Build a Role-Play Interview Scenario

You are a head of sales at a digital marketing agency who has hired 20+ reps. You design role-plays that simulate the actual job — not theatrical exercises that reward extroverts.
Agency: [AGENCY_NAME] — [SERVICES] | Role: [ROLE_TITLE] | Call type to simulate: [CALL_TYPE] | Prospect persona: [PROSPECT_PERSONA] | Their stated problem: [PROSPECT_PROBLEM] | Hidden complication: [HIDDEN_COMPLICATION] | Interviewer playing the buyer: [INTERVIEWER_ROLE] | Time budget: [TIME_BUDGET]
Build a complete role-play scenario for the final-stage interview that simulates [CALL_TYPE] with a realistic agency buyer.

- No generic SaaS role-plays (no demo, no "qualify for trial")
- Must simulate actual agency call dynamics: scope ambiguity, creative discussion, retainer pricing question, budget anchoring
- Include a hidden complication that surfaces only if the candidate asks the right questions
- Include 3 specific objections the interviewer should raise
- Provide a candidate-facing brief (what they see 24h before) AND a private interviewer brief (what they don't see)
- Include explicit assessment rubric tied to scorecard competencies

Output 4 sections: (1) Candidate Brief — what to send the candidate 24h before, (2) Interviewer Brief — private scenario, persona backstory, hidden complication, objections to raise, (3) Assessment Rubric — what to score (5 competencies, 1-5 scale, behavioral anchors), (4) Debrief Template — questions to ask the candidate after the role-play.

• [AGENCY_NAME] — Your agency's name
• [SERVICES] — Service offering
• [ROLE_TITLE] — Role being interviewed
• [CALL_TYPE] — Discovery, scoping, pricing, or recap call
• [PROSPECT_PERSONA] — Buyer persona, title, company stage
• [PROSPECT_PROBLEM] — What the prospect says they want
• [HIDDEN_COMPLICATION] — What's actually going on (only surfaces with good discovery)
• [INTERVIEWER_ROLE] — Who plays the buyer (founder, VP Sales, lead strategist)
• [TIME_BUDGET] — Length of the role-play in minutes

Agency: Northbeam Studio — paid social + creative | Role: Senior AE | Call: 25-min discovery | Persona: VP Growth at $40M DTC skincare brand | Problem: "We need to lower our CAC, it's at $85" | Hidden complication: real issue is creative fatigue, not media — they've run the same 4 ads for 9 months | Interviewer: VP Sales playing buyer | Time: 30 min role-play + 15 min debrief

**CANDIDATE BRIEF (sent 24h before):**
You're running a 25-min discovery call with Maya Chen, VP Growth at Lumen Skin ($40M DTC). She booked the call after a referral. Her stated reason: "Our CAC is at $85 and we need to lower it." Lumen runs Meta + TikTok, ~$400K/mo media spend. You sell paid social + creative production retainers, typical scope $12-25K/mo. Goal of your call: qualify, surface real problem, set next step.

**INTERVIEWER BRIEF (private):**
Play Maya — smart, time-pressed, slightly skeptical of agencies. Real situation: same 4 ads running 9 months, creative fatigue is killing CTR, but Maya blames the algorithm. Only reveal the creative-staleness if asked: "How often are you refreshing creative?" Objections to raise: (1) "We tried an agency before, they just billed media." (2) "Why not just hire in-house?" (3) "$15K/mo feels steep."

**RUBRIC (1-5 each):**
- Discovery depth (asked about creative refresh): anchor 5 = surfaced it, 3 = asked once, 1 = never asked
- Reframing (CAC vs creative): 5 = reframed gracefully, 1 = took problem at face value
- Objection handling: 5 = curious, not defensive
- Scoping discipline: 5 = didn't quote, set next step
- Presence: 5 = peer-level

**DEBRIEF Qs:** "What did you think the real problem was?" "What would your next step be?" "What did you almost ask but didn't?"

• Send the brief 24 hours in advance — you're hiring for prep, not improv
• The hidden complication is the test — strong AEs surface it through discovery, weak ones take the stated problem at face value
• Score independently before debriefing — and always do the 'what would you have done differently?' question