The “New” Question Based Selling

“If you want to challenge the customer’s thinking about a product or service, you might first want to challenge your own on how it’s being positioned.”  T. Freese

My first book was originally published in May of 1999, fourteen years ago this month—so this is a milestone anniversary of sorts. I have since published three additional sales books and a parenting book,along with countless articles,all of which have evolved into the Question Based Selling Methodology. Literally thousands of salespeople and hundreds of sales teams have been trained on the QBS Methodology, which continues to evolve and grow.

During this time, my first book (Secrets of Question Based Selling) has done exceedingly well, and become my publisher’s number one bestselling business book with multiple runs over the years. It also has the distinction of having outsold itself every six months for the past thirteen and a half years…and counting.

You never know until a book is actually released whether it’s going to hit the nail on the head, but my intentions with this first book were clear from the beginning. I wanted to publish a timeless work where issues like the salesperson’s need to gain credibility, pique the customer’s interest, and convey value were strategic concepts that would never go out of vogue. So, it’s no surprise to me that these concepts are just as important to the success of a salesperson now as they were when the ink was fresh in 1999.

That said, I am happy to report that I have spent the last ten months updating this book for re-release in the fall of 2013, entitled Secrets of Question Based Selling: Gold Edition. Essentially, I have taken the proven strategies of QBS and adapted the material to the current competitive environment. I have also added a new layer of anecdotes, examples and content to with that I believe pulls the QBS Methodology together into a tighter and even easier to implement package.

With a target release date of November 2013, we are hopefully on track to extend the relevance and longevity of ‘QBS’ for another 14 years. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement on this truly unique journey.More information about the book will be forthcoming as the release date nears.

Process vs. Sales Effectiveness

If you want to ramp up your sales numbers for this quarter or the entire year, you might try focusing on being more effective, rather than simply focusing on the process.

It’s ironic but true that most of the training that has been delivered over the past 30 years has focused on defining the sales process rather than how to execute more effectively. While I agree than having a standard sales process in place can be a good thing, if you look around virtually any sales team in any company you will find that some salespeople are killing it while others continue to struggle, using the same exact sales process. Why does this phenomenon occur? Bottom line: It’s because the sales process in and of itself is not the differentiator.

Can we agree that most of your competitors have a sales process in place, too, and it’s probably one that is very similar to yours’? Hence, just defining the steps of the process doesn’t give your sales team any advantage. For example, everyone knows that Step #1 in the process is to identify new opportunities. The challenge salespeople now face on a daily basis is “How” to execute more effectively, given that a plethora of other salespeople are calling the same accounts, with the same objective of penetrating new business.

What’s Step #2 in the process—to qualify or uncover needs? Have you noticed that prospective customers are reticent to give out information to salespeople they don’t yet know or trust? How is a salesperson supposed to execute effectively when customers aren’t open to sharing information with a salesperson they don’t yet know or trust?

Follow the process! What process? Just identifying the steps of a formalized sales process doesn’t ensure your success. Perhaps this is why when I first come into a client account some salespeople are struggling, while others are knocking it out of the park; calling the same types of accounts, and the same types of people.

Execution has more to do with skills development than simply beating your head against the wall following some old-school sales process. Today, one of the major differences is dealing with customer skepticism. Let’s not pretend it doesn’t exist. Customers are more standoffish toward salespeople than ever before. Therefore, the ability to cause prospective customers to “want to” share information with a salesperson they don’t know or trust has become quite a challenge.

While most process models are built on the premise that customers already want to share, Question Based Selling takes the opposite view—that you must first pique the prospect’s interest and earn credibility in order to get prospects to open up. How exactly do you do that? That’s where the odyssey begins—toward you becoming a student of the question-based sale.

2012 QBS Boot Camp: Oct 4-5th

“There has never been a better time for sellers to do everything possible to make themselves invaluable to their customers, colleagues, and their company.”         -T. Freese

We’re very happy to announce our next QBS Summit! If you would like to renew your focus on increasing your own sales effectiveness, or give your entire sales team an unfair advantage over the competition, join us on October 4 - 5 for the October QBS Boot Camp.

The event, featuring QBS Research founder Tom Freese in Atlanta and will be held on Thursday, October 4th and Friday, October 5th.

The learning environment will be highly interactive, with participants from a variety of industries including technology, financial services, healthcare, consulting, insurance, real estate, manufacturing, advertising, hospitality, and retail, and feedback from previous QBS Summit events has been “off the charts.”

With limited seating, reserve your seats early since we are expecting a full house. You might also want to bring extra pencils and a stack of writing pads for note taking.

“Tom! I wanted to thank you for an amazing training two weeks ago-my head is still spinning from all of the great info. I met with our Regional Manager yesterday and he wants you to train the rest of our team. You will be hearing from us very soon…”    -Liz B., Michigan…your newest QBS groupie!

Click for Early Enrollment Discount &  SUMMIT DETAILS.

**NEW** iPhone App for QBS

Working in conjunction with a partner who has implemented Question Based Selling at two companies as the VP of sales, QBS Research, Inc. has created a customized iPhone app  that allows users to have specific Diagnostic Questions, Herd references, and other QBS concepts right at their fingertips.

