Secrets of Question-Based Selling

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!

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.

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.

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

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!