Fictional training scenarioDemo or presentationB2B SaaSDifficulty: Hard

    Multi-stakeholder demo roleplay: an eager champion and a skeptical controller

    Sofia has wanted your expense software since discovery, and today she has brought Raj, the finance controller who has to approve it. Run one demo that works for both stakeholders and leave with a next step they both agree to.

    The buyer

    Sofia and Raj

    The head of operations and the finance controller at a 200-person engineering firm

    The situation
    You sell expense management software. Discovery with Sofia went well: her field engineers lose receipts and wait weeks to be reimbursed. This 30-minute demo is the first time Raj, who signs off on finance tools, has joined.
    Personality
    Sofia is enthusiastic and keeps steering you toward the mobile app. Raj is quiet, precise and skeptical. He asks about approvals and accounting integration, and loses interest when the demo drifts.
    Hidden concern (for whoever plays the buyer)

    Raj spent last year cleaning up after a finance tool that didn't sync properly with the accounting system, and he will veto anything that risks a repeat. Sofia doesn't know how strongly he feels about it.

    Fictional training scenario. Names, companies and products are invented for practice.

    Your goal

    Tailor one demo to both buyers, surface and answer Raj's integration concern, and agree on a next step that both of them commit to.

    Success looks like

    • You confirmed what each of them wanted from the call before showing anything
    • You showed Sofia's top priority and Raj's controls, and skipped features neither asked about
    • You uncovered Raj's integration worry and answered it honestly
    • Both agreed on a dated next step, such as a technical review with the accounting team

    The opening line

    "Thanks for this. Raj has joined us from finance, and he's got half an hour. Can you show us how this would actually work for us?"

    Sofia and Raj, the head of operations and the finance controller at a 200-person engineering firm

    How a strong start sounds

    An illustrative script for the first exchange. Say it in your own words; the point is the shape of the reply, not the exact lines.

    1. Sofia and Raj

      Thanks for this. Raj has joined us from finance, and he's got half an hour. Can you show us how this would actually work for us?

    2. You

      Thanks, Sofia, and thanks for joining, Raj. So I use the time well, can I check what each of you needs to see? Sofia, I know mobile receipts matter most to you. Raj, what would you need to see to be comfortable from a finance point of view?

    3. Sofia and Raj

      Raj here. Honestly? How it gets into our accounting system, and who can approve what.

    4. You

      Then let's start there and save the mobile app for the last ten minutes. When you ask how it gets into the accounting system, is there a past experience behind that question?

    Curveballs to expect

    Sofia and Raj won't make it easy. Be ready for these.

    1. Sofia jumps in with a question about mobile features while Raj's question is still unanswered.
    2. "What happens when the sync fails? Who fixes it, you or us?"
    3. "Our last finance tool promised exactly the same thing."
    4. Raj goes quiet, and shares the story of the previous tool only if you ask what's behind his questions.
    5. "This looks fine, but I'm not approving anything until our accounting team has seen it."

    Scorecard

    What a reviewer, or your own replay, should listen for. The criteria lean on The Challenger Sale.

    CriterionWhat good looks like
    Agenda for twoAsks both buyers what they need from the call and orders the demo around their answers.
    Tailored demoShows only what links to Sofia's problem and Raj's controls, and explains each part in their terms.
    Surfacing the hidden concernAsks what is behind Raj's integration questions and learns about the previous tool.
    Balancing the roomKeeps the enthusiastic champion engaged without letting her questions crowd out the person who signs off.
    Joint next stepProposes a step that answers the remaining concern, such as a technical review with the accounting team, and gets a date both agree to.

    Want to score real calls the same way? Use the free sales call scorecard template.

    To run this exact persona, rebuild it in the scenario builder (Starter plan and up), or run it with a colleague.

    Vonvo runs one AI buyer per call, so a single AI voice plays both Sofia and Raj and raises each of their concerns.

    Questions about this scenario

    Can one AI voice play two buyers?

    Yes. In an AI practice call, one AI buyer voices both Sofia's enthusiasm and Raj's skepticism. It's a practical way to rehearse balancing two people with different priorities in the same demo.

    Who should I focus on, the champion or the controller?

    Both, in different ways. Sofia brought you in and needs to stay engaged; Raj can stop the deal. The scorecard rewards answering Raj's concern without sidelining Sofia.

    What makes a multi-stakeholder demo hard?

    Each person judges the demo by different criteria, and a feature tour satisfies none of them. Agreeing on an agenda with everyone at the start, then showing only what matters to each person, keeps the demo short and relevant.

    More scenarios to practice

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