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Rating: 
Summary: Way out in Front
Review: In this book Sharon Drew Morgan introduces a simple concept - Stop trying to sell things to people and instead, help them to find what they need.
Codicil: If *you've* got what they need they'll buy it from you. Simple? Yes. But totally opposite from all *conventional* wisdom. Indeed, check out the review posted on March 29th.
The reviewer asks "would a salesperson armed with only the 'Selling with Integrity' framework be effectively prepared for hardline end-run negotiation tactics from the buyer?" This isn't a good question or a bad question - it is a totally irrelevant question.
Using Ms Morgan's approach correctly will negate the possibility of ending up in that situation in the first place.
And anyway, if, by some chance it does occur, why is it a problem?
If you're desperate to make a sale then of course you have to dive in and go head to head.
If you've understood and adopted Ms Morgan's message, on the other hand, you are in there to provide a service - NOT to make a sale, per se. So, if the buyer tries to change the rules it simply means that you've lost rapport.
If you think it's worth it, re-establish rapport and carry on helping the buyer to find out what s/he really needs; otherwise simply let it go. Ms Morgan also explains why striving to guide the customer back to your own goods is a mistake. It's as simple as this: If you're offering a genuine SERVICE to your customer then you are aiming to provide the most appropriate solution to their needs - regardless of who provides that solution.
If your underlying concern is always to guide the customer to your own products then you are, in essence, still trying to SELL something rather than provide a service. You are still, as in all traditional approaches to the sales process, putting your own needs (to make a sale) before the needs of the customer (to find the BEST solution). Many years ago I worked in retail computer sales. One day I discovered that a certain manufacturer, whose goods we stocked, had a return rate of 25% or more. From that time on I refused to sell any items produced by that manufacturer. And I explained why
Some customers bought a different machine. Others went to another sales person or another shop. My colleagues were initially horrified. How could I turn down cast iron sales opportunities? Before long, however, they changed their tune. Why? Because the number of customers went up by over 50%. Sales went up by even more. Why?
Because word of mouth spread the message that we told the truth about the goods we were selling and gave good advice. We weren't just selling computers, we were providing an honest, reliable SERVICE. By the way, this idea isn't exactly new, though Ms Morgan does present it in a thoroughly professional manner. Check out the film "Miracle on 35th Street", and you'll see what I mean.
What's new is the realisation that, as a serious, viable approach to selling IT WORKS. Buy the book. Try it out. Be amazed!
Rating:
Summary: Buying Facilitation Training in LA
Review: As you might guess, I've thought about this for quite a while. As a sales coach, I need to be able to work with a variety of clients trained in a variety of sales paradigms. And just when I think I've found the final answer, something new comes along. That's why you see so many books listed on my web page; they all have value and each has a piece of the overall puzzle.
For my personal selling and marketing, though, there's one book that stands out above all the rest. That book is Sharon Drew Morgen's Selling With Integrity. As I've noted elsewhere, I think 2003 will be known as the Year of the Sales Professional, and I can't think of a better way to start it off than to get this book.
Rating:
Summary: This is the approach of a true consultant.
Review: I loved the book so much that I spent my own money to take her weekend long course. It was not cheap. But you get what you pay for. The concepts here are invaluable. The hard part is putting it into practice. The key is letting go of your "sales" agenda and actually adopting or discovering the customers agenda... while maintaining total objectivity. Really getting to the point of wanting a prospect to make their best decision is hard. If their issues can be solved without using your products or services, that's their best decision. So if they can solve thier problems with the resources they currently have in place (and don't need you) so be it. You have to walk away... or ask for referrals to someone else who might benefit from going through the process. If you have prior sales training of any sort, you have to unlearn first and empty your cup. Repition is the mother of all learning, so be prepared to practice, practice, practice. It's been very difficult for me. But buying this book was one of the best decisions in my sales career.
Rating: 
Summary: Truth Be Told, We Can't Sell To Everyone
Review: Most buyer and seller relationships are typically adversarial. Sharon Drew Morgen suggests the reason for this complex relationship is that sellers have historically focused on controlling the buying process and using all necessary means to convince buyers to buy their products.
In Selling with Integrity, Morgen offers an alternative approach. She has designed a sales methodology called Buying Facilitation. This approach instructs the seller to "guide" the buyer through the buying process while maintaining personal principles and values.
