Recent Articles by T. Freese

Check out Go Magazine, Jan 2010

You know those wonderful in-flight magazines that keep passengers occupied and entertained while stranded on the tarmac? Well, I trained the sales team for Ink Publishing earlier this year in London. They are the company that produces most of the leading in-flight magazines. As a result of their sales training, Ink Publishing has featured me and Question Based Selling in an article called "Selling Points", to appear in Go Magazine, which will be in the seatback pocket of every Air Tran Airways flight starting January 1st.

Not scheduled for an Air Tran Airways flight any time soon? You can simply download the article right here. Hope you enjoy!

The Business of Giving Awards

If you owned a shoe manufacturing company and one of your ships unexpectedly came upon an island inhabited by thousands of locals walking around barefoot, one could think, “There’s no opportunity here. These people don’t even wear shoes.” On the other hand, the person looking at the proverbial glass as being “half-full” might realize, “Hey, look at all the bare feet! Quick, unload the ship!”

Last week, I worked with a client in St. Paul, Minnesota who faces a similarly interesting phenomenon. Crystal D is a leading manufacturer of awards. And, as their name indicates, much of what they produce is employee and customer recognition pieces made of fine crystal. Whether it’s a custom design etched with the recipient’s name and the host company’s logo, or a standard crystal bowl, recognizing the value of people and relationships with these awards creates a lasting impression.

So, what do you suppose happens when a financial downturn puts the squeeze on client budgets, or corporate cutbacks significantly curtail discretionary spending? Just as you might hold off buying that huge hunk of jewelry for your spouse, one could assume that the current economic climate is bad for the crystal award business.

Au contraire! It turns out that Crystal D’s business isn’t really about just giving awards or manufacturing products. Rather, they are in the recognition and appreciation business. Especially given the recent turbulence, it turns out that retaining valuable employees, preserving partnerships, and enhancing customer loyalty is more important than ever before! What can be done to retain employees, motivate partners, and enhance customer relationships? One option is to throw money at them.

For years, financial incentives have been the primary reward companies used to entice customers, motivate employees, reward talent, and increase productivity. Now that we’ve entered a period where payrolls are being radically trimmed, however, bonus checks have become less frequent and noticeably smaller—to the point where opportunities to provide financial compensation are probably going to be much more limited into the foreseeable future.

If you look beyond monetary compensation, you will notice that employees, partners, and customers actually desire two things. In addition to being fairly compensated, most people also yearn to be “appreciated” by those with whom they do business. Therefore, particularly in the midst of financial stress, it’s more important than ever to communicate and to demonstrate to employees, partners, and customers that they are indeed valuable to you and your business.

The fact that crystal is “more expensive” is also a waning objection. Dollar for dollar, nothing can provide the same initial impact or lasting value as a crystal recognition piece. Personally, I have accumulated a number of crystal awards over the years and they will forever occupy prominent places on my desk and bookshelves. Giving out gift cards or holiday turkeys is nice, but it doesn’t compare to the lasting emotions that come from a lasting reminder that says, “You are important to us.”

As companies seek to motivate employees, stay ahead of the competition, acknowledge partner relationships, differentiate new product launches, and inspire loyalty through their existing customers, the trend is actually moving toward enhanced recognition programs where companies give more and more frequent awards. Hence, the upside for using recognition to offset lean economic times has actually bolstered Crystal D’s business, much like pulling a ship full of shoes up to an island inhabited with barefoot people.

Note that this article is not a paid endorsement or a commercial advertisement. Besides being a timely idea you may want to use in your own business, this blog post is simply an example of how thinking outside the box is what will ultimately enable to the strong to survive. Maybe I’ll even win an award!

The Redcoats are Coming

It’s time to seriously ‘question’ traditional approaches.

In fact, isn’t it amazing how some of the strategies and techniques of yesteryear, ideas that were once thought to be state of the art, end up, in hindsight, being exactly the opposite of what actually makes sense?

Take the revolutionary war, for example. Honestly, I can’t think of anything that seems more silly than dressing up in a bright red uniform, marching out into an open field, and then standing as tall as possible, in a line of other similarly outfitted redcoats, just to be shot at by the opposition. But, that’s how entire armies used to engage in battle, mostly because it was the traditional approach.

Ironically, some of the traditional sales approaches for dealing with prospects and customers are just as antiquated.

Take cold calls, for example. How receptive are you to sales callers who start with an ‘elevator pitch’ about their product, followed by:

"I’m calling to introduce myself…"
"I just wanted to take a few minutes of your time…"
"I wanted to have the opportunity to show you our solutions…"
"I’d like to ask a few questions to see if you qualify for a special offer…"

Really? The customer should take the call because a salesperson they don’t yet know or trust wants to introduce themselves? How receptive are you to such cold calls? I bet the answer is, not so much. Yet sellers continue to make these calls and beat their heads against a wall, because "it’s how we’ve always done it"–the traditional approach.

I am not suggesting that you shouldn’t make sales calls, or initiate contact with prospective customers. Creating revenue opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t exist will continue to be an important part of every salesperson’s role. I am simply calling into question the status quo, and linking your future to approaches that no longer make sense.

When delivering ‘live’ QBS training or speaking events, one of the questions I always get asked has something to do with someone wanting to know if I experienced an epiphany that caused me to change my approach. The answer is yes, although it happened over time as opposed to being hit by a lightning bolt or having a single idea pop into my head.

