July 2005 Archives

Bill - who's mission is to provide cutting edge knowledge, skills and resources to effectively grow your revenues in today’s high tech - human touch business environment. has kindly included my thinking on his latest blog. Have a look: http://billgluth.typepad.com/bill_gluth_blog/2005/07/buying_facilita.html

Business partners are good to have. Thanks, Bill. Thanks for inviting new thinking and working with me.

-Sharon Drew Morgen

As I move beyond my 'sales' model, and refine the decision facilitation method I've included in Buying Facilitation, I recognize a profound need in corporations today to support the collaborative decisions necessary for early and continued organizational buy-in. We're all so busy partnering and outsourcing and networking, that we forget that without the buy-in necessary for change and collaboration, we're unable to use the full extent of our combined knowledge.

I'll be writing more - articles, a book - on this topic. Any comments?

The field of sales has remained static for centuries. Sure, we've been noticing that a buyer has needs and ways that they buy for about 20 years, starting with Linda Richardson and consultative sales. But even the current sales thinking - even when it includes the thinking about how customers buy that I began introducing into the market about 15 years ago - is still heavily based on the seller. The seller knowing how the buyer buys. The seller finding ways to approach the buyer and the marketing and the message. The seller's ideas that the buyer needs to understand. The seller having the identity, the product, the niche, and the benefit.

I always wonder why people assume that their assumptions are accurate - making others wrong? I wonder why they don't assume that others are just thinking with different beliefs than theirs, and get curious.

Sales people are huge offenders of this, as are techies. Both assume that their maps of the world are accurate and pit the comments/beliefs/actions of others against their view of what's 'right'. I used to own a technology company and had 48 techies working for me; obviously I'm in the sales industry now. Unfortunately, one of the favorite descriptions of clients/users during times of annoyance is "they're jerks".

I wonder what needs to happen for people to just get curious, and truly wonder what makes people say and do what they're saying and doing. Just maybe their beliefs are different and the sellers and techies would understand more and get into a position that would help them serve their clients better.

Just a thought.

-Sharon Drew