2024-04-15 08:50
Have you ever wondered why folks who take training don’t retain the new knowledge? According to Harvard studies, training fails 90% of the time. Surely students want to learn, trainers… Read More
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Sharon Drew Morgen - Home Of Buying Facilitation® Blog
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SharonDrewMorgen.com posts cutting edge thinking in decision facilitation and Buying Facilitation®, and other change management issues related to B2B,
2024-04-08 08:50
There’s been so much written extolling the uses of AI. Certainly, it’s exciting – filled with possibility and mystery, similar to the early days of the World Wide Web. With… Read More
2024-03-04 08:50
Your solution is great. You know the narrative of the type of buyers who buy. You’re writing appropriate content and getting it out to the right demographic. But you’re still clo… Read More
2024-02-12 08:50
I’m writing to complain about vendors – more specifically, the way they’re engaging with customers these days. They seem to forget that we’re the ones paying their sa… Read More
2024-01-29 09:50
Do you know why you get resistance? No, really. Do you?
Let’s imagine you’re in the 6th grade and your Mom buys you a lunchbox to use instead of your backpack. Nope. Not going to… Read More
2024-01-15 08:50
Are you seeking funding for a truly unique solution and it’s not getting the attention it deserves? Do you have a great solution you’ve created great content for and it’s s… Read More
2023-12-11 08:50
I recently heard a project manager in a software services company mention a ‘very important’ book on persuasion that she passed on to her team. I was curious why she liked it.
S:… Read More
2023-11-06 08:50
Do you know precisely who in your funnel will buy? During your conversation it seemed like these folks needed your solution, but from your history you know that being in your funnel may not… Read More
2023-10-09 08:50
When my son George was born in 1972 I was determined to give him attributes I found compelling in men: kindness, respect and an awareness of others, creativity, a willingness to listen… Read More
2023-09-18 08:50
Do you know how much of what you hear is accurate? Why you can’t maintain your weight loss, or why you overlook a good choice and make a ‘bad’ decision? Do you know why you… Read More
2023-08-07 08:50
A friend of mine looked up Buying Facilitation® on ChatGPT and sent me its response. It was frightening. The problems began immediately:
“Buying Facilitation. A sales model invente… Read More
2023-07-31 08:50
As an original thinker, I think in systems or, as some systems thinkers call it, ‘thinking in circles’. The main difference between systems thinkers and serial thinkers is the sc… Read More
2023-07-03 08:50
Do you know where your ideas, behaviors, and choices come from? Every thought we have comes from our existing neural circuitry, as does everything we do or we’re curious about. What we… Read More
2023-06-19 08:50
Remember the intake form you were asked to complete at a new doctor’s office? Questions like Do you smoke? How often do you exercise? Transactional queries that gather data but inspire… Read More
2023-04-24 08:50
Change management is one of those core competencies that seems to mean different things to different people. Whatever the methods used, however, the process of achieving change is… Read More
2023-04-03 07:50
As professionals, a big part of our job is to influence change. One of the tasks we perform on route is information gathering. With a goal in mind, we assume we can pose the right questions… Read More
2023-03-13 05:50
Remember when a person would answer a company phone? I found myself shocked recently when a live human answered. “Um, Hello?? Are you a real person?”
When we call a company these… Read More
2023-02-13 09:50
Have you ever wondered why people agree to an appointment from your prospecting calls? Obviously, it’s not because they need your solution or they wouldn’t incur an 80-90% fail r… Read More
2023-02-06 09:50
Years ago I visited a spa where 4 magnificent macaws stood on individual perches, each with a long, not necessarily heavy, chain around one of its legs. Yet the chains were not attached to a… Read More
2023-01-30 09:50
Do you enter conversations to listen for what will confirm your assumptions? Do you assume the responses to your questions provide an accurate representation of the full fact pattern &ndash&helli…Read More
2023-01-09 09:50
When Dale Carnegie published How to Win Friends and Influence People in 1937 he laid the foundation for sales thinking that continues today: find folks with a need, get into a relationship… Read More
2023-01-02 09:50
I was once fired from a Speaker’s Bureau for posing this question to the audience:
Why aren’t you closing all the sales you deserve to close?
“You’re too provocative!… Read More
2022-12-05 09:50
Years ago I sat next to a lovely young man on a plane. Dressed for success, he exuded professionalism.
SD: You’re all dressed up to see a client, I bet. You look great.
