How to Prepare for Rookie Preview

We are two days away from my favorite event of the semester, Rookie Preview! During this time I get a lot of questions regarding the event and how to prepare for it. Although I love to coach and help students prepare, I realized it’s time-consuming and I can’t help everyone. The best way I figured I can share my wisdom is through an article.

What is Rookie Preview?

Rookie Preview is our end of semester event that allows our intro students “rookies” to showcase the skills and techniques they have learned all semester. In the Role Play, you have 15 minutes to go through a standard rubric. Involved are the following sections: Rapport, Needs Assessment, Product Demo, Closing, Objection Handling, and Overall Communication.

How should I, as an Intro student, prepare?

The first thing I would say in preparation is to understand what your product is. You need to understand what you are selling and how it can benefit the end user. As a seller, you aren’t just trying to push a product, you are there to provide a solution to a problem. You can’t build value if you don’t know why your product is valuable.

The next thing is to come up with a strategy. How are you going to structure your paper to write down pain points? What questions are you going to ask? How are you going to ask for the buy? These questions are very important to ask yourself when preparing for Rookie Preview. When practicing, I’ve seen many people do well in certain areas but struggle in others. By having a plan, a checklist, or a layout before you go in will help you remember steps in the process that you may forget in the moment.

The last thing is to practice, practice, and PRACTICE! Even if you already have sales experience it’s important to practice, especially for Rookie Preview. The more you practice and the more people you practice with the better you get at role-playing. Every advanced or veteran student has different tips and techniques that they are eager to share with you. So don’t be afraid to ask for their advice, we are here to help you.

What are some areas that I should really focus on?

The areas that I’ve seen students struggle with especially in practicing is the transitions, overcoming objections, and listening to their buyers. 

There are so many different areas to cover and such a short amount of time it’s expected that it’ll seem a little forced. However, you want it to seem natural so it’s important to rehearse your transition from one area to the next. You can have great questions but if you don’t listen to your buyer you won’t address the right pain points. There may be a concern that you are eager to address but take time to really dive into that concern. Remember, LAARC’ers win! 

By focusing on these specific areas I can’t say that you’ll win your room, but more importantly you will show that you know how to carry a conversation. No one wants to be reminded that it’s a role-play during the role-play, so brush up in these areas and figure out how to navigate through the process.

What happens if I mess up?

Mike Tyson put it perfectly, “everyone has a game plan until they get hit”. I think this statement is very true in Rookie Preview and in life. As much as we prepare, in reality you can’t start or stop the role-play. So if you do mess up and maybe forget a step or you don’t close…. it's okay. Mistakes happen. It is part of being human; the important thing is learning and growing from it. Rookie Preview is really your first step into the program, it’s meant to challenge you. The more you go through the program and practice the better you will get. It’s all a process. You don’t always nail everything on the first round.

What should I have learned?

After Rookie Preview your work isn’t over. It’s just as important to reflect on the experience and what you've learned. Think about what could I have done better? What did I do well on? What advice would I give to the future intro students? As much fun as Rookie Preview can be, its pointless if you don’t learn and grow from the ordeal.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope you take some of the tips and tricks that I’ve learned and use them while practicing. Good Luck!