I used to focus on my sales approach. How did I want to manage tomorrow’s meeting, or how was I going to accomplish certain goals. Fortunately, it started to occur to me that the customer didn’t really care about my goals.

The most important thing sellers need to focus on today stems from one simple question: "How do you want to be perceived by your prospects and customers, not to mention coworkers, friends, family, or your boss?" Ask yourself, what’s in it for them?

Unfortunately, the revolutionary war example points out the fallacy of relying on traditions for success, but it doesn’t offer much direction for the salesperson who wants to build mutually beneficial business relationships. You don’t want to go to war against your customers, and there’s no point in engaging them in battle. You may want to duck your head a bit, however, instead of just making a bunch of cold calls and hoping for the best.

I have now published five books, where the underlying theme of each is stepping outside the box of traditional thinking, in order to differentiate yourself along with your company and products. At the end of the day, being successful in selling is ultimately about two things: helping people and communicating effectively.

The best part is, every time a sales conversation goes well, the customer always "thanks" the salesperson for their help. That’s right! Every time a sales call ends in a win for the customer, the customer thanks the salesperson for their help.

Think about it. When was the last time you got thanked for making a cold call?

Sell Your Intangible Value

What’s the value of working with a knowledgeable, credible, and trustworthy salesperson as opposed to someone whose methods are somewhat questionable? The difference can be huge to customers even if the products being offered are virtually identical. In sales, the customer’s perception of your value is equal to the benefits of your product or service plus the intangible values you bring to the table.

From my perspective, it’s no longer enough to be friendly and polite. There are plenty of salespeople in the world who are nice. The idea behind this concept of selling yourself is to accrue enough value to tip the scales in your favor whether you are up against a competitive proposal, or you are competing against the decision to do nothing. We also want to accumulate enough value to overcome any questions or concerns that may come up when dealing with objections.

Whether a salesperson is born with character traits like credibility, integrity, knowledge, helpfulness, candor, or respect, is debatable. The key is being able to convey your intangible values throughout the sales process, so sellers who think strategically can be perceived as more valuable resources than the competition. That’s where the application of specific techniques becomes very important. As I have said many times, even if you are the most valuable salesperson in your industry, you still must say and do things that cause you to be perceived as such.

Anyone Have a Degree in Sales?

Sales continues to be the least taught profession in the world.

After graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in Finance, one of my options was to pursue a career in banking. I never really saw myself working in a bank, so I went into sales.

To get hired, I suppose it was necessary to have a decent personality, but you didn’t need any specific industry certifications. You just had to "want to" sell. By the time the first year passed, I had accumulated some on-the-job trial by fire experience, but the amount of official sales training I received was negligible. There was this unwritten feeling among managers that salespeople should already know how to sell.

I didn’t. I knew how to pick up the telephone and keep dialing until my fingers bled. I also knew that everyone was focused on results, and my manager told me that sales was simply a ‘numbers game.” For a neophyte like myself who was struggling to scratch out a living, selling was hardly a game.

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SellingPower: Sales Makeovers

Heather Baldwin of Selling Power Magazine called me, having heard about some of the success our clients were having with Question Based Selling. “Do you have any real life examples,” she asked.

That was easy enough. Since I had already trained several sales teams within IBM, I called Jim Hardee, Vice President Teleweb Sales, and asked if anyone wanted to participate in a laboratory experiment to ‘field test’ the QBS Methodology. We got tons of volunteers and the article about what happened with one person in particular.

“The results have been remarkable. Freese’s guidance has given him more confidence, made him more relaxed, and he sounds more natural. Now, Scott gets to the heart of the customer’s issues every time.” –Jim Hardee

In the article, Scott Fletcher attests that his conversations with customers have definitely become more meaningful. “Without a doubt,” he says, “This process makes customers ‘want to’ engage with you instead of pushing you away. Once you can get customers to open up, it makes the sales process a whole lot easier and the QBS approach does just that.”

[Read Entire PDF Article]

Recession Proof Your Sales Organization

What happened to the glory days of selling, where new prospect opportunities were abundant, dot-com companies were spending money in all directions, and sales organizations exceeded their revenue targets by two, and sometimes, three-fold?

Well, guess what? Economic conditions have changed. With the threat of recession looming on the horizon, new prospects have all but disappeared, existing customers have tightened their budgets, and most of the “low hanging fruit” has already been picked.

Where does that leave sales organizations?

The natural tendency is to panic. With the bottom line in jeopardy, many companies are now scrambling to reduce headcount and cut back on expenses. As a result, edicts have gone out stating that there will be no more off-site meetings, salespeople can only travel when absolutely necessary, and some companies have even put a moratorium on logo golf shirts.

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Making Audiences More Receptive to Your Message

I don’t teach presentation skills like voice inflection, gesturing, or how to utilize visual aids in front of an audience. That doesn’t mean presentation skills aren’t important. They are! But so is another aspect of the sales presentation that nobody talks about, which is how to make your presentation audience more receptive to your message.

Too often, we assume that just because someone sits through a sales presentation means they are ready to listen to our ideas. Nothing could be further from the truth.

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It’s NEVER A Good Time for Training

More than any other time since the industrial revolution, companies and individuals in all industries are feverishly looking for ways to retain customers, boost top line revenue, and maintain overall profit margins. To survive and ultimately flourish in this new environment, we must reexamine the way we deal with customers; and frankly, some of the necessary adjustments are long overdue.

(Click the image to the right to download the entire document.)

(Click here to download the entire document.)