The Eye-Opening Research That Questioned Modern Selling with Philip Squire, Part 1

Why do most sales conversations quietly fail before anyone realizes what went wrong?

Today, I sit down with Philip Squire, CEO of Consalia, to explore a research journey that begins with a deceptively simple question: how do customers actually want to be sold to? In this first of a two-part series, we go back to the early interviews that sparked his doctoral research, where senior buyers openly shared stories of sales conversations that worked (and far more that didn't). We reflect on the surprising intensity of their responses, the emotional energy behind their frustrations, and how a single off-script question revealed just how few salespeople are getting it right.

We follow the evolution from early data collection into a much deeper inquiry about what really drives sales behaviour, checking out why traditional competency models fail to explain buyer dissatisfaction, as well as how a pivotal shift can reframe everything around values rather than tactics. Philip finishes up part one by giving a preview of some of his findings that challenge long-standing assumptions about selling.

Topics covered during this episode include:

• The early background behind launching a research project focused on buyer perspectives.
• How initial customer interviews unexpectedly evolved into a much larger academic inquiry.
• What senior buyers revealed when asked to share real sales success and failure stories.
• How emotional intensity emerges when buyers describe poor sales experiences.
• What percentage of sales interactions buyers consider genuinely valuable.
• The realization that traditional sales training fails to address buyer frustrations.
• What patterns emerged after dozens of in-depth qualitative buyer conversations.
• Why early research findings feel disappointingly obvious and incomplete.
• Why behavioural analysis alone fails to explain consistent buyer dissatisfaction.
• The shift toward examining underlying values rather than observable actions.
• How culture affects behaviour, while core values remain consistent globally.
• The introduction of negative values that damage trust early in sales conversations.
• The contrasting positive values buyers associate with effective sales relationships.
• Why creativity and boldness only work when credibility is already established.

Check out this episode to hear the research that reframes what buyers really respond to!

Philip Squire on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipsquire/