Sales Process Playbook

Pair drill. One person plays the prospect who opens the call with "We've got a project — can you just send us a quote?" The other plays the Polymorph rep.

• Prospect pushes for a number within the first 2 minutes
• Rep must redirect at least 3 times before giving any pricing context
• Rep should use questions like "Before I can give you anything meaningful, I'd need to understand..." and "What does your current build or vendor setup cost you in time and rework?"
• Run for 5 minutes, then swap roles

The rep never quotes a number. Instead, they create curiosity about the paid concept design and get the prospect talking about workflows, integrations, decision-makers, and what a failed build would cost. The conversation shifts from "how much?" to "what's the real problem?"

• Caving and giving a ballpark number to "keep the conversation going"
• Sounding evasive instead of genuinely curious — tone matters

Pair drill. Prospect starts with a surface-level problem: "We need a new system / app built." Rep must go 3–4 layers deeper without sounding aggressive or interrogative.

• Prospect gives a surface problem. Rep asks a follow-up. Prospect gives a slightly deeper answer. Repeat.
• Rep should use: "Tell me more about that," "What does that actually look like day to day?" "Why does that matter to you personally?"
• Target: reach the emotional or commercial root within 4 exchanges
• 3 minutes per round, then swap

Surface: "We need software built." → Layer 2: "We're duct-taping spreadsheets and three tools." → Layer 3: "Ops is blocking revenue because nothing talks to each other." → Root: "We're about to commit budget and reputation — and I'm scared we'll build the wrong thing."

• Accepting the first answer and jumping to solutions
• Asking "why?" too bluntly — use softer framing like "help me understand"

Pair drill. Prospect emails a brief (e.g. "We need a customer portal with login, payments, and a dashboard — send a quote by Friday"). Rep must resist quoting and pivot to discovery.

• Prospect is friendly but transactional — "We just need a price and timeline"
• Rep acknowledges the brief, then pivots: "This is helpful — before I put anything together, I'd love to understand what's driving this. Can we jump on a 20-minute call?"
• If prospect resists, rep should explain why a call produces a better outcome for them
• Run for 5 minutes — can be done over mock email or live

The rep moves from "filling an order" to "understanding users, workflows, integrations, success metrics, stakeholders, and whether scope is fixed or still forming." The prospect agrees to a call and feels like the rep is de-risking the build, not stalling.

• Quoting directly from the brief to be "responsive" — this trains the client to treat you as a commodity
• Being pushy about the call instead of framing it as being in the prospect's interest

Pair drill. Prospect is a marketing manager who likes what they've heard but says "I need to run this past my boss / the team / finance." Rep must extract specifics.

• Rep should ask: "Who specifically needs to be comfortable with this?" "What would they need to see?" "Would it help if I joined that conversation or prepared something for them?"
• Prospect gives increasingly specific answers as the rep asks better questions
• Bonus: Rep offers to create a one-page summary for the stakeholder
• 4 minutes per round

By the end, the rep knows: who the decision-maker is by name, what their concerns likely are, when the internal conversation will happen, and whether the rep can participate or provide materials. A next step is booked.

• Accepting "I'll let you know" as a next step — this is not a next step
• Not offering to help the champion sell internally

Team drill (3+ people). Two people roleplay a discovery call for 10–15 minutes. A third person observes. At the end, the observer — or the rep — delivers a 60-second recap.

• Run a real discovery roleplay with realistic back-and-forth
• When the timer hits 15 minutes, stop. The rep (or observer) has 60 seconds to deliver: "Here's what I heard. Your core problem is X. The impact is Y. What I'd like to do next is Z."
• Group scores: Was it accurate? Concise? Did it create momentum?
• Repeat with different scenarios

The recap uses the prospect's own words, connects the problem to a commercial impact, and proposes a clear next step. It should feel like a mirror — the prospect thinks "yes, that's exactly it." Under 60 seconds, no filler.

• Summarizing what the rep said instead of what the prospect said
• Going over time — the constraint is the point. Brevity forces clarity.