While there is indeed a lot of content and information in Tom Freese’s books, that information is not readily available just before waling into a sales call. The option to customize the content also gives clients the ability to insert content relevant to their specific target markets and sales strategy.

Please contact us for more information.

**New** QBS Reference Guide: Your Playbook for Implementing the QBS Methodology

This 48 page reference guide was created as a “playbook” for QBS users to more quickly ramp up their selling efforts and implementation of the QBS methodology.

To order copies now at the low introductory price of $5.95, (basically our cost of publishing), click here.

While the information contained in this implementation guide covers a broad spectrum of the QBS methodology, it was not intended to replace the volumes of information contained in the QBS books. This document was simply created as a reference guide to the key concepts that will affect each and every one of your sales calls to new prospects or existing customers. In addition to the material and examples we have provided in this text, equally important are the exercises where your participation will serve as real-life conversational examples, which in turn, will provide content and context when planning future or managing current sales opportunities.

Remember, it has never been more important to be perceived as valuable to your customers, your company, your colleagues, and yourself than it is today. You can do it, and we’re here to help. Please contact us at info@QBSresearch.com with any questions or feedback.

Congratulations on your pilgrimage into Question Based Selling and we wish you all the success in the world.

New: Download QBS to MP3!

By popular demand, we have partnered with an Internet content provider called CD Baby to make the 12-track QBS CD set downloadable to your favorite MP3 player. Whether you like to listen while exercising or driving your car between appointments, the downloadable version of Question Based Selling is available at:

Click to Order Here: http://cdbaby.com/cd/thomasafreese

Furthering the QBS experience has always been our goal.

Feedback from January Summit

“This training wasn’t just theory. We heard specific examples and I really liked this aspect of it.”

“The QBS training was more precise with specific tips, not just the generic information I’ve gotten with other programs.”

“Gold Medals vs. German Shepherds is a technique I learned that was a favorite that I know will make a big impact on my sales moving forward.”

“Very different and beneficial approach to selling. I loved the conversational layering model.”

“This was by far the best training I’ve attended.”

“I enjoyed the training very much! I truly feel I will benefit from this experience/training.”

“The QBS methodology suits my selling style far better than any other training I’ve taken. “

“I feel I learned a lot about cold calling techniques that will really help me.”

“The strategy that I believe was my favorite and that will prove to be the most helpful is leaving effective voice mails to increase call backs.”

“I rated this class and the instructor all 10’s!”

2012 January QBS Summit: January 5-6

“There has never been a better time for sellers to do everything possible to make themselves invaluable to their customers, colleagues, and their company.”         -T. Freese

We are very pleased to announce our next QBS Summit! If you would like to renew your focus on increasing your own sales effectiveness or give your entire sales team an unfair advantage over the competition, join us on January 5 - 6 for the 2012 January QBS Summit.

The boot-camp style event, featuring QBS Research founder Tom Freese in Atlanta and will be held on Thursday, January 5th and Friday, January 6th.

The learning environment will be highly interactive, with participants from a variety of industries including technology, financial services, healthcare, consulting, insurance, real estate, manufacturing, advertising, hospitality, and retail, and feedback from previous QBS Summit events has been “off the charts.”

With limited seating, reserve your seats early since we are expecting a full house. You might also want to bring extra pencils and a stack of writing pads for note taking.

“Tom! I wanted to thank you for an amazing training two weeks ago-my head is still spinning from all of the great info. I met with our Regional Manager yesterday and he wants you to train the rest of our team. You will be hearing from us very soon…”    -Liz B., Michigan…your newest QBS groupie!

Click for Early Enrollment Discount &  SUMMIT DETAILS.

QBS has Gone Social…!!!

"Tom, is there a forum where devoted readers of your books, QBS advocates, or students of the Question Based Selling methodology can confer, collaborate, and share their experiences in using the QBS Methodology?"

To date, my answer to questions like these has been, "That’s a great idea, if I had the time and know-how to make it happen. Well, just last week I received an unsolicited email from a dedicated QBS’er who has created a Alumni Group on LinkedIn specifically for QBS Alumni (readers & students). It is definitely true that some of the best implementation ideas over my last 14+ years of teaching QBS have come from students of QBS, especially since they are on the front lines of the sale and interface directly with clients.

To add value, I will commit to logging on at least once a week to answer questions and offer insight. Bottom line, if you are willing to invest the time and effort to share your experiences with others, then I am too.

A well-deserved shout out goes to John Rhind for making this happen. Thank you, John, and I hope this is the beginning of a very productive (and much needed) tool for furthering your results with the QBS methodology.

To join the QBS Alumni Group on LinkedIn, simply click Here.

Audio Book—Sell Yourself First

Ranked #20 on NY Times Best Selling Audios as of June 24th, check out TF’s new book on tape: Sell Yourself First. Narrated by the author himself, Tom’s fifth and latest work further expands the Question Based Selling, as a direct commentary on the fact that the perception customers form about you is often more important than the product you’re selling or the company you represent.

Just look around any company and you will notice that some salespeople are more effective than others, even though they are all selling the same types of products. If you could somehow put your finger on what makes them consistently more effective, that insight alone would give you an unfair advantage over the competition.

For more information about ordering the audio version of Sell Yourself First, simply click here.