Referral: Buying Facilitation process
Name: Tony Denton
Company: Coors Brewers Ltd
Position: Learning & Developmenty Manager
Contact: tony.denton@coorsbrewers.com

Overview
I first came across Buying Facilitation (BF) through a fellow coach, who recommended it initially as a great tool for coaches who aren’t “comfortable” about the sales process (i.e. the hard sell). I started my own investigation, and went to the website to learn more (http://www.newsalesparadigm.com/). I downloaded the e-book that was available and within an hour, received a call from Sharon Drew, who built an instant rapport with me.

Subsequent conversations with Sharon Drew were inspiring and thought provoking, asking many questions that I had not heard potential suppliers use before. There was no hard sell, no manipulative questions and no sense of being directed towards anything other than things that I needed to consider to investigate this further.

I then attended an open programme that Sharon Drew ran in Sweden, along with one of our sales directors. As well as meeting Sharon Drew, we also met two of the licensed trainers, all of whom we found accommodating, approachable and totally supportive.

The 3 day programme was the most inspiring, thought provoking and paradigm breaking event that I have attended in over 20 years. It is very rare to experience a real sense of beliefs and values woven skilfully into any learning event, but this was what happened here. Sharon Drew was clear, concise, challenging, hard hitting, no nonsense and absolutely congruent throughout the event. The programme was presented informally, using a combination of explanation, reflective learning, questioning and was demonstrated using some excellent material delivered in a unique way.

What did I learn?

• Traditional and Consultative Sales Training create a deep paradigm for salespeople to operate from their own space, not the customers.
• Salespeople have no right to assume that what they have to sell is right for their customers
• The Salesperson’s role is purely to serve the customer first, to help the customer to understand their own buying decision process
• Helping customers to solve their own problems is incredibly empowering
• Integrity is golden thread that runs through the whole process
• If a customer has nothing to buy, the seller has nothing to sell – but with Buying Facilitation it’s possible to expand a customer’s understanding of their needs and ability to adopt a new solution
• Listening for what is beneath what is actually said – the metamessages
• KEY LEARNING – Sharon Drew coached me to a point of realisation – I was juggling too many balls – I needed to get sharp on leading change within CBL – This happened as part of an exercise, but demonstrates Sharon Drew’s deep level of attention and care towards the delegates.
• Breaking old sales paradigms (and the need to control the conversation through my own beliefs) is very difficult, but it is liberating when you do!
• Buyers have to work through their own internal systems before they can make any buying decisions
•  Listen to customers from the position of observer so its possible to understand all of the underlying messages, but respond from a position of self, or ‘heart’
• Rapport is totally underestimated in terms of importance
• This model is a whole decision making process, not just a buying process – you literally get two for the price of one, and can use it in all aspects of life

Overall, it would be fair to say that this single experience has changed my whole perspective on selling and decision making in general.

How have I used it?

• I was working on a learning evaluation model for our business, using an external vendor. I was invited to position this with our HR leaders and board members. Instead of “presenting” data at them, I used the Buying Facilitation process to help them to decide. We got agreement to a pilot (and we now have it as part of our business), in about 30 minutes with only one question at the end concerning cost
• I used it to help our leadership group to decide how to roll out the next phase of our leadership programme. A diverse and potentially difficult group to deal with, but by using BF I got them engaged, and quickly to a decision point that they should roll this out themselves, rather than using trainers – a major mind shift for this team. (The BF question: “What has stopped us from addressing this problem before now, with our current trainers and/or vendors?” was pivotal here).
• I have subsequently used it with board members to decide how to further support the roll-out of leadership training, through coaching. We will be starting a coach training programme starting later this year.
• I also regularly use it at meetings where decisions need to be made – it is a major factor in speeding this process up – remember, it is not just a sales process but a decision facilitation process.
• Sales – as an organisation, at time of writing, we are undergoing major transition. I used it to introduce the concept of change to one of our sales functions. They understood and bought the concept, however, we are currently focused on change management processes with an outsourcing partner. The intention is to bring BF into this function as a pilot when the change process has bedded in.
• The sales director who accompanied me has started to use BF with some of his key customers. He has noticed that the relationship has grown exponentially with these customers and built some real loyalty at uncertain times in our industry.

Support
Since my visit to Sweden, I have had regular contact and support from Sharon Drew, whose Facilitative Questions have been key in helping us to understand some of our own internal dynamics and processes. This support has been unconditional and at no point have I felt like being “sold to”. To have someone invest such a large amount of time in this way was a unique experience; the fact that this time was given freely and that I was conscious of experiencing this wonderful process first hand, just made me feel supported throughout.

Sharon Drew and I worked together regularly over the course of nine months to plan each step along the way. She checked in on what I needed and supported me when the outcomes were clear. This included discussing and planning the Facilitative Questions that I would use during interventions and discussions around buy-in with colleagues. I was actually being coached and supported for free, which is very rare in today’s world. (I will also never forget the one to one coaching sessions I received during the three day programme – One of which changed a whole dimension of my working patterns when I returned to my business, for which I will be ever grateful!). This is the sort of service that you would expect to pay a consultant top dollar for, but here, it was given freely, without question and only with the intent to serve and support. On reflection, this is exactly what BF does and to experience it in this way is testament to the belief and integrity of Sharon Drew.

It would also be true to say that Sharon Drew has become a real friend and supporter during this time – something I consider myself lucky to have.

Any organisation that needs to sharpen its sales focus by really partnering with customers, or needs to speed up and improve the way it makes decisions, cannot afford to ignore this innovative and paradigm shifting process. I believe it is the difference that makes the difference.

If you would like to learn more about my experience, please don’t hesitate to contact me at the e-mail below:

Tony.denton@coorsbrewers.com