Journal of Applied Business Research (JABR)

Running head: ROLE PLAY IN RELATIONSHIP SELLING
ROLE PLAY IN RELATIONSHIP SELLING
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author Note:

1ROLE PLAY IN RELATIONSHIP SELLING
Me: Hello Mr. Adam. Hello Mrs. Smith. Welcome to our CAMI Automotive Motor showroom.
I am the customer sales executive in this branch, looking over the business to customer relationship
transactions in this company. I am here to communicate with you regarding your product needs.
Adam and Mrs. Smith: Okay.
Me: Sir you must have come from a long way with Mam, why don’t both of you have a seat first and we can
comfortably talk. Please make yourselves comfortable, I am ordering coffee for both of you.
Adam: Thank you.
Me: So, Sir we are having new models which came previous month in the showroom having great features for
the car lovers. What are your preferences and needs Sir?
Adam: See, we both would like to have a car which can be comfortable and new technologies fit in it because I
am a tech savvy person in these features. It is our first car, and I need this comfort factor primarily especially
for my wife. She drives too.
Mrs. Smith: Yes, I like to drive too, and I prefer the high advanced features in the company’s car model too
which will benefit me to ride myself in my trimester period.
Me: Sure Sir and Mam. Can I ask that especially what kind of technological features you both want in the
product model?
Adam: We want a less expensive model with smooth mileage and easy gearing features, as the car will be
mostly for my wife. There should be less jerking or sudden breaks which may lead to accidents. We prefer
within the budget these technical features. Do you have any?
Me: Of course Sir, we do have models that you prefer for. You can see our new model, Chevrolet Equinox
which has been currently launched in the market. Let me guide you Sir and Mam about its features. This model
has primarily the important features of smooth mileage, with a low carbon standard of emission in a moderate
budget. It will help you mam to use its easy gearing feature with driver assistance support reducing any sort of
risks like accidents and sudden jerks in road.

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Mrs. Smith: That is very impressive. We would like to take a test drive.
Me: Sure Mam. Our company always provide test drive facility to our customers. We believe in transparency
and visibility of our service along with physical reliability to our customers test with our products. Please Mam
and Sir, take the key and have a good test drive. Let me guide you to the location.
Mr & Mrs. Smith: Thank you.
Me: This is our model. We want you to seat and have a good test of our product.
After 20 minutes
Me: So, Sir and Mam how was the test drive?
Mr. Smith: Yes, it was good. However the driver assistance features are not that good as with the other
company models like Hyundai.
Me: We are extremely sorry Sir and Mam, for the issue of driver assistance feature due to which both have to
go for a bad experience with our model. The driver assistance feature as per our company’s model is the top 5
listed feature. We took a note of your inconvenience. However Sir, we have better smooth mileage features
with risk coverage car insurance than Hyundai and other companies in the market.
Mr. Smith: But if we are quite disappointed at first instance with your driver assistance feature. Because we are
looking for comfort and easy riding factors more, in that part the model is not that good for my wife, as she
will be facing difficulties later, if we buy the model.
Me: Sir, I understand your point of view and also the concern for your wife. Our company has just launched
this model and lot of customers have taken a test drive, however the driver assistance issue was reported. But
we can assure you Sir that our operations team can handle this malfunction and both of you for reliability can
take another test drive of the model.
Mrs. Smith: We don’t have that much time to go for another test drive. It is very embarrassing to make your
customers wait and see what is wrong in the product and then asking us for test drive.
Me: Mam, the time period you will wait, we will see to it that you get the best service with comfort. We pledge

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to look for our customer’s concern first.
Mr & Mrs. Smith waited for 10 minutes.
Me: Mam and Sir, you both can go for the test drive.
Mr. Smith: Okay, I am going.
Me: Sure Sir, have a nice test drive.
After 15 minutes
Mr. Smith: The test drive was good. (He said with a wide smile).
Me: Thank you Sir. Hope you liked our model.
Mr. Smith: Yes, we both would like to take the model. What are the pricing and financial benefits you have?
Me: Yes Sir, the price of the car is from $40,000 to $70,000. This model is $ 45,000 with insurance coverage
and the loan facilities are available in monthly installments.
Mrs. Smith: That is really good. Please proceed further. We can afford it. We would like to buy the car.
Me: How would like to finance for the car through cash or through banking payments?
Mrs. Smith: We have a car loan. We would like to pay in monthly installments.
Me: Ok that is great. How many monthly installments you will be able to pay and clear the price for?
Mr. Smith: We will pay in 7 monthly installments.
Me: Sure Sir. I am making the final proceedings then. Thank you so much for the purchase. Our after-sales

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service team will assist you in the further servicing of the car to your location.
Self-Reflection
The elements of the relationship model which I feel demonstrated well during the role
play are the approach and the sales interview through discovering the customer attitudes. The

5ROLE PLAY IN RELATIONSHIP SELLING
stage four of the relationship selling process where I have met the client and built my rapport
by introducing myself and starting a discussion for delivering good service values has been
effective. The client came with a pregnant woman. There were two people simultaneously
with whom the conversation was flowing. The needs and desires of the clients are noted and
as per their convenience, information was shared on ethical considerations with no coercion.
Questions have been asked to know about their current situation. The customer attitudes right
from the test drive to the end of the closing has been established with proper concern for their
needs and the removal of objections like quality of the product features. The attitudes of
disappointment and disgust for waiting in the showroom has been noted down. The
conversion of negative attitude to positive attitude by improving the product service has been
shown. The closing element of the selling process has been vital in the sense that objection
was expected to arise, but due to reliable service and advantage of installment payments, the
close was done.
The elements I believe I can improve upon are the sales interview and handling the
objections. The provision of company background with brochure and more tangible materials
like product flyers and the business cards are to be provided more and sent as copy to the
clients. I should more probe the clients for obtaining the information especially if there is any
problems which they cannot be vocal about. Their desires and needs should be analyzed more
rather than just suggesting the product as per the need. The extra points should be considered
in terms of their previous experience with any competitor product. The objections should be
handled with more clarity and logical explanations.
The lessons I learnt from the Relationship Selling Model is that the clients
irrespective of their buying propensity or gender should not be judged as the sole decision-
maker in the purchase process. The decision maker here has been the wife and although the
married couple are not so high-class, yet they had a car loan to purchase the new launched
model. The stereotypical judgments with the clients should not be made. Another lesson is
that all the objections should be handled, even that is a minor objection. The state of the
clients should be understood and the recommended suggestions should be given, that will be
helpful for them to purchase the product.
I consider this to be good model for powerful selling. The relationship model of
selling is not only helpful for the clients but also for the company to establish a good

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relationship on the foundations of trust and empathy with each other. It is in a way
consultative model of relationship selling where the salesperson act not as the aggressive
seller, but as the person who gives suggestions and look into each and every objection of the
client to help them. The clients get a better experience with the company through the
reliability and support from the company’s staff. This model build loyal clients.
The lessons I can take away from this experience that I can apply to the real world are
the communication rules and the skills like listening, problem-solving and flexibility –be it
communicating with any people from other spheres. The real world corporate experience
looks for these essential skills. The problem solving with alternative solutions and the
situation taught me how to handle risky events as well as to how to understand the consumer
psychology if I take up any similar profession in the marketing field.

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