When Does A Buyer Buy? - Sharon Drew Morgen

Jeff Blackwell

In Sharon Drew Morgen's blog today was a post titled, "When Does A Buyer Buy?" In that blog post Sharon Drew wrote,
If you get the chance, read Sharon Drew's post and then come back and share your thoughts on what you believe she is saying and whether or not you believe that sales doesn't manage those issues. Thanks!

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rattus58

Let's see... how many weight sets, how many treadmills, how many bowflexes have been sold and collect dust? There is desire to do the things that these machines are capable of producing, and once bought, they "satisfy" the impulse.

I'm gonna have to think about this a lot more to make sense... but this is my initial thought.

Aloha...

Ace Coldiron

With regard to "Sales doesn’t manage those issues. But decision facilitation does... ", I sell; I "manage" those issues. I see the distinction, but in so doing, I see no reason to isolate either.

Rather than define what selling is and is not, focusing on the meaning of "manage" might be more helpful. If it means identifying the areas of resistance (internal or external) and resolving those issues, it makes sense to me.

Probing, engaging, questioning, listening, researching--these are all selling disciplines. Step deeper into those disciplines and I guess you could call it decision facilitation if you really needed to.

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Jeff Blackwell

I believe Sharon Drew is shining a light on an area that doesn't receive enough attention which is too bad considering the potential loss of revenue and protracted sales cycles. That area is the behind the scenes decisions that buyers have to make on their own which the salesperson isn't privy to and sales doesn't address.

Sharon Drew has a new book coming out on Oct. 1, 2009 titled,

Quote:

"Dirty Little Secrets - why buyers can't buy and sellers can't sell and what you can do about it."

That book covers this topic in detail with real life examples.

ianbrodie

Managing (or helping your client manage) the behind-the-scenes decision-making process is vitally important - and I'm going to look out with interest to see if Sharon can shed some new light in this area, because it is a challenging one.

But to suggest that "Unfortunately, sales only manages the need/solution part of a buyer’s buying decision, and has no tool kit to help the buyer recognize and manage the off-line, behind-the-scenes issues that must be addressed before the system is willing to make a change" is pure nonsense.

Good salespeople have been doing this for years. Writers have been writing about it for decades - from Rackham to Miller & Heiman.

Maybe not in the way Sharon is about to - I haven't read the new book, so I can't know. But explicitly addressing client decision-making processes and the organisational system surrounding them is hardly a new thing.

This type of "renaming something" and then claiming no one has ever thought of it before isn't the type of promotional strategy that turns me on to a new book. Quite the opposite. And I don't think it's helpful for the profession either. You simply end up labelling good sales practices with a myriad of new names, and bad, old practices as "sales".

Ian

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Ian Brodie
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Jeff Blackwell

Thank you too Ian for participating in this thread.

I am also of the opinion that "renaming something" as you described is neither an effective promotional strategy nor helpful to the profession. I believe once you see what Sharon Drew is bringing into the light you will agree that this is not "renaming something" and that writers - from Rackham to Miller & Heiman - have not been writing about this for years.

Ace Coldiron

I believe you can find a "behind the scenes issue" behind a "behind the scene issue" ad infinitum. The topic's question asks "When..".

That would imply that there is a specific point of uncovery at which a buyer would have no remaining issues, nor would internal circumstances provide such issues, to obstruct a purchase. I believe that implication would be correct.

It would also imply a methodology exists to locate and act on that specific point where although other issues exist, they would not obstruct the purchase. Call it the "sweet spot" if you will. I believe that implication would be correct also.

At this point of the discussion, and having read Sharon Drew's post, I can't differentiate anything as new. Effective and successful salespeople have been hitting the sweet spot since sales began.

Perhaps when we reach a further point in the discussion, the differentia will reveal itself. Right now I'm seeing the sameness.

Jeff Blackwell

We can give it a try.

Let's go back to Sharon Drew's post, stay in the context of that post and try to make a distinction or see if this isn't really all that new. It might help to break that post down into chunks.

It seems to me that there is something conscious, subconscious or both holding this person back from managing those issues for so long. Do you see it that way too?

Can anyone name a sales process/method that helps people navigate and manage those conscious/subconscious issues?

If your suggestion will be "Questions" please be specific about the questions and questioning process a salesperson would use to facilitate these issues.

This example shows in my opinion how strong emotional and logical reasons for change can be present yet people won't make a change until they are ready.[/quote]

Can anyone name a sales process/method that helps people identify and resolve the conscious/subconscious issues that need to be resolved before they will be ready to make a change?

If your suggestion will be "Questions" please be specific about the questions and questioning process a salesperson would use to help the other person identify and resolve the conscious/subconscious issues that need to be resolved before they will be ready to make a change.
I believe what Sharon Drew is referring to here is how sales focuses on the identified problem, ie; need/solution, failing to address the forces that created and hold the identified problem in place. Is that how you see it too?

Ace Coldiron

Yes, I interpret her in that way also.

I don't quite see it the same way.

That which we call "Sales" can encompass addressing the forces that created and hold the identified problem in place, even if such force is purely Inertia. I personally believe it is part of sales.

There are those IN sales that do address those forces. The majority does not. If Sharon Drew is championing the learning, through awareness, of ways to deal with those forces in an effort to create a greater percentage of people with those skills, that's a good thing.

If, on the other hand, she is proclaiming that all of this is new, and that ALL salespeople have missed the boat on this topic, I would view that as a flawed premise.

One might look at sales and ask "What's missing?" A better question might be "What's missing among the unsuccessful that is not missing among the successful?"

Back to the analagy of the person who should lose weight:

Conventional thinking seems to suggest that we should have a series of "questions" based on what we know, all plotted out. But it's what we don't know that will bring us closer to a solution we can act upon. The key is to start with ONE real question. An example would be: "Is it possible that you really don't WANT to lose weight?"

Conventional thinking might say I need a follow up question, all prepared. I do NOT. I want to HEAR the person's answer. Call it engagement--not a "methodology" or a "process."

And the questions and answers and closure that follow will come from the present unknown.

In selling, it is a rewarding adventure.

Jeff Blackwell

Hi Ace.

When reading Sharon Drew's post I get the impression that she is referrencing sales processes not sales people. Which sales process in your opinion closest resembles Sharon Drew's "Buying Facilitation(R)" model which to my understanding teaches a salesperson how to help the buyer recognize and manage the off-line, behind-the-scenes issues that must be addressed before the system is willing to make a change?