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    Worked example

    Sales Representative: Repair Follow-up Questions

    A B2 sales representative asks prepared discovery questions but misses information in the answer.

    This is a constructed teaching example, not a report of a real student or a claimed learning outcome.

    By Jan BrzostowskiReviewed by Martha, ESL Methodology Reviewer, 10 years of experiencePublished and updated June 15, 2026

    Student context

    A B2 sales representative runs software discovery calls. The learner has a reliable question list but needs to respond to the prospect's actual answer.

    Evidence

    • Prepared opening questions are accurate and natural.
    • The learner asks the next scripted question even when the prospect reveals a constraint.
    • Follow-up questions repeatedly use broad prompts that do not test the stated business impact.

    Decision

    Repair

    Failure to build a relevant follow-up question blocks the purpose of a discovery call, so the next lesson should repair listening-to-question conversion.

    Lesson objective

    By the end of the lesson, the learner will turn three prospect statements into specific follow-up questions about impact, urgency, or decision criteria.

    Activity sequence

    1. 1Underline the decision-relevant detail in six short prospect answers.
    2. 2Choose whether each detail requires an impact, urgency, or criteria question.
    3. 3Run a branching discovery call in which the next prompt depends on the previous answer.
    4. 4Review one missed opportunity and immediately replay that exchange.

    Evidence to collect next

    • Whether the follow-up question reuses the prospect's meaning rather than a memorized script.
    • Whether the question type matches the information gap.
    • Whether the learner notices and repairs an irrelevant follow-up.
    Decide your next lesson

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