A Message from Tom

Time to Make Selling FUN Again!

“There is a serious problem in the world of strategic sales training where it has become VERY unclear as to which selling approach provides the best option, given all the conflicting information that’s floating around the marketplace.”    – T. Freese

I still can’t figure out why most of the sales training that’s being offered today is geared toward teaching people to sound the same as “everyone else.” Back when I was a salesperson, I wanted to do everything in my power to differentiate myself from the competition, as opposed to commoditizing my company’s value proposition with industry buzzwords.

Ironically, the effectiveness of the individual salesperson has become increasingly more important than the products they sell or the company they represent. All you have to do is glance around your industry and you will quickly notice that some salespeople are more effective than others, selling the same types of products to the same target audience.

The real challenge sellers face on a daily basis is less about defining the sales process, and instead, has more to do with figuring out “HOW” to execute more effectively. Things like: How can you pique the prospect’s interest to penetrate more new opportunities?  How do you earn enough credibility to compete for mindshare from key decision makers within important target accounts?  How can you create the sense of urgency needed to move deals forward? Or better still, How can you cause skeptical customers to "want to" share information with a salesperson they don’t yet know or trust?  Also, How can you increase your Return On Invested Sales Effort, enough to secure an ‘unfair’ advantage over the competition? Ultimately, the goal in terms of more effective execution is understanding How to close more deals, at higher margins, in reduced time and with less effort. Ultimately, it’s about winning in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

“If you want to ‘challenge’ the customer’s thinking in today’s increasingly competitive business environment, then you might want to take some steps in order to challenge your own.”                                                                                                             -T. Freese

Honestly, you don’t need us to come in and tell your salespeople that Step 1 in the sales process is to Identify New Opportunities, Step 2 is to Uncover Needs, Step 3 is to Qualify, and so on. They know this already, but so do your competitors. What sellers really want to know is How to execute more effectively.

Especially in this economy, it’s exciting (even FUN) to recognize that a few small adjustments in strategy can produce a significant upside in terms of results. In fact, ponder this: Why do companies all over the world spend millions of dollars telling salespeople what to say, but they invest almost nothing when it comes to teaching them what to ask?

That’s where Question Based Selling comes in. Strategic questions are the key to becoming more effective in today’s marketplace. In addition to just gathering information, asking questions strategically is the fastest way to gain credibility, convey value, differentiate yourself from the masses, cost-justify expenditures, create a sense of urgency, and secure commitments that will move opportunities forward. Trust me, I wrote the book on it!

“Question Based Selling is a proven sales methodology and Tom Freese is a sales phenomenon. He will show you how to differentiate yourself and your product and he will increase your sales results.”      -Steve Huey, V.P. of Marketing Communications, HP

Wouldn’t now be a good time to have a conversation about evaluating some of the ‘older school’ tactics that no longer work when dealing with skeptical buyers, and replacing that with a more current and proven sales approach? Putting more deals in the pipeline, that ultimately move faster through the sales process, while maintaining your desired profit margins in an otherwise commodity-oriented selling environment. What’s not to like? If so, QBS Research, Inc. offers a host of programs from keynote speaking to QBS Methodology Training, and we are ready to engage when you are!  Let us know how we can help.