Sharon Drew Morgen's Thoughts on Sales Recruiting

Sharon Drew Morgen, author of the New York Times bestseller Selling with Integrity, has a unique opinion on sales recruitment.

''Right now, because sales are taking 30% longer than they used to because of the more complex buying decisions, companies are firing people and re-hiring their clones, thereby playing a type of musical chairs," she said. "Indeed, when companies hire sellers, they hire them based on their history of success and have no idea how they will fare in the new situation. The sad fact is that another company is recruiting the person that the new candidate is replacing—with the same results.''

''It's time for companies to change their sales model—not keep trying to get well-meaning professional sellers to be successful with a broken model,'' she said.



In Selling with Integrity, Morgen discusses topics such as "A New Relationship-Based, Solution-Focused Sales Approach," "The Components of Buying Facilitation," and "Being a Buying Facilitator." In addition to Selling with Integrity, Morgen has written four other books, all of which revolve around her sales paradigm, "buying facilitation." On her website, she describes her buying-facilitation model:

''The Buying Facilitation Method is a decision-facilitation system that teaches buyers how to make their best buying decision while you become part of their decision team. While conventional sales can be added to this process, Buying Facilitation is actually the primary step in the sales process and sits on top of sales as we've known it.''

The back cover of Selling with Integrity explains this in more detail:

''Most sellers are so busy trying to 'sell' that they don't help buyers discover exactly what they need. In fact, there are three things a buyer needs in order to make a purchasing decision: information, a decision-making strategy, and help coming up with the right solution. People buy only when they have their own answers. Why not help them learn how and what they need to buy?''

Morgen's company, Morgen Facilitations, Inc., is currently headquartered in Austin, TX, and specializes in sales training, consulting, and helping businesses with the myriad decisions they face on a daily basis. Founded 17 years ago, Morgen Facilitations has made its goal to "support integrity in sales through collaborative communication at the very baseline of our workplace: the sales force.''

"Our models are all based on a Facilitative Question model that quickly teaches buyers how to make efficient buying decisions that align with their values and support the decision team in designing a solution that will adapt to change without disrupting their status quo," the company's website states.