There is a new way to sell—buying facilitation. I believe the word “sales” carries too many negative connotations to support ethical thinking. I also believe it is the seller’s responsibility to support the buyer in discerning what’s missing, what’s in place internally that might solve the problem, what more would be needed for a full solution, how to choose an appropriate external solution if necessary, and how to support the decision-making entity in choosing the best solution and integrating it into the current environment.

Sales is no longer seller-based and product-focused. It is now buyer-based, service-focused, and solution-driven. I define sales as a question- and-listen process for serving buyers in ways that help them meet their needs.

There are six principles in Buying Facilitation: 1) There is no sale without a buyer. 2) Put relationships first, tasks second, since there is no need for a product without customers, staff, and a management team. 3) Service is the goal, discovery is the outcome, and a sale is the potential solution. You serve your prospects best by offering tools that support their discovery--not by pushing your product. 4) The buyer has the answers, the seller has the questions. When the product is the answer, it’s a solution in search of a problem with the seller “knowing” more than the buyer: “I know, you don’t.” That’s win-lose. Sellers have a long history of creating adversarial relationships and then having to deal with the objections, as the natural result. 5) People buy only when they can’t get their own needs met. When sellers assume they have the solution, they disrespect a prospect’s ability to discover his or her own solution. 6) People buy using their buying patterns, not a seller’s selling patterns. When sellers use selling patterns (rather than discover how people buy), they must play a numbers game and find those people who buy the way they sell. This limits their prospective buying audience.

Supporting Our Buyers

The easiest way to sell is to be in full support of the buyer. When you assume that all you have to do is create or find a need and then present a case for your product, you are playing God. In fact, buyers would fix the problem if they could. It is their job. The only reason people should buy a product is because the product is the correct solution.

Your job is to lead prospective buyers through the process of discovering what precisely they need to know to make the best decision. By asking facilitative questions based on their need to know (instead of presenting what you want them to hear), you support them in discovering their real needs.

You can have the best product in the world, but if the buyer doesn’t need it, or doesn’t know how to integrate it into existing resources, it doesn’t matter what you are selling.

So, stop trying to be the authority and start trying to be the servant—creating the environment of discovery by: formulating and asking the appropriate questions; maintaining a relationship of respect, rapport, and integrity through each interaction and with every person contacted; and learning how to communicate in a way that supports the creativity of prospects.

Create an environment of comfort for prospects to begin to trust you, and then ask questions to assist people in discovering how they can best meet their needs. Ask facilitative questions that support discovery, not questions that push prospects into the direction of your product.

Facilitative questions include: “What do you have in place now that will support you? How could you use that to solve your problem? What additional resources would you need? Under what conditions would you need to seek an external solution? What criteria would you use to choose an external resource if your current ones were insufficient? How would you or your team decide on the best solution? What needs to happen, and what would you need from me as a potential supplier, to support your decision? How would you know that my product would support you?”

Your job is to give your prospects a clear path to their own solution through your questions—in the area your product serves, but separate from your product being the answer. In this way, you can quickly discern real prospects from inappropriate ones and have shorter sales cycles.

Changing the sales paradigm is vital, not only to support the shift toward more ethical and principle-based behaviors, but also to give people a chance to nourish their souls.

The people who use the Buying Facilitation method support prospects, trust the prospects and the relationships they form, and close five times more business!

Here is what a sales conversation sounds like using Buying Facilitation:

“Hello. My name is Lisa Jackson. Who am I speaking with, please? . . . I’m with The Legal Group and this is a sales call. Is this a good time to speak? Could you tell me what you are doing in the way of keeping up with the new trends? . . . Have you recently added any new publications to your library? How did you choose the publications? How would you know that our publication addresses your areas of interest? What would you need from us to support you?”

If we are to bring ethical values into the workplace, sales must help lead the way. In the nicest ways, with the nicest people, and with the highest principles in mind, sales has still promoted disrespect. Why? Because we are not trained to serve others, and so sales, the preeminent business skill, has assumed the ultimate insult: to serve itself. It’s time to grow beyond this narcissism and serve each other. SME

Sharon Drew Morgen is a speaker, consultant, trainer and author of Selling with Integrity, from which this article is based (Berrett/Kohler). 505-776-2509.

ACTION: Consider how you might better serve and support the buyer and facilitate sales. Test a few ideas for servant selling.