YM: Thanks. I a… Read More
2022-11-07 09:50
The problem with accurately hearing what others mean to convey is not that we don’t hear their words accurately. The problem is in the interpretation. During the listening proces… Read More
2022-10-03 09:50
When I coined the term Buying Process in 1987 I was describing the change management steps people take between having a problem and self-identifying as buyers. In other words, the Buy S… Read More
2022-09-26 09:50
After listening to folks complaining about getting resistance during a needed change initiative, I decided to write an article explaining how resistance gets triggered from our brain. You se… Read More
2022-08-29 09:50
I used to assume that what I hear someone say is an accurate interpretation of what they mean. My assumption was wrong; what I think I hear (the words, the meaning) has a good chance of bein… Read More
2022-08-22 09:50
Think about the number of stars in the sky. Let’s say you’ve been told that 500 of them would provide elements of a good resolution to one of your problems, although some would b… Read More
2022-08-15 09:50
The only time I ever stole anything I was 11 years old. A group of us girls pledged to do the very naughty thing we knew we weren’t supposed to do and steal one item from the local pha… Read More
2022-07-18 09:50
I’ve been hearing a lot lately about how hard ‘change’ is so I decided to write an article explaining what’s going on causing the difficulty. Take heart! Change only… Read More
2022-07-05 09:50
I often get wonderful ideas during my daily walk. Today I was musing on the implications of Speakers as the arbiters of understanding between Communication Partners. And then I came upon wha… Read More
2022-06-20 09:50
On 5/13/2022 I received an apology from Gordon Hogg for plagiarizing my work. For several years he lifted my exact words from my writings that explain my original thinking on sales, listenin… Read More
2022-05-16 09:50
I’ve read that some leaders and project managers prefer not to collaborate when engaging in a new initiative because they fear losing control. I even know decision makers who start th… Read More
2022-05-09 09:50
If you are a therapist or coach, manager or consultant, you’ve been schooled to be a guide, a mentor, and accept the conventional one-up/one-down, inferior/superior power juxtaposition… Read More
2022-04-25 09:50
In 1996 my sister called to say she’d made an online purchase. I was surprised: in those early days it was not only difficult to search for anything on the new internet, there wasn&rsq&hell…Read More
2022-04-18 09:50
I live on a floating home on the Columbia River, north Portland, OR, with an intimate connection to the river: I have two decks – on the river side and on the ‘lagoon’ side… Read More
2022-04-11 09:50
I’ve been reading articles claiming a major impediment to closing sales is buyer’s ‘indecision’. But is non-buying called ‘indecision’ because people aren… Read More
2022-03-21 09:50
The terms ‘buying’ and ‘buyer’ seem to be defined by sales and marketing to denote purchase-related activities. After almost 40 years of thinking, training, and writi… Read More
2022-03-14 09:50
Have you ever tried to change one of your behaviors and failed? Well, not failed, exactly. Maybe you were successful for a week or three, but then reverted back to the old behavior. Do you k… Read More
2022-02-28 09:50
My friend Jack’s boss recently visited his team berating them for the output of their year-long project undertaken at his behest – and then walked out. Feeling disrespected and u… Read More
2022-01-31 09:50
As someone with Asperger’s, I’ve always experienced the world from a different set of rules than those used by ‘normal’ people (neurotypicals (NTs)). Occasionally I g… Read More
2022-01-17 09:50
It’s time for a rant. After decades of writing books and articles explaining why we close such a small percentage of prospects and how, exactly, to facilitate the Buy Side to close muc… Read More
2022-01-10 09:50
What, exactly, is the job of a manager these days? With folks now working between office and home, meetings with people in different venues, one third of all adults suffering from depressio… Read More
2021-12-13 09:50
I moved to London in 1983 to start up a tech company after spending years as a successful sales person. For years I had qualified prospects, created decks and wrote great content, chased app… Read More
2021-12-06 09:50
Imagine starting work each day at 7:45 with a 15 minute meditation and working until 3. At your 7-8 pm nightly zoom meeting the team shares new ideas, discusses problems, and sets agendas fo… Read More
2021-11-22 09:50
Ask more questions! sellers are admonished. Ask better questions! leaders and coaches are reminded. Questions seem to be a prompt in many fields, from medicine to parenting. But why?
There&r&hell…Read More
2021-11-08 09:50
As an influencer, how often do say to yourself “Why doesn’t she understand me?” or “If he understood me better this decision would be a no-brainer.” It’s… Read More
2021-10-31 18:47
The Problem:
When collecting data from incoming digital marketing campaigns, you have no idea
The lead’s position on the Buying Decision Team
The use of the content
The lead’s ab… Read More
2021-10-25 09:50
I got to the gym yesterday only to find that my regular treadmill had been replaced by a new-fangled computer machine. I asked the young woman next to me how to start the damn thing as it wa… Read More
2021-10-18 09:50
What if
you could find real prospects early in their Buying Journey?
you could discover non-buyers immediately while leading real prospects efficiently through their Buy Side steps?
none of… Read More
2021-10-11 09:50
Marketing is currently designed to inspire, identify, and engage potential buyers in a way that leads them to action. The baseline assumptions are that good content in the right hands, or e… Read More
2021-08-30 13:50
Buying and selling are two different activities. The Buy Side: People don’t want to buy anything, merely resolve a problem at the least ‘cost’ to their system and become bu… Read More
2021-07-26 13:50
When I asked a clerk at Walmart recently if I needed to wear a mask to enter, he responded: “Do whatever you want. Frankly, they don’t pay me enough to care.”
