The short answer
What should I practise first in sales?
Practise one real conversation coming up this week, starting with the minute that matters most: the opening, the price or the ask. Describe the buyer by role and situation, include the reply you dread and set one observable target so you can tell whether an attempt was better.
Foreword
Why it matters
Practice pays off when it is close to the situation you will actually face. A specific plan for a specific moment (“when the buyer says X, I will ask Y”) makes follow-through far more likely than a general intention1. Starting with a conversation you genuinely care about also gives you a reason to come back and try again.
Retrieval
61%
of a passage recalled a week later after three practice tests, against 40% after four readings2
What we’ll cover in this guide
- Part 01: Pick the conversation
- Part 02: Build a realistic buyer
- Part 03: Decide what better looks like
- Your practice task: a short exercise to try with Selly
- Conclusion and what to practise next
Part 01: Pick the conversation
Look at the next seven days. Which call, meeting or follow-up would you most like to go better?
Choosing well
Follow the discomfort
The moment you keep putting off is usually the right one to rehearse: the renewal where the price went up, the prospect who went quiet, the first call with a senior buyer.
One conversation, one moment
Do not rehearse the whole meeting. Choose the minute that decides how it goes: the opening, the price, or the ask at the end.
Reflection questions and how to get started
- Could you describe the conversation in two sentences? If not, pick a smaller one.
- Is it happening soon enough to matter? Within a week is ideal.
Part 02: Build a realistic buyer
Give the practice buyer enough context to push back the way the real one might, without using real records.
Enough context, not private data
Describe the role and the pressure
Their job, what they care about this quarter and what would make them hesitate. That is enough for a realistic conversation.
Include the awkward reply
Write down the response you are most worried about hearing, and make sure the practice buyer uses it.
Reflection questions and how to get started
- Did you include the reply you dread? Add it.
- Is anything in your setup private? Replace it with a description.
Part 03: Decide what better looks like
Before you start, write one observable change. Otherwise every attempt feels about the same.
A target you can hear
Make it observable
“Sound more confident” is hard to check. “Ask one question before I answer the price concern” is easy.
Keep the same scenario for a few attempts
Change your approach, not the buyer, so you can tell what made the difference.
Reflection questions and how to get started
- Can someone listening tell whether you hit the target? If not, make it more concrete.
- What will you try if the first attempt misses? Decide now.
Your practice task
- Write down one real conversation from your week and the minute that matters most.
- Set up Selly with a buyer described by role and situation, including the reply you dread.
- Name one observable target and attempt the moment out loud.
- Read the feedback, change one thing and try again.
Conclusion
Start with a conversation that matters to you this week. A real stake gives the practice a purpose, and a single observable target tells you whether it worked.
