Way back in the semester, professor Sweet discussed in class that the best way to prepare for a sales conversation is to ask yourself the questions that you would ask in the sales conversation.  There are two main reasons that asking questions before a sales conversation is beneficial.  The first reason is that questions set us out to pursue real answers to questions.  When we ask ourselves our own question and put ourselves in the shoes of the buyer it allows us to better see what answers could possibly be given in the real sales conversation.  Being able to see a question from different angles and different answers better prepares us for when we are in a conversation because we may not be thrown on our heels as fast with an answer.  The second reason to ask questions is for the idea that questions make us look for motivation and reasons within.  When real, true questions are asked to yourself it allows for more authentic and real questions to be asked during a sales conversation.

In preparing for the sales conversation today in class I even found myself practicing this interrogative self talk with a notecard.  I would write down a question and give the answer I would say and then try to think of different answers that any other person would give when asked that certain question.  From there I branched off what answers I came up with from the first question I asked and came up with more questions.  This technique helped me think of things in different ways, however, it does not completely prepare you for a sales conversation.  Not one sales conversation is going to be the same as the one before.  The old, very structured sales conversation is no longer a thing so therefore getting into a question asking mentality is a very beneficial technique to prepare for the type of sales conversations had today.

2 thoughts on “The Interrogative Self-Talk”
  1. I completely agree that interrogative self talk is very beneficial in preparing to sell. Good thing Professor Sweet knew how to switch it up and you and had that notecard shaking in your hands. In all seriousness, asking yourself authentic questions is a great way to prepare.

  2. I think that interrogative self-talk is an excellent way to prepare for a sales conversation, especially when most sales conversations primarily consist of questions. Knowing how to ask yourself questions better prepares you for asking questions of other people, especially in terms of getting them to think about your point.

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