Pair drill. Person A shares 3–5 problems from a real or mock discovery. Person B prepares a 2-minute problem playback and presents it back.

• Person A briefs Person B on the prospect's situation (2 minutes)
• Person B has 3 minutes to prepare their playback
• Person B delivers the playback (2 minutes max)
• Person A scores 1–5 on: accuracy, language match, urgency created, and empathy shown

The prospect (Person A) says "that's exactly right" or "you nailed it." Problems are stated in the prospect's language, not Polymorph's. Each problem connects to a consequence. No solutions yet.

• Sanitizing the prospect's language into corporate-speak
• Sneaking solutions into the problem playback — this section is about proving you listened, not selling

Solo or pair drill. Start with a soft problem statement like "Our process is too manual" or "We're not sure what to build first."

• Take the vague problem and ask: "What does this actually cost you?"
• Map it to: revenue impact, time wasted, opportunity cost, competitor advantage, team stress
• Build a 30-second "cost of inaction" statement
• Present it. Partner challenges: "Is that realistic? Would a CFO buy that?"

"If this workflow costs 10 hours a week across 6 people, that's roughly 2,500 hours a year — before errors, rework, and delayed revenue. A wrong six-month build isn't just dev cost; it's opportunity cost plus morale."

• Using made-up numbers that feel implausible
• Only focusing on revenue — time, stress, and opportunity cost are equally powerful

Solo or pair drill. You have 90 seconds to explain the concept design to a prospect who has never heard of it. You cannot say "we offer," "our service includes," or name any feature.

• Timer: 90 seconds
• Every sentence must start with "You get," "This means," "What changes is," or similar prospect-facing framing
• Partner flags any sentence that starts with "we" or names a feature
• Repeat until you can do a full 90 seconds without breaking the rule

"What changes is you de-risk the build before you commit. You get clarity on scope, UX, and technical approach — so internal alignment isn't a guessing game. This means your team stops debating in circles and starts executing on something you can show stakeholders."

• Defaulting to feature language: "We have a team of editors and motion designers"
• Not connecting the solution to the specific problems discovered earlier

Pair drill. Rep has just finished the value/solution section of the pitch. Now they must present the price. Partner plays a neutral prospect — not hostile, just watching for confidence.

• Rep re-anchors on value: "So we're solving X, Y, and Z — that's worth [value framing]."
• Then states price clearly (example): "The investment for the concept design phase is [amount] — that buys the blueprint before we talk full build."
• Then silence. Count to 5. Let the prospect react.
• Partner scores: Was the transition smooth? Did the rep apologize, hedge, or rush? Did they hold the silence?

The price feels like a natural conclusion to the value conversation. No "it's only," no "but we can discuss," no rushing past the number. The rep states it, pauses, and lets the prospect respond.

• Apologizing with hedging language: "I know it's a lot, but..."
• Immediately offering a discount or lower tier before the prospect has even reacted

Pair drill. Partner gives a scenario: "We're a 40-person services firm; sales and ops use different systems; we need a client portal and better reporting." Rep has 60 seconds to think, then 90 seconds to present the most relevant proof.

• Partner picks a scenario from a different industry each round
• Rep selects from Polymorph's portfolio — the case that most closely mirrors the scenario
• Present in 90 seconds: "We worked with a similar team — [description]. They had the same challenge. Here's what we built, and here's what changed."
• Partner scores: Was it relevant? Specific? Did it create confidence?

The proof feels handpicked for the prospect's situation. It's specific (not "we've worked with lots of startups"), it includes a before/after, and it creates the feeling of "they've done this before — this will work for us too."

• Defaulting to the biggest or most impressive case instead of the most relevant one
• Spending too long on context and not enough on the result

Pair drill. Prospect has just seen the price and says "That's more than we were expecting." Rep must diagnose whether the objection is about total cost, cash flow, or perceived ROI — then resolve it.

