If you work in sales enablement, you’ve probably heard the pitch: “AI-powered coaching, scalable training, and real-world results with less headache.” The latest tool promising all that? Secondnature. But does it actually make a difference, or is it just another shiny dashboard you’ll ignore in a month?
I rolled up my sleeves and spent a few weeks digging into Secondnature from the perspective of a sales enablement leader, a frontline rep, and—let’s be real—someone who’s seen a lot of forgettable software. Here’s what’s worth your time, what’s just noise, and how to decide if this thing is actually going to move the needle for your team.
Who Is Secondnature Actually For?
Let’s cut through the vague slogans. Secondnature is built for B2B companies with sales teams that do complex, consultative selling. If you’re running a transactional call center, this isn’t your tool. Their sweet spot:
- Growth-stage SaaS and tech companies
- Sales teams (AE, SDR, CSM) with 15+ people
- Sales enablement or RevOps folks tired of chasing people to do role-plays
- Orgs with a playbook, but spotty execution in the field
If your team is already firing on all cylinders, you might not need it. If you’re still figuring out what your sales process should even look like, you’re too early.
What Secondnature Promises (and What It Actually Does)
Secondnature calls itself a “virtual sales coach.” What that really means: it uses AI to run simulated sales conversations, grade them, and give feedback. The main pitch is you can get reps practicing real calls without needing a manager to sit in. Here’s what you actually get:
The Good Stuff
- AI-Powered Role-Play: No more awkward peer-to-peer “let’s pretend I’m the angry CFO” sessions. Reps practice with a bot that can ask tough questions, push back, and test their messaging.
- Automated Feedback: It scores reps on objection handling, product knowledge, talk/listen ratio, and other stuff managers care about.
- Scenarios Are Customizable: You can build scenarios for new products, competitor talk tracks, or even onboarding. It’s pretty flexible.
- Manager Visibility: Dashboards show who’s practiced, who’s struggling, and how people are trending. Good for coaching and for showing the C-suite you’re actually doing something.
- Integrates with LMS and CRM (sort of): You can push assignments and, in some cases, pull in data. More on this later.
The Not-So-Great
- AI Is Still… AI: It’s not the same as a real buyer. Some reps find the bot easy to “game.” Others get frustrated when it misinterprets what they say.
- Setup Takes Time: You can’t just turn it on and expect magic. Building good scenarios and calibrating scoring is a project—especially if your team’s messaging is still evolving.
- Feedback Can Be Generic: Sometimes the automated feedback is too vague to be useful (“Try to listen more!”). Good managers will still need to supplement it.
- Integrations Are Shallow: Don’t expect deep Salesforce magic. It’s mostly “check the box” integrations—enough to say it’s connected, but not enough to automate much.
Getting Started: What’s the Actual Workflow?
Here’s how you’d actually use Secondnature if you’re in charge of sales enablement:
1. Build/Import Scenarios
You’ll need to create realistic sales calls that match your team’s process. Secondnature gives you templates, but you’ll get more out of it if you customize:
- Use actual call recordings for reference.
- Create separate scenarios for different buyer personas or products.
- Write clear “success criteria” (what good looks like).
Pro tip: Involve top reps in building these. If you do it alone, the scenarios tend to be too idealized or out of touch.
2. Assign Practice to Reps
You can assign scenarios as part of onboarding, product launches, or ongoing training. Most teams do this:
- As a requirement before new reps can hit the phones
- After a new feature release or messaging change
- As a quarterly “skills check” for the whole team
3. Reps Practice (On Their Own Time)
Reps log in, pick a scenario, and run through the AI conversation. They get instant feedback and a score. They can usually retry as many times as they want.
- Some reps will try to “beat the system.” That’s fine—at least they’re practicing.
- Others will blow it off unless you track completion. This is where the dashboard helps.
4. Review Results and Coach
Enablement and managers get reports on who’s practiced, how they scored, and where they struggled. The best use:
- Identify who needs 1:1 coaching (don’t just rely on the AI’s feedback).
- Spot patterns (e.g., everyone struggles with pricing objections).
- Use recordings as a springboard for team training.
Reality check: If you don’t have time for follow-up coaching, you won’t get much value. The tool surfaces issues, but humans still need to fix them.
What’s Actually Useful vs. “Nice to Have”
Here’s what I’d keep, and what I’d skip if I were paying for this out of my own budget:
Worth Your Time
- Custom scenarios about your actual sales conversations
- Tracking practice completion for onboarding and launches
- Using real data to focus your live coaching
Meh
- Leaderboard gamification: Some reps love it; others don’t care. Don’t expect it to change culture.
- “Score” obsession: The number is only as good as the scenario. It’s a directional metric, not gospel.
Skip (for Now)
- Advanced CRM automations: Unless your team is already mature with process and data, these feel half-baked.
- AI-generated feedback without human review: It’s not a replacement for a good manager’s eye.
The Real Pros and Cons (No Fluff)
What Secondnature Gets Right
- Solves the “nobody practices” problem: If you’re tired of role-plays getting skipped, this at least gets reps talking through the pitch.
- Scales better than peer-to-peer: Especially if you’re hiring fast, you can “clone” your best calls for everyone to practice.
- Manager accountability: You’ll finally have data to show who’s putting in the reps—no more guessing.
Where It Falls Short
- Not a replacement for live coaching: The AI isn’t going to notice the subtle stuff that separates a good rep from a great one.
- Still requires enablement lift: Someone needs to own scenario creation, review feedback, and keep things fresh.
- Can feel artificial: Some reps will say it’s “not like real buyers.” They’re right. It’s a practice tool, not a magic bullet.
What About Pricing?
Secondnature doesn’t make pricing public. Expect it to be in the “mid-tier SaaS” range—think $50–$150 per user/month, depending on volume. If you’re a tiny team, it probably won’t be worth it. For larger teams, you’ll need to prove ROI (think ramp time, rep performance, coaching hours saved).
Heads up: There’s usually a setup fee if you want their team to help with scenario building and onboarding.
Real-World Results: Does It Actually Help?
- Onboarding is smoother: New reps hit a baseline faster, especially if you pair Secondnature with live shadowing.
- Consistency improves: Messaging gets more uniform—even your “average” reps sound more like the top performers.
- Manager time is saved: Less time scheduling awkward role-plays, more time on targeted coaching.
But you won’t see a 30% jump in closed deals just by turning it on. The tool only works if you integrate it with actual coaching and hold people accountable.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Secondnature can help you fix a real, annoying problem—getting reps to actually practice and improve. But don’t expect miracles. Use it to supplement (not replace) hands-on coaching, and don’t overcomplicate things chasing every feature. Start simple: nail your scenarios, track the basics, and focus on real-world conversations.
If you treat Secondnature like a gym membership—valuable only if you actually use it—you’ll get your money’s worth. If not, it’ll just be another line on your SaaS bill. So keep it simple, get feedback, and keep tweaking as you go.