Scenarios

Scenarios are the practice reps run against an AI counterpart. Salesably offers six types, and each one targets a different skill at a different moment in the sales process. Picking the right type is the most important decision you make, because it determines what the rep practices and what the rubric scores.

The biggest difference between types is who the bot plays. In five of the six types the bot pretends to be a customer and the human is the salesperson practicing the deal, so the rubric measures selling skills. Management is the exception: the bot plays a salesperson (or another colleague who is not a customer) and the human is the manager leading the conversation. It might be a performance conversation, a one-on-one, or another difficult discussion, so the rubric measures coaching and leadership instead.

Scenario type	What the learner practices	Human plays	Bot plays
Discovery	Asking layered questions that uncover needs, pain, and buying criteria	Salesperson	Prospect
Messaging / Pitch	Delivering a clear, compelling value proposition or presentation	Salesperson	Buyer
Outbound & Inbound	Opening cold or warm conversations and earning the right to continue	Salesperson	Prospect
Objections	Staying composed under pushback and finding the real concern behind an objection	Salesperson	Buyer
Plays	Running a specific, multi-step sales motion from start to finish	Salesperson	Customer
Management	Leading a performance review, 1:1, or other difficult internal conversation	Manager	Salesperson or colleague (not a customer)

When to reach for each type

• Discovery is for early-stage calls where understanding the customer matters more than presenting. It builds questioning and active-listening habits.
• Messaging / Pitch is for articulating value on demand. It supports Elevator, Insight, Problem-Solution, and Trade Show formats, so reps can rehearse the right pitch for the moment.
• Outbound & Inbound is for first-touch conversations. It trains the opening seconds of a call and helps newer reps push past call reluctance.
• Objections is for the resistance that surfaces mid- to late-deal. It trains reps to slow down, stay composed, and uncover the concern underneath the stated objection.
• Plays is for repeatable, strategic motions tied to a channel, customer status, and contact type. Use it when success depends on several coordinated steps rather than a single skill.
• Management is for sales managers and team leads. It lets them rehearse the hard people conversations (underperformance, coaching, check-ins) in a safe space before they happen for real.

You can create as many scenarios of each type as you need to cover different industries, products, personas, or situations. Every type is configured the same way: go to Admin > Studio Settings > Module Configuration and choose the type. Management is an optional module; if you do not see it listed, an admin can turn it on from the Modules page. The sections below walk through the fields that are unique to each type and explain what good looks like.

Discovery is where reps earn the right to sell. A good discovery scenario pushes the rep to ask layered, open questions and listen, instead of pitching too early. The questions you define are the backbone of the exercise: they tell the AI buyer what to reveal only when asked, and they tell the rubric what a thorough rep should have surfaced.

To create a discovery scenario:

1. Open Discovery under Module Configuration and click 'Add New Discovery'
2. Set the framing the buyer and rep both work from:
   • Track Name: A descriptive name for the scenario
   • Goal: What the rep should walk away having learned or achieved
   • Opening: A sample opening line to start the conversation
   • Situation Background: The customer's context, so the AI buyer stays consistent
   • Onboarding Mode Behavior: How the buyer should ease up for users still in onboarding
3. Add the questions you want reps to ask with 'Add Question'. Mark the ones that really matter as Required, and reorder them with the up/down arrows.
4. Select a rubric, then click 'Create Discovery'

Why required questions matter: Required questions are marked with a blue indicator and must be asked for the rep to receive full credit. Reserve them for the handful of questions that separate a real discovery call from a surface-level one, rather than marking everything required.

Pitch scenarios train reps to articulate value clearly and adapt the message to the moment. The Type you choose shapes the whole exercise, because an elevator pitch and a problem-solution pitch reward very different things. Your examples give the AI and the rubric a model of what a strong version sounds like.

To create a messaging / pitch scenario:

1. Open Messaging / Pitch under Module Configuration and click 'Add New Pitch'
2. Set up the scenario:
   • Pitch (Title): A descriptive name
   • Type: Elevator, Insight, Problem Solution, or Trade Show, depending on the skill you want to build
   • Overview: A brief description of the pitch
   • Client Opening: The customer's first line
   • Situation Background: The customer's context
   • Onboarding Mode Behavior: How the buyer should ease up for users still in onboarding
3. Add one or more examples with 'Add Example', then give each a Focus, Content, and Goal so reps have a clear target.
4. Add any resource URLs, select a rubric, and click 'Create Pitch'

Choosing a type: Elevator is for a tight, memorable hook; Insight leads with a point of view that reframes the buyer's thinking; Problem Solution maps a pain to your answer; Trade Show is for fast, high-volume booth conversations. Match the type to how your team actually sells.