The implicati… Read More
2021-06-21 13:50
Is your team communicating effectively? Are you all on the same page and reach goals without resistance? Are there subgroups that (unwittingly) restrict the outcomes? Are all voices include… Read More
2021-05-31 13:50
I live on a floating home in the Columbia River in North Portland, OR. Daily life is just like living anywhere else, except occasionally my services are a bit wonky. For example, for the pas… Read More
2021-05-10 13:50
Enjoying my post-gym coffee outside a coffee shop last week I looked up and noticed a maskless man drinking his coffee at a near-by table. I got a shock when I saw his whole face.
A face! Th… Read More
2021-04-19 13:50
Early this morning I went to my favorite ‘big box’ supermarket, WinCo. If you’re not in one of the 5 states where it operates (Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Cal… Read More
2021-04-05 13:50
Most of us believe we don’t have listening biases accurately hear what’s been said. But given our brain’s inability to accurately hear incoming messages due to our historic… Read More
2021-03-22 13:50
I’ve decided to start an Institute for Facilitation to offer coaches, leaders, managers, and influencers a Servant Leader-based set of skills to guide excellence without bias. I began… Read More
2021-03-01 14:50
Did you ever wonder what happens behind the scenes with prospects after you’ve made a connection, given a great pitch, or delivered an engaging presentation? Why they don’t retu… Read More
2021-02-08 14:50
We all know the importance of listening, of connecting with others by deeply hearing them share thoughts, ideas, and feelings, by being present and authentic. We work hard at listening with… Read More
2021-01-25 14:50
I recently got a call from a noted venture capitalist of healthcare apps.
DH: I heard you have a model that facilitates permanent behavior change. I wonder if it would work with any of the 1… Read More
2021-01-11 14:50
Seems just about all of our activity is being followed and our data collected, put into a predictive model, and sold. Indeed, our personal data – our searches and clicks, our emotions… Read More
2020-12-21 14:50
Ever since the serpent convinced Eve to eat the apple there’s been someone trying to sell something. The original idea was fairly simple: find folks with a problem, then create and sel… Read More
2020-12-14 14:50
During the three years I spent researching and writing a book on closing the gap between what’s said and what’s heard, I learned how ubiquitous listenin… Read More
2020-11-23 14:50
Recently I listened while a coaching client pitched his solution precisely when he could have facilitated his prospect through the contingent issues she had to handle before she could … Read More
2020-11-02 14:50
I recently heard a project manager in a software services company mention a ‘very important’ book on persuasion that she passed on to her team. I was curious why she liked it.
S… Read More
2020-10-19 13:50
Note: This article introduces the teachings in my new, transformative How of Change video course for folksseeking real behavior change.
Because I wanted choice over my actions, I… Read More
2020-10-12 13:50
Many years ago, just as technology was becoming ubiquitous, I closed $6,400,000 worth of business in the sales reps’ long-term accounts during the real-time call portion of my Buying… Read More
2020-10-05 13:50
Do you ever wonder why all those folks who obviously need your solution don’t buy? No, really. Do you? Do you think it’s because they’re, um, stupid? or ill informed? How … Read More
2020-08-24 13:50
Things are changing these days. Of course we’re always in flux, but during this pandemic we’re also in confusion. People either aren’t working, aren’t working in thei… Read More
2020-08-03 13:50
Most of you are really good at what you do: as influencers, sellers, coaches, change agents, or leaders, your intuition, excellent skills, and history of success guide your ability to facil… Read More
2020-07-27 13:50
When I begin an on-site training program I start by saying:
“Hi everyone. I’m going to begin with a warning: I hope you’re all comfortable-enough with confusion because I… Read More
2020-07-20 13:50
Those of us in business (as well as just about everyone these days) are living in confusing times. Learning how to run our businesses and stay afloat, how to remain connected with staff and… Read More
2020-07-13 13:50
For years I’ve written about how sales suffer because the sales model ignores the vast opportunity to close more sales by adding the function of facilitating Buyer Readiness (i.e… Read More
2020-07-06 13:50
Years ago I ran a Buying Facilitation® program for a group of Senior Partners at KPMG. Before working with this team, they were using 2-4 people, spending between $500,000 and $1,0… Read More
2020-06-08 13:50
