An exemplary embodiment of the invention is a system and method for an adaptive sales interview search technique for an electronic catalog. The system includes a customer interface, a host system coupled to the customer interface through a network and a database coupled to the host system. The host system provides, in the electronic catalog, products contained in a database. Also provided by the host system, are questions relating to the products to be presented to a customer who uses the electronic catalog. The host system supplies, in the electronic catalog, likely answers of the customer linked to constraints relative to the products contained in the database. The host system selects the electronic catalog questions in order of ranked importance, presents a highest ranked question, receives an answer to the highest ranked question, applies the constraints based on the answer to the highest ranked question and limits product choices based on the answer to the highest ranked question.