These scenarios rehearse the riskiest few seconds of a deal: the opening of a cold or warm conversation, before the prospect has decided to give you their time. They are the fastest way to build outreach confidence and break call reluctance, because reps can fail and retry without burning a real lead.

To create an outbound & inbound scenario:

1. Open Outbound & Inbound under Module Configuration and click 'Add New Outbound & Inbound'
2. Set up the scenario:
   • Name: A descriptive name
   • Script: A sample script reps can work from
   • Customer Opening: How the prospect first responds (often guarded or busy)
   • Situation Background: The customer's context
   • Onboarding Mode Behavior: How the prospect should ease up for users still in onboarding
   • Max Turns: How long the conversation can run
3. Add examples of approaches that work, plus any resource URLs.
4. Select a rubric and click 'Create Outbound & Inbound'

Make it realistic: A prospect who is friendly from the first word does not teach much. Set the customer opening to reflect the skepticism reps actually meet, then let onboarding mode soften it for newer users.

Objections are where deals are won or lost, and most reps react to the surface words instead of the real worry underneath. A good objection scenario forces the rep to stay composed and dig for the actual concern. The Real Concern field is the heart of it: it tells the AI what is really bothering the buyer, so a rep who only addresses the literal objection should not score full marks.

To create an objection scenario:

1. Open Objections under Module Configuration and click 'Add New Objection'
2. Define the objection and what is behind it:
   • Objection: The exact words the client says
   • Category: A grouping such as Price, Timing, or Competition
   • Opening: A sample opening line for the conversation
   • Real Concern: The underlying worry driving the objection
   • Responses: One or more strong ways to handle it
   • Onboarding Mode Behavior: How the buyer should ease up for users still in onboarding
3. Set a priority (lower numbers sort first) and add any resource URLs.
4. Select a rubric and click 'Create Objection'

Why categories help: Grouping objections by theme keeps your library organized and lets you build targeted practice, for example a set focused entirely on pricing pushback before a quarter-end push.

Plays are for the strategic, multi-step motions that do not fit a single skill: a competitive displacement, a renewal at risk, an expansion into a new buyer. A play scenario sets the full situation and lets the rep work it end to end. The hidden details you provide (assumptions, what has happened already) are what make the AI customer behave like a real account with history.

To create a play scenario:

1. Open Plays under Module Configuration and click 'Add New Play'
2. Configure how the play is framed:
   • Channel: Outbound or Inbound
   • Customer Status: New or Existing Customer
   • Contact Type: First Contact or Follow-up
   • Max Turns: How long the conversation can run
3. Fill in the visible playbook the rep can see: Situation Background, Customer Opening, What's Happened Already, Previous Contact Changes, Anything New, Goal, and Onboarding Mode Behavior.
4. Add the assumptions and critical information that shape the customer's behavior behind the scenes.
5. Select a rubric and click 'Create Play'

When to use a play instead of another type: If success depends on sequencing several moves correctly, not just one skill, build a play. If you only want to drill one moment (a single objection or pitch), a focused scenario type will give cleaner feedback.

Management scenarios flip the usual setup. Instead of the bot playing a customer, it plays a salesperson (or another colleague who is not a customer), and the human is the manager leading the conversation. They give sales leaders a safe place to rehearse the conversations that are easy to get wrong in real life: a performance conversation, a one-on-one, or another difficult discussion. Because the roles are reversed, the rubric you attach should measure coaching and leadership, not selling.

Management is an optional module. If you do not see it under Module Configuration, enable it first on the Modules page.

To create a management scenario:

1. Open Management under Module Configuration and click 'Add New Management Scenario'
2. Basic Information
   • Scenario Name: A short, descriptive name (for example, 'Q3 Performance Review')
   • Description: What this conversation is about
3. Configuration
   • Rubric: Choose a rubric built to score coaching and leadership (required)
   • Max Turns: Cap the conversation length, or leave it unlimited
   • Active Scenario: Turn this off to hide a scenario without deleting it
4. Scenario Setup
   • Shared Context & Situation: What both the manager and the salesperson already know going in
   • Additional Context (optional): Extra detail that colors the conversation
   • Salesperson Opening (optional): How the AI salesperson starts (defaults to 'Hello')
5. Manager Guidance
   • Manager Objectives: What the manager should accomplish, so the session has a clear bar for success
   • Common Challenges: The difficulties managers hit in this conversation (a salesperson getting defensive, deflecting blame), so the AI can play them realistically
6. Click 'Create Management Scenario' to save

Note: Management scenarios do not use the 'Onboarding Mode Behavior' field that the buyer-facing types have. The realism levers here are the common challenges and the salesperson's opening.