I moved to London in 1983 to start up a tech company after spending years as a successful sales person. After years of “understanding” and “qualifying” prospect… Read More
2020-05-11 13:50
Did you ever wonder why all those folks who obviously need your solution don’t buy? No, really. Have you? Did you think it’s because they’re, um, stupid? or ill informed?… Read More
2020-05-04 13:50
Every day, now, I walk up and down the one mile levee where I live on a houseboat on the Columbia River in North Portland. I’ve gotten to meet many of the neighbors these weeks: folk… Read More
2020-04-20 13:50
Whatever you’re selling, your regular sales tools won’t work now. There’s no one buying, regardless of what they might have needed before the pandemic. It’s not even… Read More
2020-04-19 22:36
Buying Facilitation®: The New Way To Sell That Influences And Expands Decisions
The new way to sell that influences and expands decisions. The Buying Facilitation Method® is a new s… Read More
2020-04-19 22:27
Listening: On Site Training
In-House Training: Hearing others without bias
For teams who want to make sure they hear clients, prospects, partners, and teammate with full comprehension, this… Read More
2020-04-19 22:22
Sales on the Line: meeting the business demands of the 90s through phone partnering 1993
Sharon Drew’s first book – on how to facilitate buyers on the phone. Out of print.
SOMEBO… Read More
2020-04-19 21:56
Buying Facilitation®: The New Way To Sell That Influences And Expands Decisions
The new way to sell that influences and expands decisions Read More
2020-04-19 21:54
KPMG, Wachovia Bank, Morgan Stanley, Bose, Boston Scientific, Proctor and Gamble, Kaiser, Microchip, IBM, Unisys, WmBlair & Co, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, California Clos… Read More
2020-04-19 21:54
KPMG, Wachovia Bank, Morgan Stanley, Bose, Boston Scientific, Proctor and Gamble, Kaiser, Microchip, IBM, Unisys, WmBlair & Co, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, California Clos… Read More
2020-04-13 13:50
I used to live in Taos, New Mexico, where I bought everything I ate from a small grocery called Cid’s Market. Run by Cid and Betty Backer, they always offered fresh organic produc… Read More
2020-04-06 13:50
When my first book Sales on the Line came out in 1993, it was the 26th book published that focused on using the telephone in sales. Obviously that number has increased dramatically since the… Read More
2020-03-30 13:50
As sellers, we’ve been taught that someone with a need for our solution is a prospect. But that’s not true or we’d be closing a lot more business and wasting a lot less ti… Read More
2020-03-23 14:50
Like most folks in the world right now, I’m homebound. Not homebound, exactly; the new term is ‘shelter in place’ or ‘home stay.’ But I’m not entirely in… Read More
2020-03-02 15:50
Sales folks make a few incorrect assumptions about who a buyer is, including: 1. the name on the marketing automation or prospecting system is the name of the buyer; and 2. a receptionist or… Read More
2020-02-24 15:50
I hate unrequested ‘feedback’. Personally, when I want to better myself I seek feedback from folks I trust. Here is a conversation I recently had after sharing annoyance with a g… Read More
2020-02-10 15:50
What if most of our viewpoints, interpretations and assumptions are so unconsciously biased that we unwittingly restrict our ability to accurately understand, or act on, incoming infor… Read More
2020-01-27 15:50
There’s been an age-old argument in the communication field: who’s at fault if a misunderstanding occurs – the Speaker communicating badly, or the Listener misunderstandin… Read More
2020-01-20 14:30
People don’t really want to buy anything. We’d much rather maintain our status quo if possible: it’s worked; it’s comfortable; it’s normalized; we’re set… Read More
2020-01-13 15:50
As a preamble to a discussion about failing consciously, I’d like to retell a story. Many years ago Xerox was beta testing a then new-type digital printer. The testers sent back compla… Read More
2019-12-16 15:50
In 1996 my sister called to say she’d made an online purchase. I was surprised: in those early days it was not only difficult to search for anything on the new internet, there wasn&rsq&hell…Read More
2019-11-25 15:50
A coach’s job is to facilitate potential change, usually done by asking questions to identify the components of the problem, choosing between solutions to discuss, and offering ways t… Read More
2019-11-18 15:50
Why does it seem so hard to change a habit or a behavior? Why do we drag our feet when buying a replacement appliance or car? Why do our teams go through disruption when going through a mer… Read More
2019-11-04 15:50
For some reason, it’s an accepted norm that presenting details of an idea or solution will prompt action. It goes something like this: you want someone to buy or do something, or fund… Read More
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