The book jacket promises a completely new way to look at sales, and that's what you'll get, since Morgen puts helping the buyer far ahead of making the sale.
Sharon Drew Morgen asserts in Selling with Integrity that the major problem in the traditional buy/sell relationship is that the seller arrives believing that he or she has the answer the buyer needs. It follows, then, that the traditional seller's task is to convince the buyer - or help the buyer realize - that the solution the seller is offering is the right one for the buyer.
It really doesn't matter why the seller has this attitude, whether it's because of training, corporate culture, personality, or the basic need to make some money and put food on the table. In every case, according to Morgen, it puts the relationship between the buyer and seller on false ground, introduces stress, and produces undesirable behaviors, including dishonesty.
You may be inclined to dispute the idea that seller attitudes are bad for the buy/sell relationship, but consider a fictional example that Morgen presents early in the book. It involves a waiter in a Chinese restaurant, whose job it is to sell you food, and you, the diner. In the example, the waiter comes to your table and immediately says, "So, you'll have spareribs and chow mein."
You, of course, aren't so sure, and you say, "No. Hello. I'd like to see a menu, please. I'm not sure what I want."
But the waiter has his own idea: "You don't need a menu. I know what you want. It's our special tonight. It's priced fairly and it's delicious. It'll be spareribs and chow mein. Believe me, I can tell that's what you'd like."
Here is Morgen's comment on this - "You wouldn't let a waiter do that. But as sellers you do it all the time: I know what you need, and what you need is my product."
For Morgen, this example illustrates the point that sales as it is practiced in American industry today is based on disrespect of the buyer, the buyer's knowledge, and the buyer's ability to make an informed and effective choice on behalf of his or her employer. Morgen asks why it is appropriate to base a salesperson's monetary compensation on a system that at its foundation encourages disrespect.
Adopting Buying Facilitation may require a difficult leap of faith for many sellers, because in Selling with Integrity Sharon Drew Morgen redefines the very goal of sales:
"As I see it, the new goal of the seller is to support a buyer's ability to solve her own problems with existent resources where possible, or external resources where necessary."
Take note: By "existent resources," she means those that already exist within the buyer's firm. And "external resources" refers to any and all resources, not just those you are trying to sell.
But consider this idea, too:
"It is okay for people not to need our product. We can't sell to everyone we speak with. Our job is to find those who do need our product, not create a buyer from an unqualified prospect."
If this statement speaks to you, if it addresses some of the tension or stress that you feel while you do your job, then you may find great value in Selling with Integrity.
There is much that is practical here, and much that is well-explained and easily understood. However, to fully understand Buying Facilitation, you must be prepared to delve into the theory that supports it.
Robert Reed
President
TrustBuild
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Summary: Read this book! It's full of "uncommon sense" about selling
Review: Sharon Drew Morgen cuts through the myths and b.s. about business and selling in a powerful, clear, stimulating book that should be "must reading" for anyone who sells for a living. She gets at the real thinking/emotional process at the heart of the buying decision better than anyone else I've read - then translates these insights into a breakthrough sales approach that is genuinely "win/win." What a powerful alternative to the rat race of manipulation and resistance most of us were taught selling had to be! The real challenge would be for executives and sales managers to read this book and then allow its principles to govern how salespeople are compensated and "motivated." A compelling book from an author of deep spirituality and years of success as a business person.
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Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: Sharon Drew Morgen introduces a new concept in selling, the Buying Facilitation method. Her sales method focuses on understanding people's buying patterns rather than the traditional approach of studying the patterns of successful sellers. This book is one of many highlighting the growing trend toward incorporating ethics and values into the way you conduct business. The book provides how-to advice for sellers who want to make the transition to this new paradigm. To sales people, the most important assertion in the book is Morgen's declaration that 'Buying Facilitation' will help close more sales than the traditional approach. She presents her ideas in a manner that says, "Try it for yourself. You can always go back to what you were doing before you read this book if it doesn't work...but I think it will work." We [...] recommend this book to sales people and sales managers.
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Summary: Finally, a sales paradigm which supports...
Review: The words in the title of this review appear at the top of Sharon Drew's book in an endorsement by Ken Blanchard. When you read the word "paradigm," your bussword detector might go off, as mine did. Sure--I thought--another new paradigm! Deliver me from paradigms. But I read the book. Pondered on it. Then I read it again. If you're looking for just another book on selling--and I've read most of them--skip this one. It will challenge your old assumptions about selling. If "control" is what you're about as a salesperson, and you enjoy trying to control the prospect, don't read this book. You'll find it disconcerting. It could make you want to change your approach. But if you want to consider selling in an entirely new way, one that respects the customer (and yourself, too), read it. It's a simple read, but far from simplistic. It does, in fact, offer a new sales paradigm, and it's a breathe of fresh air.