Your scenario library is living content. As your product, market, and objections change, revisiting old scenarios keeps practice tied to how your team actually sells today.

To manage existing scenarios:

1. Go to Admin > Studio Settings > Module Configuration and open the type you want (Discovery, Messaging / Pitch, Outbound & Inbound, Objections, Plays, or Management)
2. You will see a table of every scenario of that type
3. For each one you can:
   • Edit: Update the scenario as your messaging or objections evolve
   • Duplicate: Copy it as a starting point for a variation (a new industry or persona)
   • Delete: Remove a scenario you no longer use

Before you delete: Salesably checks whether the scenario is used in any assignments. If it is, you will be warned and shown which assignments depend on it, so you do not pull practice out from under an active rollout.

Every scenario is scored by a rubric, and the rubric is what turns a conversation into coaching. It defines what good looks like, keeps scoring consistent across reps and managers, and gives the AI a fair, transparent basis for feedback. Choosing the right rubric matters as much as writing the scenario itself.

To select a rubric:

1. While creating or editing any scenario, find the rubric selector
2. Choose either a built-in default rubric (available to every studio) or a rubric created specifically for your studio
3. Pick the one whose criteria match what this scenario is really testing

Why rubrics are worth the effort

• They set clear, consistent expectations, so two reps doing the same scenario are judged the same way
• They turn a score into specific, actionable feedback instead of a vague grade
• They let you track improvement on the same criteria over time
• They make practice transparent: reps can see exactly how they will be evaluated before they start

Tip: If none of the existing rubrics fit, create a studio rubric under Module Configuration so the criteria line up with your methodology. For Management scenarios, make sure the rubric scores coaching and leadership rather than selling.

New reps learn faster when they are not thrown straight into the deep end. Onboarding mode gives them a more forgiving version of the same scenario, so they can build confidence before facing a realistic counterpart.

How it works

The buyer-facing scenario types (Discovery, Messaging / Pitch, Outbound & Inbound, Objections, and Plays) each include an Onboarding Mode Behavior field. There you describe how the AI customer should behave differently for users who have onboarding mode enabled. Common accommodations include:

• Being more agreeable and less guarded
• Easing budget or timing pressure
• Being more open to suggestions
• Offering clearer hints or guidance
• Being more forgiving of mistakes

To configure it

1. When creating or editing a scenario, find the Onboarding Mode Behavior field
2. Describe specifically how the customer should soften, in enough detail that the AI can act on it

Good to know: Onboarding mode is toggled per user in their profile under the People section, so you can give new hires a gentler ramp while keeping the full challenge for experienced reps. Management scenarios do not use this field, since their realism comes from the manager objectives and common challenges instead.

Passive Mode is a per-scenario setting that makes the AI customer harder to read. When it is on, the AI will not ask any questions unless the rep explicitly invites them (for example, "Do you have any questions?"). That puts the rep fully in the driver's seat.

Why it exists

In normal mode, the AI customer asks questions that quietly carry the conversation forward, so a rep can stay in react mode, answering prompts instead of leading. Real buyers are rarely that helpful. They sit back, give short answers, and wait to be sold. Passive Mode recreates that, so reps have to open the conversation, drive discovery, and build momentum on their own.

What it builds

• Proactive questioning. Reps learn to ask open questions that surface needs instead of waiting to be asked.
• Conversation leadership. Reps practice steering toward value rather than reacting.
• Handling disengaged buyers. Reps build the patience and persistence that quiet or skeptical prospects demand.

When to use it

Passive Mode is best as a step up once reps are comfortable with a scenario: advanced practice, prep ahead of a tough call, or a test of whether a rep can carry a conversation without help. It is a poor fit for brand-new hires, where the back-and-forth of normal mode helps them learn the material.

How to turn it on

Passive Mode lives on the scenario, so you enable it per scenario in the relevant module (Discovery, Messaging / Pitch, Objections, Plays, or Outbound & Inbound). There are two places to set it:

• In the scenario editor, toggle Passive Mode on. The toggle includes a short reminder that the AI will not ask questions unless prompted.
• From a scenario list, some module pages show a Passive button on each scenario that flips the mode in place.

In list views, a scenario running in Passive Mode is marked with a purple indicator, and every rep who runs that scenario practices in Passive Mode until you turn it off. Management scenarios do not use Passive Mode.

Coaching tip: Passive Mode is meant to be uncomfortable in the right way. Remind reps not to rush to fill silence; holding a beat often draws the buyer out.