Renewal roleplay: an at-risk account whose champion has left
Leah inherited your help desk software when the person who bought it left, and usage has dropped ever since. With the renewal 60 days out, find out what really changed and agree on a plan before she decides without you.
The buyer
Leah
Head of customer support at a 300-person online retailer
- The situation
- Your company's help desk software renews in 60 days. The support director who bought it left four months ago, and Leah took over the team. Since then, several seats have gone unused. She accepted this check-in after rescheduling twice.
- Personality
- Busy, polite and noncommittal. Says things are 'fine' until a question shows you understand how a support team actually works. Has no loyalty to a tool she didn't choose.
Hidden concern (for whoever plays the buyer)
Most of her new agents were never trained on the tool, so they answer customers from a shared inbox instead, and she's embarrassed about it. Her CFO has asked every department to justify each software renewal, and a quote from a cheaper help desk is sitting in her inbox.
Fictional training scenario. Names, companies and products are invented for practice.
Your goal
Find out why usage dropped, agree on a dated re-onboarding plan and learn what Leah needs to justify the renewal to her CFO.
Success looks like
- You asked about her team and goals before raising the renewal
- You found out why agents stopped using the tool, without blaming her team
- You learned about the CFO review and what it will look for
- You agreed on a re-onboarding plan with dates and a renewal decision call
The opening line
"Hi. Sorry about the reschedules. I've got twenty minutes. Is this about the renewal?"
Leah, head of customer support at a 300-person online retailer
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.
- Leah
Hi. Sorry about the reschedules. I've got twenty minutes. Is this about the renewal?
- You
Partly, but not yet. You took over the team a few months ago, and I'd rather understand how it's going for you first. What does a busy day look like for your agents right now?
- Leah
Busy. Honestly, half of them work out of the shared inbox. It's quicker for them.
- You
That's really useful, thank you. When you say quicker, what slows them down in the help desk?
- Leah
Nobody ever showed the new people how to use it properly.
Curveballs to expect
Leah won't make it easy. Be ready for these.
- "To be honest, I didn't choose this tool, so I'm still working out whether we need it."
- "Can you just send me the renewal quote and I'll take it from there?"
- She mentions the cheaper quote only if you ask what else she is considering.
- "If we drop the unused seats, what does that do to the price?"
- "My CFO wants every renewal justified. What am I supposed to tell him?"
Scorecard
What a reviewer, or your own replay, should listen for. The criteria lean on Gap Selling.
| Criterion | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Opening the call | Acknowledges the renewal honestly but starts with her team and priorities, not the contract. |
| Diagnosing the drop | Asks how agents work today and why they moved to the shared inbox, and listens without defending the product. |
| Finding the stakes | Uncovers the CFO review and asks what evidence would make the renewal easy to justify. |
| Handling the seat question | Answers the price question directly, then ties the seat count to the re-onboarding plan instead of discounting on the spot. |
| Dated plan | Agrees on specific re-onboarding steps with owners and dates, plus a renewal decision call well before the deadline. |
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.
Questions about this scenario
What does this renewal roleplay practice?
Saving an account that's drifting: diagnosing why usage dropped, building a relationship with a new stakeholder and agreeing on a plan before the renewal decision is made.
Should I offer a discount to save the renewal?
Not as your first move. In this scenario the problem is adoption, not price. A discount without a re-onboarding plan just delays the same conversation by a year.
Why does the champion leaving matter so much?
Because the person who bought the product knew why they bought it. Their replacement inherits the cost without the context. Building relationships with several people in each account, known as multi-threading, reduces that risk.
Who is this scenario for?
Account managers, customer success managers and account executives who own renewals, especially in subscription software.
Objections in this scenario
Scripts and methods
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Run it until it feels easy
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