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Summary: Buy this book!
Review: This book claims to be the follow-up to Solution Selling, by Bosworth. There is a great deal of discussion about which book is better. In my mind, they are simply for different audiences if you want to compare them as simply 'sales books'. Selling with Integrity is by far my #1 recommendation to someone who is not, or does not want to be, a professional salesperson. It is much more simple than Solution Selling and easy to remember in front of customers. I own an agency for OD/HR consulting and have read HUNDREDS of books, manuals, etc on selling. I am especially interested in books about selling high dollar intangibles (HR consulting is incredibly intagible). I am paid by a number of my consultants to provide marketing and 'sales' coaching and this is the book I recommend. If you want to go deeper and have more structure to your sales, this is not necessarily your book. Look to Selling Solutions. However, Selling With Integrity resonates deeply with the solid principles at it's core and a new mentality of looking at sales - helping the buyer buy, or becoming a 'Buying Facilitator'. I consider myself a professional sales person and when I need a quick boost and/or self pep talk on sales, I pick up Selling with Integrity and remember why I like it so much. My personal litmus test is 'Would I buy the book again after I have read it, but pay double the price?' The answer is absolutely, no question, YES!! Buy the book. For almost any price, it is an absolute bargain.
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Summary: A wonderful approach that will take your sales to the top
Review: This book details how the old tried and true sales approaches of the past just don't work anymore. By using a simple and forgotten method of RESPECT, one can use what Morgen calls the "Buying Faciliation" to earn rapport with your prospect, and find out quickly if what you are selling is what prospect wants. There are no pitches, no pressuring, no persuading. Just a simple question and answer structure, that will open the door for you to "facilitate" your product or services to your prospect. It's very much partnering in sales for the 90's. Unlike many sales method books, the methods presented here are simple, respectful of your prospect and really do get results. Buy this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Shares A Lot of the Same Values as "Solution Selling"
Review: This book provides very useful sales advice, especially in the realm of effective cold calling. My only issue with the book is that Morgen bills her perspective early on as the next step beyond Michael T. Bosworth's "Solution Selling." I have read both books and I must disagree. "Selling with Integrity" is a useful read but "Solution Selling" is much more in depth, hands-on, and yes, addresses the same concerns with selling ethics effectively. Morgen's "Selling With Integrity" in fact shares quite a bit of common ground with "Solution Selling"--certainly more than Morgen would agree upon. Morgen's advice regarding effective listening and questioning has notable similarities with Bosworth's "9 Steps" which guide a sales lead to "discovery" or "buying vision" depending on the jargon you prefer. Both books advise sellers not to say "We can do that" or "I have exactly what you need"--Morgen clearly agreeing with Bosworth's "diagnose before you prescribe" point. And I believe that "Solution Selling" fully addresses Morgen's very valid concerns about sales ethics and trustworthiness. Morgen explains that her Buying Facilitation model is superior to Solution Selling because Solution Selling always strives to help guide the customer back to your product. Morgen does not assume that. My response is, what's wrong with that? I think this difference Morgen makes is not material. Also more food for thought: would a salesperson armed with only the "Selling With Integrity" framework be effectively prepared for hardline end-run negotiation tactics from the buyer? Peruse "Solution Selling" on the subject of negotiation and you will see what I mean. If you have read this book, I encourage you to read Solution Selling, which I believe has more in-depth tools to help people sell effectively. And yes, with integrity too. BTW, I have no affiliation with Solution Selling of any kind...! Good selling to all!<P(...) there is no single "one size fits all" book for selling (or any subject!), but dismissing the possibility of the buyer utilizing tough negotiation tactics to slash your price as irrelevant...(...). BTW, I also had cut my rating from original 3 stars to 2 (...)as I realized from experience and success with Solution Selling that Morgen's book is fine, but is IMHO not the next step beyond Solution Selling as she describes it. If we could add half-stars, I'd give the book 2 1/2. Tell ya what, I'm going to split the difference and "round it" back up to 3 stars today. Anyway, I wish good selling to all!
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