Thomas A. Freese's Blog, page 15

Crazy Forecast Math

Why is it that deals forecasted with a 50% probability of closing rarely happen before the end of the month, while deals that are forecasted with a 90% probability, only close 50% of the time?

Tom Freese vs. Other Motivational Speakers

Check out this video excerpt where Tom speaks about the difference between motivational speakers, and instead, actually teaching salespeople how to be exponentially more effective.

Sales organizations used to try and motivate salespeople as a way to increase productivity. Today, the opposite is true. If you take the time to show salespeople how to be exponentially more effective, they will absolutely be motivated to repeat their successes. I don’t about you, but to me, there’s nothing more fun or rewarding that having an ‘unfair’ advantage throughout the sales process.

“Zig Ziglar is still the king of the podium, although sadly, he passed away just recently. I can say, however, he was by far the best motivational speaker I have ever heard. But as with other motivation speakers, my problem was, after I went back out into my territory all excited and ready to conquer the world, when I naturally reverted back to using the same old approach, I got the same lousy results. Thus, my newfound levels of enthusiasm tended to dissipate very quickly.”    - T. Freese

Tom Freese vs. Motivational Speakers

Check out this video excerpt where Tom speaks about the difference between motivational speakers, and instead, actually teaching salespeople how to be exponentially more effective.

Sales organizations used to try and motivate salespeople as a way to increase productivity. Today, the opposite is true. If you take the time to show salespeople how to be exponentially more effective, they will absolutely be motivated to repeat their successes. I don’t about you, but to me, there’s nothing more fun or rewarding that having an ‘unfair’ advantage throughout the sales process.

“Zig Ziglar is still the king of the podium, and he is by far he is the best motivational speaker I have ever experienced. The problem is, after I went back out into my territory all excited and ready to conquer the world, when I basically reverted to using the same old approach, I got the same lousy results. Thus, my newfound levels of enthusiasm tended to dissipate very quickly.”    - T. Freese

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.

Time to Make Selling FUN Again!

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, rather than just commoditizing my company’s value proposition with industry buzzwords.

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 penetrate more opportunities?  How do you compete for and get mindshare from key decision makers in important target accounts?  How can you create a sense of urgency, and How can we 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, and secure an ‘unfair’ advantage over the competition? Ultimately, the goal is understanding How to close more deals, at higher margins, in reduced time and with less effort?

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.

“There is a problem in the world of sales training where it has become VERY unclear as to the most effective programs given all the newcomers and the amount of conflicting information floating around the marketplace.”      -T . Freese

Honestly, you don’t need me 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 already know this, and so do your competitors. What sellers really want to know is simply How to execute more effectively.

Especially in this new economy, it’s exciting (even FUN) to discover that a few small adjustments in strategy can produce a significant upside in results. That’s where Question Based Selling (QBS) comes in. Strategic questions are the key to becoming more effective in today’s marketplace. Trust me, I wrote the book on it!

We’re here when you’re ready to boost your results!  Let us know how we can help.

**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.

Buzzwords Can Kill Your Sale

Let me guess…your company is the leading provider of quality solutions with a commitment to excellence and an unmatched track record for success that is second to none! How was I able to come to that conclusion? In a competitive marketplace, everyone claims to be the best with some modified version of the same ‘elevator pitch.’ 

Most industries are full of buzzwords–issues and benefits that any salesperson who is worth their salt should know inside and out. But, what you really want to know are the implications of these issues and benefits. Ask yourself, "why" might an issue like ‘quality’ be important to a prospective customer?

The truth is, there could easily be 10 reasons why quality might matter to the customer. It’s also likely that different people within the account have varying priorities that might give them very different perspectives on the same topic–in this case, quality.

BTW, why might reliability be important…, or experience, or security? There’s got to be ten (or more) reasons why any of these might be relevant topics to different types of customers. 

Focusing on a bunch of high-level buzzwords is usually the quickest way that a salesperson can commoditize their value proposition. Instead, try talking way beyond the standard industry buzzwords, in order to understand the specific implications that are really driving the need. After all is said and done, it’s more than likely that these same implications will ultimately justify the decision.

The “Sheepish” Consultant

A shepherd was herding his flocks in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand new Jeep Cherokee advanced out of a dust cloud toward him. The driver, a young man in an Armani suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and a YSL tie leaned out of the window and asked our shepherd: "If I can tell you exactly how many sheep you have in your flock, will you give me one?" The shepherd looks at the yuppie, then at his peacefully grazing flock and calmly answers, "Sure!" The yuppie parks the car, whips out his cell phone, surfs to a NASA page on the Internet where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation system, scans the area, opens up a database along with some 60 Excel spreadsheets with complex formulas.

Finally, he prints out a 15 page report on his hi-tech miniaturized printer, turns around to the shepherd and says: "You have here exactly 1,586 sheep!" "That is correct. You may take one of the sheep" says the shepherd. He watches the young man select an animal and bundle it in his Cherokee.

Then the shepherd says: "If I can tell you exactly what business you are in will you give me my sheep back?" "Okay, why not!" answers the young man. "You are a consultant," says the shepherd.

"That is correct" says the yuppie. "How did you guess that?" "Easy," answers the shepherd. "You turn up here unannounced, you wanted to be paid for the answer a question I already knew the answer to, and you don’t know anything about my business…because you took my dog."

**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 $3.95, (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.

QBS Reference Guide — Your Playbook for Implementing the QBS Methodology

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

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, strategy, instruction, and underlying logic contained in the QBS books. This document was simply created as a quick reference 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 fodder, which will in turn, offer content and context when planning and/or managing future sales opportunities.

Please note that this playbook is simply a reference guide. When dealing with so many variables throughout the sales process, there is some onus on the salesperson’s part to customize the methodology to meet the needs of the specific selling environment.

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.

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