As sales professionals, I’m sure you recognize that the sales model is merely a solution placement model: it ignores the behind-the-scenes human issues that buyers must address and decide on prior to buying, leaving sales people outside the meat of the decisions during the largest portion of the buying decision path.

The steps of a buying decision differ from the steps of a sale.

For decades, I have been a proponent of, and keynoter in the field of, Spirituality in the Workplace. There seem to be different names for it these days: the heart of business, corporate social responsibility, conscious capitalism, patient capitalism, bringing the heart to work. What it means, underneath all of the words, is that we recognize that we have a responsibility to care about each other, and the earth, and run our businesses in a way that end up with a net plus — not just increased profit.

What, exactly, are the skills we need to help make a difference, to help people choose to do ‘the right thing’? I’m going to offer some new thinking that’s in line with my biases.

Someone called recently to ask if I were a ‘sales thought leader’. I laughed. “It’s a trick question,” I replied.

The term ‘sales thought leader’ is an oxymoron. As the person who developed a sales-related model to facilitate the behind-the-scenes aspects of the buyer’s decision path that can’t be addressed by the sales model (Buying Facilitation®), I’ve sought partners to think outside the box with me. Before he died, David Sandler called to buy me out, saying he thought he’d gone outside the box but hadn’t realized how far ‘outside the box’ was until he read my then-latest book.

So many sales folks are targeting ‘appointments’ these days. I wonder if you know who actually is in attendance. And who isn’t but should be.

As you enter your meeting, do you know what percent of the entire Buying Decision Team is there? What weight your contact has on the full Buying Decision Team?

When you think about your numbers (closing percentages, total calls, etc.), and consider the objections…