Sales Playbooks
Part of Sales playbooks
Writing a playbook around a real selling situation
Turn a buyer question into a usable sales play: define the decision, clarify the context, add an approved answer and set a stop point.
Begin with a buyer question representatives actually face. Build the play around the decision it affects. A stage or broad label such as “discovery” is too loose: it does not tell someone what to ask, what they may say or when to stop.
Reconstruct one situation
Gather suitable examples from field questions, account notes or observed conversations, where access rules permit. Record the buyer’s wording and the context needed to understand it. Remove personal details the play does not need. Ask the representative what information was available at the time and which point was uncertain.
Do not assume the most memorable example is typical. Compare examples for the same underlying decision. If they need different approved answers, write separate plays or show the distinction at the start.
For a fictional illustration, a buyer asks, “Can our regional branches be included under the same agreement?” The representative must establish which branches are involved, who will sign, which terms are proposed and when the buyer needs an answer.
Those details determine what can be explained from approved terms and what needs commercial review.
Pros and Cons of Using a Single Play for Multiple Branch Scenarios
- ProsSimplifies training and reduces duplication when scenarios are similar.
- ConsMay lead to inconsistent responses if underlying decisions differ; requires clear distinctions at the start.
Write the decision before the response
Name what the buyer is trying to establish. Then define the representative’s immediate task and a satisfactory next step. In the fictional case, the buyer may need to decide whether the proposed agreement covers the intended branches.
The representative’s task is to clarify the scope, explain only the approved general position and arrange a review of the buyer-specific terms.
| Field | Entry for the fictional case |
|---|---|
| Trigger | Buyer asks whether regional branches can be included under one agreement. |
| Decision | Whether the proposed agreement covers the branches and their intended use. |
| Clarifying questions | Which branches, legal entities and uses are involved, and who will sign? |
| Approved position | State only the currently approved general terms and their conditions; give no account-specific assurance without review. |
| Stop point | The authorised commercial owner must assess terms outside that position. |
| Next step | Record the requested scope and agree who will return with the assessed answer. |
The brief identifies the answer the play needs; it does not establish the terms of any real offer. The owner must confirm that position before the play is released for use.
Turn the brief into guidance
Put the first useful question near the top. Explain briefly why it matters and what different answers would change. Add an example response only after its product or commercial meaning is approved. Keep any qualification in the same passage.
Include a branch for an answer that changes the route. If the buyer’s request falls within verified standard terms, the representative can explain those terms within their approved scope.
If the answer depends on a negotiated term or an unassessed entity, identify the owner and the details that owner needs. If the offer is known not to meet a non-negotiable requirement, allow the representative to record that mismatch plainly.
The ACCC accepts reports about possible false or misleading claims and can require businesses to back up claims they make about their products or services. It may investigate and take compliance or enforcement action. A play should not turn an option that needs approval into a broad promise.
Approved Response vs. Unapproved Promise
- Approved PositionState only currently approved general terms and conditions; no account-specific assurances without review.
- Unapproved (Risky) ResponsePromise coverage for all branches without verification or commercial approval.
Try the draft against the situation
Ask a representative who did not write the play to work through the case. Give them a variation, such as an additional branch with different contracting requirements. Check whether they find the right entry, ask for missing detail, keep the limitation with the answer and frame a useful follow-up.
Revise the part that causes difficulty. If the answer itself is uncertain, return it to its owner. If the entry is hard to find, improve its label.
If the guidance assumes facts the buyer has not supplied, rewrite the question. Release the play with an owner and a trigger for review when the relevant offer changes.