• Rep asks: "Is it total cost, cash flow, or whether you'll see a return that's the concern?"
• Based on the answer, deploy the right framing: wrong-build cost ("A six-month misfire often costs more than the concept design"), in-house comparison ("A product + engineering bench has salary, tools, and management overhead"), South Africa value ("Same seniority, different cost base — without cutting rigour")
• Prospect can push back 2–3 times. Rep keeps reframing without dropping the price.
• 5 minutes per round

The prospect shifts from "that's expensive" to "okay, when you put it like that..." The rep never drops the price — they change how the prospect thinks about the price. Confidence stays high throughout.

• Immediately suggesting a lower tier or discount instead of reframing
• Getting defensive — "well, quality costs money" — instead of staying curious about the real objection

Pair drill. The pitch has just finished. Prospect says "This looks great, we'll discuss internally and come back to you." Rep must convert this into a concrete next step.

• Rep responds: "Great — when do you think you'll have that conversation?" Then: "Can we book 15 minutes on [specific date] so I can answer any questions that come up?"
• If prospect resists booking, rep asks: "What specifically needs to happen for you to make a decision?" and "Is there anything I can prepare to help that conversation?"
• Prospect should be realistically evasive, not hostile
• 4 minutes per round

The call ends with either: (a) a follow-up call booked with a specific date and time, or (b) a clear "no" — which is better than silence. The rep never accepts "we'll be in touch" as a final answer.

• Accepting vague timelines to avoid seeming pushy
• Not asking what the internal decision criteria are — if you don't know what they're evaluating, you can't influence the outcome

Pair or team drill. One person fires rapid objections. The other responds in under 20 seconds each. No pausing between objections.

• Objection thrower picks from: "Too expensive," "Not the right time," "We've been burned before," "Need to check with my boss," "We're looking at other options," "Can you just do one project first?" "What if it doesn't work?"
• Rep has 20 seconds per response. Must follow the flow: Acknowledge ("I understand that"), Diagnose ("When you say X, is it about Y or Z?"), Resolve ("Here's how we handle that")
• After 5 rounds, debrief: Which response was strongest? Where did you freeze?

The rep handles all 5 without freezing. Responses feel natural, not scripted. Each response ends with a forward motion — a question back or a proposed next step. Speed and composure improve with repetition.

• Skipping the "diagnose" step and jumping straight to a rehearsed answer
• Getting flustered after the second or third objection — the drill is specifically designed to build composure under pressure

Pair drill. Prospect says "We love the proposal but the budget is tight. Can you do it for 20% less?" Rep must hold the price and offer a trade.

• Rep acknowledges the budget constraint, then offers alternatives: "We can narrow concept design to fewer modules" or "We phase build — ship an MVP slice first, then expand" or "Longer partnership commitment can change how we structure fees."
• Prospect can counter-offer. Rep must always trade something (scope, hours, commitment length) rather than simply discounting.
• If the prospect insists on a pure discount with nothing traded, rep should be comfortable saying: "I can't drop the price without changing the scope, but here's what I can do..."
• 5 minutes per round

The rep never drops the price for nothing. Every concession is matched by a trade-off. The prospect feels like they got flexibility, and the rep protects the margin. The relationship stays positive throughout.

• Panicking and offering a discount to "save the deal"
• Making the trade-off feel punitive — "Well, if you want less money, you get less" — instead of collaborative

Pair drill. Rep delivers the final close question: "Based on everything we've covered, does it make sense to move forward?" Then counts to 5 in their head. Partner stays silent for as long as they can.

• Rep asks the close question with confidence. No hedging, no softening.
• Then: silence. Count 1-2-3-4-5 in your head. Do not speak.
• Partner can stay silent for 5, 10, even 15 seconds to test the rep's discipline
• If the rep breaks the silence, start over. The goal is to hold the space for the prospect to respond.
• Run 5 rounds. Track how long the rep holds each time.

The rep asks the question, pauses, and waits — comfortably. No fidgeting, no "so... what do you think?" No backtracking with "I mean, no pressure..." The silence does the work. The prospect fills the space with their honest answer.

• Breaking the silence with a qualifier: "I mean, obviously there's no pressure..."
• Asking a follow-up question before the prospect has answered the first one — this lets them off the hook