About Sharon Drew

Sharon Drew Morgen

Sharon Drew Morgen is the visionary and thought leader behind Buying Facilitation® the new sales paradigm that focuses on helping buyers manage their buying decision. She is the author of the NYTimes Business Bestseller Selling with Integrity as well as 5 other books and hundreds of articles that explain different aspects of the decision facilitation model that teaches buyers how to buy.

Morgen dramatically shifts the buying decision tools from solution-focused to decision-support. Sales very competently manages the solution placement end of the decision, yet buyers have been left on their own while sellers are left waiting for a response, and hoping they can close. But no longer: Morgen actually gives sellers the tools to lead buyers through all of their internal, idiosyncratic decisions.

Morgen teaches Buying Facilitation® to global corporations, and she licenses the material with training companies seeking to add new skills to what they are already offering their clients. She has a new book called Dirty Little Secrets: why buyers can’t buy and sellers can’t sell and what you can do about it which defines what is happening within buyer’s cultures (systems) and explains how they make the decisions they make.

Morgen has focused on the servant-leader/decision facilitation aspect of sales since her first book came out in 1992, called Sales On The Line.

In all of her books, she unmasks the behind-the-scenes decisions that need to go on before buyers choose a solution, and gives sellers the tools to aid them.

In addition, Morgen changes the success rate of sales from the accepted 10% to 40%: the time it takes buyers to come up with their own answers is the length of the sales cycle, and her books – especially Dirty Little Secrets – teaches sellers how to guide the buyers through to all of their decisions, thereby shifting the sales cycle from a failed model that only manages half of the buying cycle, to a very competent Professional skill set.

Morgen lives in Austin TX, where she dances and works with children’s fund raising projects in her spare time.

Latest Podcast

Listen in as Sharon Drew Morgen talks about the future of sales and introduces some revolutionary thoughts around sales process that looks at sales from a more holistic approach..

Click here to listen!

Testimonials

My sales cycle time used to average 9 months. Using your method, I got a new client within a WEEK of my first meeting with him.

Barbara Heyn, Atticus Consulting, LLC

“Selling with Integrity describes the first new paradigm in sales. It offers a model for how to bring sould into sales, and teaches the hands-on skills to do it.”

Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul.

“Finally, a sales paradigm which supports our spiritual values and lays the foundation for the paradigm shifts occuring in business today.”

Ken Blanchard, coauthor of “The One Minute Manager”

“Morgen has done it again – described an exceptional approach to selling and made it clear and concise. Read this book [Selling with Integrity] and practice what’s between the covers. It will make your next sales call the most successful in your career.”

Larry Wilson, author of “Changing the Game”

“Morgen’s Buying Facilitation® is light years ahead of the rest of the field.”

Philip Kotler, author of “Marketing Management”

While you may have first developed your methodology for sales, it has proven quite valuable whenever I needed to question and listen for what was really going on with an individual or an organization.

Bravo and thank you so very much for your wisdom and passion with which you share it.

Michael R. Neece, Founder & CEO InterviewMastery.com

Qualifying - The Critical Skill

Communications - Questioning Skills

Written by Kelley Robertson

For many business people selling is not usually one of their favorite tasks. Salespeople are often viewed as greedy, unethical and unscrupulous - determined to close a sale at any cost. Yet, a business cannot survive without generating sales so selling skills become a critical competency.

Selling is an honourable profession and everyone who operates a business should learn some fundamentals. From my perspective as a business owner, sales trainer, and consumer, the most important skill to learn is how to effectively qualify your prospect.

The most common mistake sales people make is to immediately launch into a product presentation or “pitch” when they first meet their prospect. They extol the virtues of what they sell and tell the prospective buyer how good, fast, reliable, inexpensive or easy to use their product is. They talk, talk, and talk hoping they’ll convince the buyer that their product or service is of value.

Qualifying The problem with this approach is that the “pitch” seldom addresses the issues or concerns of the buyer. Because their needs have not been addressed, there is no compelling reason for them to consider using your machines or to change vendors. If you really want to give prospects a reason to buy from you, you need to give them a reason. One of the most effective ways to do this is to ask a few well thought-out questions to uncover what is important to the prospect. Here are a few examples:

“I notice you currently use XYZ Company. How long have they been your supplier?”

“What do you like most about them?”

“If you could change one aspect about your current arrangement, what would it be?”

“What are the most important issues for you?”

“What have your experiences been with ABC Organization?”

“How many…do you sell in an average week/month?”

“Who is your primary customer?”

“Where do you see your greatest challenge?”

Notice that each of these is an open-ended question which means it begins with “who”, “what”, “where”, “why”, “when” or “how.” These types of questions encourage the prospect to open up and share information of what their needs and wants are. An important note here is to be cautious you don’t inadvertently turn these open questions in to close-ended ones by saying something like;

“What are the most important issues for you? Timeliness of service? Income?”

This is a very common mistake that now gives the prospect an answer. I don’t know about you, but selling is hard enough without making it even more difficult. Never assume you know how they are going to answer. Ask your question and wait patiently for the answer. Even if you have been in the industry for ten years or longer and think you’ve heard it all, don’t make the mistake of assuming you know what the prospect’s needs are. Let them tell you, rather than you telling them.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in sales is that people will tell you ANYTHING you want to know. All you have to do is ask. Most people love to talk about themselves and want to share information about their current situation, their challenges or problems, likes and dislikes. But, in most cases, they need prompting. This prompting comes from you in the form of asking the right questions in the proper tone and manner.

It amazes me how few salespeople actually take the time to learn about their customer before they launch into their presentation. I recall interviewing several companies for a training initiative I once worked on. The first two salespeople I met rambled on at great length about how good their companies were, how long they had been in business, how they could help me, and so on. Not once did the salespeople ask me what I was looking for. Nor did they address any of the issues that were floating through my mind. Finally, after thirty minutes, I called the interviews to a close. From my perspective, they had just wasted half an hour of my time.

If you really want to begin differentiating yourself from your competitors take the time to learn about your prospect’s situation. By doing so, you’ll begin to give them a reason to do business with you instead of someone else.

Copyright 2004 Kelley Robertson

Kelley Robertson
		About the author:
		Kelley Robertson is a professional speaker and trainer on sales, negotiating, customer service, and employee motivation. Receive a FREE copy of “100 Ways to Increase Your Sales” by subscribing to his free newsletter available at his website. Visit www.kelleyrobertson.com. He is also the author of Secrets of Power Selling: 101 Tips to Help You Improve Your Sales Results; Stop, Ask & Listen-Proven Sales Techniques to turn Browsers into Buyers. For information on his programs contact him at 905-633-7750 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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