Buying facilitation

The term "buying facilitation" is used to describe the process of helping buyers make purchases while recognizing they have their own 'unique way' of seeking solutions, as compared to imposing the seller's products or solutions upon them. Although this concept of facilitation can be understood in general terms, it is possible to lay out specific processes and objectives one would be wise to accomplish, or have a method or methodology, as the facilitator helps the buyer in "lining up all of the decision variables." ¹

Unique decision variables in the buyer's decision-making today, especially in complex sales situations (typically in a larger organization) may include: people, policies and rules, history, resources, vendor issues (and more) that have created, caused, contributed to, or explain the identified issue or problem, and have sustained it. The buying facilitation process requires that these be recognized, acknowledged, addressed and amended, before change can happen.

Buying facilitation recognizes that "people do not buy based on information; they buy based on their ability to get systemic buy-in --- support, that is, from all of the people, rules, initiatives, and partnerships that will be affected by a solution. In other words, buyers need to make a business decision, not a purchasing or product decision." ¹ Interestingly, 'buying facilitation' treats the length of the 'sales cycle' as the time it takes buyers to come up with their own answers.

In a review of sales literature, we find the most detailed observations of the buying facilitation process come from Sharon Drew Morgen, who has developed a more systematic or methodological approach to the 'buying facilitation' process (and reportedly, for the extent of her research and development, has been granted a registered trademark on the term within the context of the methodological approach. So, she displays Buying Facilitation ^(R) in her literature, and reportedly she was the first to introduce the term in 1988. See: http://www.newsalesparadigm.com/). Ms. Morgen says that buying facilitation has at least these six principles:

1) You have nothing to sell if there is no one to buy.
2) Relationship comes first; task second.
3) The buyer has the answers, the seller has the questions.
4) Service is the goal, discovery is the outcome, and a sale may be the solution.
5) People only buy when they cannot fill their own needs.
6) People buy using their own buying patterns, not a seller's selling patterns. ¹

An example of Buying Facilitation
With her permission, and giving appropriate recognition to her original research and methodology, the following three question area samples stem from Ms. Morgen's methodology. Basically, we can say that since Buying Facilitation ^(R) is considered a decision support model, and it follows systems thinking, there is a specific order in which the questions must be asked to elicit decisions. The progression of areas to consider, as one goes about making a new decision, and before change will happen, would be:

1) Focus on all present and historic systems elements that create and maintain the status quo, to discover the elements that keep your current decisions in place. "The buyer/decision maker must recognize all internal, systemic elements that brought them to the current state that includes the Identified Problem (that problem that sellers wish to resolve with their product or service). It's necessary for the buying facilitator to use a form of question called a Facilitative Question that will lead the decision maker to the discovery of all elements - people, policies, relationships, rules/roles, history, etc. - that not only created but maintain the status quo and the Identified Problem. This phase is Strategic." ¹

2) Because systems fight to maintain the status quo, they won't go outside unless they are convinced that familiar resources cannot fix the problem (homeostasis)⁴. So, the client must seek to discover how they can fix it themselves. "The buyer/decision maker must examine all avenues of finding an internal/familiar fix for the Identified Problem before they can go to an unfamiliar resource, such as the seller of a new product or service." ¹

3) Until or unless are elements are in agreement, no change may happen. So, the client must discover what are the internal issues that would need to be handled before the system will allow something new to enter without disruption. Using Facilitative Questions, the seller can lead the buyer through all of the people, policies, relationship issues to ensure that there is buy-in before the system will allow something new. This must happen anyway before a buyer makes a buying decision, and with Buying Facilitation, the seller can actually be a part of the process. This phase is Tactical. ¹

Note: "A Facilitative Question is one in which the question lines up several different internal/unconscious criteria to help the person garner all aspects of the decision that need to be addressed and that might not be obvious if the buyer is not thinking at a systems level. Questions such as: What would you and your decision team need to consider differently to be ready to make that sort of change? How would everyone on the team know that a new vendor would provide the type of product or service you deserve, given that you would have to make that choice prior to actually knowing if you would get that product or service?" ¹ With Facilitative Questions, and the systemic thinking model of the order of decisions (which together comprise the Buying Facilitation ^(R) Method, as developed by Ms. Morgen), the seller has a new job as a 'neutral navigator' and can help the buyer make very quick decisions and add the seller to the buyer's decision team.

'Buying facilitation' appears to be related to Consultative selling or Relationship selling although it seems to involve much more consideration of the buyer's environment and may be considered a pre-sales process, sitting on top of sales, or occurring before the sales process. It is said to be primarily a "collaborative, values-based method" ⁽¹⁾ that takes into consideration Systems thinking. It may seem to involve concepts found in The Trusted advisor ². And, it may also appear to be related to the Complex sales ³ method, which has its emphasis on taking a 'diagnostic' approach to the client's problems, although the teachings found in 'Mastering the Complex Sale'³ do not appear to be focused on the pre-sales environment.

In any case, today's current sales and purchasing literature reports that most buyers are much more sophisticated and informed, due primarily to information available over the Internet and increasingly through social networking (both offline and online). Some have reported that buyers are often more aware of their choices and options than any individual seller they are considering buying from. And, as a result, methods such as Buying Facilitation^(R) by Sharon Drew Morgen, are coming to the forefront of sales education and training, as well as senior management education and training, and other areas where an improvement in decision-making that involves systems thinking is important.

References:
¹ Morgen, Sharon Drew, "Buying Facilitation^(R): the new way to sell that expands and influences decsions" Berkley Trade. See also: Morgen, Sharon Drew. (1999). "Selling with Integrity" Berkley Trade; New Ed edition. ISBN-10: 0425171566; See also: Morgen, Sharon Drew. (1999).
²Maister, David H. (2002). "The Trusted Advisor" Free Press; New Ed edition. ISBN-10: 0743207769
³Thull, Jeff. (2003). "Mastering the Complex Sale"Wiley; 1st edition. ISBN-10: 0471431516
⁴Senge, Peter. (1994) "The Fifth Discipline" Doubleday Currency, NY; ISBN 0-385-26094-6

See Also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consultative_selling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_sales
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_thinking
http://www.newsalesparadigm.com/
Hanan, Mack. (2003). "Consultative Selling" AMACOM/American Management Association; 7 edition. ISBN-10: 081447215X
Uchil, Atul, PhD. (2007). "Relationship Selling: The Fine Art Of Consultative Sales" Outskirts Press. ISBN-10: 1432715003