54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you only read ONE sales book, Read this one!, July 18, 2006
This is perhaps the best all-around sales book I have ever read. While other books point out much needed information, or say the same thing with a different perspective that is sometimes necessary to understand a point, this book should be THE starting point for any sales professional. This book has helped me greatly in my success as a sale professional. It is a sales book, a persuasion book, and a psychology book all rolled into one. Everyone seems to try to start people off with "You Can't Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar" by Sandler, but this book is everything that book is and then some.
Where are the differences? Other books take an elementary strategy to the sales process. First you prospect, then you get the appointment, then you interview the customer, then you give your presentation, then you handle objections, then you close, close, close! I have even heard one person ask what the point of "step 1" is....and his answer was to get to "step 2". while this is somewhat useful to understand, it doesn't help you DO it, it doesn't tell you what to do and how to do it, and it's little more than an outline.
Secrets of Questions Based Selling gets down to the nitty-gritty. He brings things to the table that you may never think about if you don't read this book. He talks about how people interact, how they need to ad value, how they mismatch, how different types of questions serve different purposes- some are solely for the benefit of the person doing the questioning and ad no value to the person answering (i.e.- What CRM product are you currently using in your company?), while others provide more value to the customer (How many customers do you think you are losing because you do not have voicemail and people are hanging up?), etc.
I have read A LOT of books on sales, and I keep finding pieces of this book in all of the other works. High Trust Selling, Sandler's work, Selling with NLP, SPIN selling, etc. They may build on things differently, but this book IS the foundation.
So, as yourself these questions:
1. Am I EVER going to read a sales book? (If so, this should be the first one)
2. Have I been reading sales books, but haven't read this one yet? (If so, this should be the next one you read)
3. Have I been reading sales books, but haven't quite found a useful one yet? (See #2, and this will be a useful book- if you learn it)
Overall, this is a GREAT book that provides a GREAT foundation to your sales knowledge. However, always keep in mind that you have to use what you learn (which means you have to LEARN it first), and that you can't hit a baseball by reading a book. Use the books to learn the mechanics, but then get up and swing the bat a few times, and then get out and hit the ball!
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing could be better, March 18, 2003
This review is from: Secrets of Question Based Selling: How the Most Powerful Tool in Business Can Double Your Sales Results (Paperback)
I am glad to see this book at the top of the sales chart. When I bought the book, it was ranked at the lower end of the top 50 best sellers in sales. When I was half way through the book, I thought this should rank at the top and deserve a classic status. Everything is fresh and the book teaches you how to approach a sales from any industries. I am testing the concepts in my work and immediate see result from my adoption. Most sales books out there are more geared towards big corporate sales which is not relevant in my financial industry. I find this book to be exceptionally easy to borrow its ideas for my financial industry. Anyone who is serious in sales should not miss this gem. I can guarantee you that you will learn a lot from it.
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27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Add this one to your tool bag, February 20, 2006
This review is from: Secrets of Question Based Selling: How the Most Powerful Tool in Business Can Double Your Sales Results (Paperback)
There is no one right way to sell. Different customers require different selling strategies. To add to one's tool bag of selling strategies, the author, Thomas A. Freese, offers Question Based Selling (QBS) Question Based Selling is a systematic framework, using questions as its primary tool, which strives to increase the probability of making a successful sale.
The author sees two great risks in sales. One is the risk of rejection. The author explains that by asking questions, the seller can then send out signals to prospective buyers and evaluates the response. The second risk to sales is "mismatching." Mismatching is defined as the tendency of people to automatically contradict what someone says. In this case, both the seller and perspective buyer can be guilty of this. The author demonstrates a method to disarm the mismatching reflex. The strategy includes:
· Asking more questions and making fewer statements.
· Build credibility to gain confidence from buyers
· Leverage curiosity.
The authors see the key to building effective relationships relies on a methodology known as Conversational Layering. Conversational Layering is designed to ask people the right questions at the right time. Specifically it is designed to:
· Spark curiosity in products and services
· Earn credibility
· Build relationships
· Uncover needs make effective sales presentations
· Secure a commitment to buy
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