Customer Reviews

Secrets of Question Based Selling: How the Most Powerful Tool in Business Can Double Your Sales Results

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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!

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.

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

I've read many of the popular sales books throughout the last 15 years and frankly, there's nothing new out there. This book takes a totally fresh approach to selling which anyone can use starting tomorrow, and packages it into "Secrets" that help anyone understand the fundamentals of successful selling and personal relationships. If you're tired of rehashed "Sales 101...", this is a must-read!

If you are truly serious about selling, this book is a "must have". It is written in easy to read, understand and implement language and will improve your success dramatically. I have been a successful, professional salesperson for 22 years and found the insight in this book effective. One caution: it is written in such a easy flowing style be cautious not to overlook or underestimate the messages being conveyed. An example that comes to mind is the section regarding the "Have I caught you at a bad time?" lesson. It reads very quickly, but is an extremely important and effective tool....I would highly recommend this book.

Secrets of Question Based Selling continues to be one of the most valuable books I have bought as I go back to it again and again to find nuggets of insight about the selling process. I wish I had this book 20 years ago. What a difference it would have made for me. Its value lies in its ability to lay out a more coherent, practical and humane approach to selling that is often lacking in other approaches. It is especially helpful to people who believe they don't have a sales "personality" and therefore are at a disadvantage. Nonsense. Mr. Freese shows that selling is not about personality; it's about listening, understanding, educating, and asking the right questions at the right time to build mutual trust. What a concept!

This is a truly great book. There's so much important material that it could be broken down into 2 or 3 books. The book is not that long, and it is very easy to read. But each page is packed with lots of new and interesting insights to the sales process.

I highly recommend it to anyone in sales. That includes high school guys getting ready to ask girls out on their first date. Freese addresses this sales dilemma.

His analogies, like the one to the Hunt for Red October for these high schoolers, were excellent.

Can't say enough about this book. I have underlined this book quite heavily.

John Dunbar

Tom has created a simple sales methodology for every salesperson in any field to be successful with. After reading his book and putting into practice the skills and techniques Tom teaches, my sells results more than doubled. By becoming a student of his sales methodology and stategies, I am now a much more effective, confident and successful salesperson! QBS is a must read for anyone who wants to differentiate themselves from others by becoming a super achiever!

Have you ever wondered why you sometimes feel as though you're not getting anywhere with a prospect because you don't know what to say next to make the person want to buy from you? If you're like most people talking comes very easily for you and when somebody asks your opinion, via directly or indirectly, you immediately go off into sales mode and then somewhere down the road you catch the prospect looking at his watchand telling you that he needs to "think it over."

If so, then a book written by Thomas Freese entitled, "Secrets of Question Based Selling: How the Most Powerful Tool Can Double Your Sales Results" might very well provide you with the ammunition you need to separate yourself from the competition and give you the tools to get the job done. I'm going to offer you something fun...something exciting...something you've never heard before. Are you ready? Sales professionals talk too much!

Yes, it's true; part of the reason why some people have disdain for people like sales professionals is because we won't shut up. Rather than learning more about a prospect and his needs, fears, hopes and dreams, we regurgitate the same canned sales pitch that we used on the last 10 people that had the same effect. Rejection without accomplishment!

This books does a very good job at illustrating a basic paradigm, a foundation shall we say, about what is needed to win...that is, to get a sale and help the client feel proud and secure.

Have you ever wondered why people some seem to flock to the gas stations every summer when gas prices go up $.05 like flies to honey? How about the beanie baby rave or the dot.com crash?

Thomas uses his sales experience to illuminate a basic social psychology principle entailing what motivates people in a group. The sad fact is that most people would jump off a bridge if everybody else did! But you're not like everybody else right?

Everything we do when were prospecting, selling, etc. can be stripped down to its core. Namely, we need tools that will enable us to increase the probability of succeeding. Thomas does a good job at illustrating ways to build credibility through asking questions, avoiding mismatching, using a social psychology theory (herding) to generate interest and using rewards and risk aversion to sell a product.

Surrounding prospects with the perception that "everyone else" is already moving in a certain direction is a very powerful QBS technique.

Let that sink in for a moment. He explicates that in order for a sale to be made; credibility must be built; questions must be asked and addressed; interest must be peaked; while building value in a presentation so a the proper solution can be offered that will help a prospect find a reward and avoid risk.

Thomas uses 259 pages to illustrate exactly what I said in the preceding paragraph. He even throws in a chapter about cold calling that is a must read for anybody serious about taking some stress out of cold calls. He says that the success rate for contacting prospects is between 2-5 person!

That means that out of every 100 hundred sales calls, the average performer can expect to generate only a small amount handful of opportunities. The other 95 to 98 percent of these calls end in rejection. Some food for thought.

In conclusion, I give this book 4 stars. The only reason why it's not a 5 is because he needed more examples of his questions that didn't rely on his computer background. I spent about a week reading this book, making notes and making some changes to my presentation and cold calling techniques. I had a hard time correlating some of his computer questions to my field (insurance).

I stopped watching Star Trek about 10 years ago (movies excluded), so I'm not up to speed on quantum-flux capacitors and how they relate to insurance. This is a book that I'm proud to add to my library though despite not being perfect.

In this day and age where everyone is too busy to even talk to themselves, let alone a salesperson, this book takes a refreshing new approach to selling. Thomas leverages the simple concept of getting people to want to have a conversation with you by earning the right to ask more questions. Most sales books and training teach that you need to ask questions, Thomas goes to the next step by developing questions that narrow your focus so that customers will want to engage with you.

This is a MUST read for any salesperson with all levels of experience. Good selling....