us right now." | Uncover the real business impact without becoming pushy |
| D2 | Champion hands over a requirements doc and says "just quote against this." | Probe past the document to the underlying problem |
| D3 | Technical buyer wants to jump straight into a feature comparison. | Redirect to business outcomes before feature talk |
| D4 | Two stakeholders on the call state conflicting priorities. | Surface and name the conflict, don't ignore it |
| D5 | Buyer claims "we don't really have this problem" despite contrary usage data. | Reconcile the claim with the evidence, respectfully |
| D6 | Economic buyer has 10 minutes and says "just give me the pitch." | Get one diagnostic question in before pitching |
| D7 | Renewal call where the buyer assumes nothing has changed. | Re-run discovery instead of assuming continuity |
| D8 | Buyer describes a symptom ("reps miss quota") with no root cause. | Diagnose the root cause behind the symptom |
| D9 | Competitive displacement, buyer downplays incumbent's gaps. | Surface the real cost of the current gap |
| D10 | Mid-level influencer without visibility into the economic buyer's priorities. | Identify who actually owns the priority |
| D11 | Post-restructure account; team is smaller, priorities have shifted. | Re-baseline discovery rather than reuse old notes |
| D12 | Buyer answers every question with "it depends." | Get to a specific, concrete answer |
| D13 | International stakeholder with a different regulatory priority. | Adapt discovery questions to the actual context |
| D14 | Loudest voice on the call is not the decision-maker. | Identify and redirect to the real decision-maker |

## Objection Handling & Negotiation, Objections (14)

| # | Objection | Rep objective |
|---|---|---|
| O1 | "We don't have budget this year." | Diagnose whether it's budget, priority, or timing |
| O2 | "We tried something like this before and it failed." | Surface what specifically failed before defending |
| O3 | "This looks like more work for my team, not less." | Address the adoption fear directly |
| O4 | "I need to run this by legal/procurement first." | Get a concrete next step, not an open-ended delay |
| O5 | "Your competitor is cheaper." | Reframe to value, without badmouthing the competitor |
| O6 | "We already built something similar in-house." | Surface the hidden cost of the in-house build |
| O7 | "I like it but my boss won't approve it." | Get to the real approver and their criteria |
| O8 | "We're happy with our current vendor." | Find the gap they haven't voiced yet |
| O9 | "This feels like a big change-management lift." | Address the people-side objection, not just the product |
| O10 | "Just send a proposal so I can review it internally." | Avoid the stall; secure a live next step |
| O11 | "We want 3 more references before moving forward." | Diagnose the real hesitation behind the ask |
| O12 | "I'm worried this won't integrate with [legacy system]." | Address specifics, don't wave it away |
| O13 | "Your last rollout caused problems for another team of ours." | Acknowledge directly, don't get defensive |
| O14 | "We're going to wait until next fiscal year." | Uncover the real cost of waiting |

## Negotiation (12)

| # | Scenario | Rep objective |
|---|---|---|
| N1 | Buyer opens with "give us 30% off and we sign today." | Trade, don't cave |
| N2 | Procurement introduces a new stakeholder late with fresh objections. | Re-anchor without restarting the whole deal |
| N3 | Buyer asks for extra scope at no extra cost. | Trade scope for a reciprocal commitment |
| N4 | Buyer threatens to walk over payment terms (wants net-90). | Hold structure, find a different lever |
| N5 | Competitor re-enters with a lower bid at the 11th hour. | Reframe to differentiated value, not price-match |
| N6 | Buyer wants a 1-year term at the 3-year discount. | Protect the pricing logic |
| N7 | Rep's own manager pressures a discount rep believes erodes value. | Push back internally with a reasoned alternative |
| N8 | Buyer wants unlimited seats for a fixed price. | Structure a workable alternative |
| N9 | Buyer wants price protection with no increases, ever, on a multi-year deal. | Negotiate a bounded alternative |
| N10 | Legal redlines a core commercial term (e.g., liability cap). | Navigate without personally overriding legal |
| N11 | Buyer wants to slice the deal into a smaller pilot at unchanged pricing logic. | Recognize when pricing logic needs to change with scope |
| N12 | Buyer says "we know you need this by Friday" at quarter-end. | Negotiate from strength despite time pressure |

## Grading Notes for Facilitators
- Grade the **competency behavior**, not whether the roleplay "closed." A rep who protects value and loses the roleplay can still score Proficient; a rep who caves and "wins" scores Developing at best.
- Rotate scenarios each cohort: reps talk, and a memorized scenario stops testing the skill.
- Always debrief with the rubric open so the language of feedback matches the language of certification.