Upsell roleplay: a happy customer who has outgrown her plan
Ruth likes your business phone service and says it does everything her clinics need. Her missed calls tell a different story, so connect an upgrade to a problem she describes herself, without sounding like you're cashing in.
The buyer
Ruth
Practice manager at a group of three veterinary clinics
- The situation
- Ruth's clinics use your basic business phone plan, which she chose two years ago when they had one site. They have since opened two more. You're her account manager, calling for the twice-yearly account review she agreed to.
- Personality
- Warm, loyal and practical. Proud of the setup she chose. Turns guarded the moment a conversation sounds like a sales pitch.
Hidden concern (for whoever plays the buyer)
Clients have been complaining that nobody answers at lunchtime, when calls pile up across all three sites, and the front desk team is stressed. She told the clinic owner the current plan would cover the expansion, and she's worried an upgrade will make her look like she got it wrong.
Fictional training scenario. Names, companies and products are invented for practice.
Your goal
Uncover the call-handling problem in her own words, connect one upgrade to it and agree on a next step, such as a short review with the clinic owner.
Success looks like
- You asked what has changed since she signed up before mentioning any upgrade
- Ruth described the missed-call problem and its effect on clients herself
- You linked one specific feature to that problem instead of listing everything in the higher plan
- You agreed on a dated next step and offered to help her present it to the owner
The opening line
"Hi! Honestly, everything's fine with the phones. I'm not sure we need a review, but go ahead."
Ruth, practice manager at a group of three veterinary clinics
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.
- Ruth
Hi! Honestly, everything's fine with the phones. I'm not sure we need a review, but go ahead.
- You
Good to hear, and I'll keep it short. When we set this up you had one clinic, and now you have three. How has the way calls come in changed since then?
- Ruth
It's busier, obviously. Lunchtime is chaos, but that's just clinic life.
- You
What happens to a call that comes in at lunchtime when the front desk is already on the phone?
- Ruth
It just rings, I suppose. Some people leave a voicemail.
Curveballs to expect
Ruth won't make it easy. Be ready for these.
- "We're happy with what we have. Why would we pay more?"
- "Is this just a sales call dressed up as a review?"
- She mentions the client complaints only if you ask how missed calls affect the clinics.
- "The owner will say no. He watches every cost."
Scorecard
What a reviewer, or your own replay, should listen for. The criteria lean on SPIN Selling.
| Criterion | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Earning the conversation | Respects that she is happy and frames the call around what has changed, not around the upgrade. |
| Discovery before pitching | Asks how calls are handled across three sites and follows up on the lunchtime rush. |
| Impact in her words | Gets Ruth to describe what missed calls mean for clients and staff before suggesting anything. |
| One problem, one fix | Recommends the specific upgrade that solves the problem she described, such as call queues across sites, in plain terms. |
| Helping her sell it internally | Offers a short summary or a joint call with the owner, so the upgrade looks like her good decision rather than her mistake. |
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
How do you upsell without being pushy?
Start with what has changed for the customer, let them describe the problem, and only then suggest the one upgrade that solves it. In this scenario, a feature list before Ruth has described the lunchtime problem puts her on guard.
Why is Ruth reluctant when she clearly has a problem?
She chose the current plan and told the clinic owner it would cover the expansion. An upgrade risks making her look wrong, so the scorecard rewards helping her present it as a smart next step.
Is this an upsell or a cross-sell?
An upsell: moving Ruth to a higher tier of the service she already uses. Selling her a different product, such as an online booking tool, would be a cross-sell.
Objections in this scenario
Scripts and methods
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Run it until it feels easy
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