Sharon Drew Morgen is an original thinker and visionary who has developed Servant-Leader models to facilitate change in sales, coaching, marketing, leadership, and negotiating. Her model Buying Facilitation® has been trained to over 100,000 people worldwide. She is the author of 9 books including the NYTimes Business Bestseller Selling with Integrity and Amazon bestseller What?…
As sellers, we’ve been taught that someone with a need that our solution fulfills is a prospect. But that’s not true or we’d be closing a lot more business and wasting a lot less time following the wrong prospects. Just because we see a need does not mean they A. want it resolved, B. want…
With my systems-thinking brain I asked her: How will they choose you over other worthy requests? What personal and professional criteria will members of the funding team consider before dropping others to fund you instead? How do political in-fighting or long-term client/colleague relationship preferences factor in to the decision process? How does your request fit…
As business folk, we hold meetings regularly. Yet often we don’t accomplish what we set out to achieve. Why? The Purpose Meetings are held to accomplish a specific, beneficial outcome requiring the attendance of the right people with the right agenda. The Problem/Pain Often we end up with miscommunication, wasted time, incomplete outcomes, misunderstanding, lack…
After spending 30 years deconstructing the inner processes of how people decide, and training a decision facilitation model used in sales, coaching, and leadership, I’m always amused when I hear anyone deem a decision ‘irrational’. Only outsiders wishing for a different outcome designate a decision as ‘irrational’. I doubt if the decision maker says to…
What if it were true that we only understand a fraction of what others say to us? And if true, what can we do about it? As someone who has taken great pride in accurately hearing what others say, I was annoyed to discover that it’s pretty impossible for any listeners to achieve any consistent…
Part 1 redefines buying thus: The process a buyer goes through to get their ducks in a row to manage all of the factors involved prior to, and including, making a purchase. It explains why the sales focus of seeking appointments, gathering information, offering solution data, and understanding needs doesn’t lead to a higher percentage of…
Part 1 of a 2 part series on understanding a buyer’s needs. Do you know the difference between how you sell and how buyers buy – and why the difference matters? After a conversation with my colleague Erik Luhrs (we’re developing a Lead Facilitation pilot http://guruselling.com/) I’d like to expand the definition of ‘buying’. But…
I’m a dancer. When I studied the Argentine Tango there was a foundational rule that I believe is true for all leaders: The leader opens the door for the follower to pass through, and the leader then follows. If anyone notices the leader, he’s not doing his job. The goal is to showcase the follower….
We are not always able to accurately hear what others mean to convey. Sometimes we hear only a fraction of what’s been said and our brains misunderstand or bias the rest – and we might not realize it until it’s too late, causing us to believe we’re right and others are wrong, or moving to…