I had so much fun with you all in April with my Steps to a Sales Call contest that I’m going to run another one. This time I’d like you to use your own words to define my concepts re helping buyers manage their behind-the-scenes decision issues. I’d like to either 1. use your definitions in addition to the ones I use, 2. help you correct your mis-perceptions, or 3. redefine terms the way you’re comfortable using them.

To be part of the official contest, please ’define’ at least 4 of the terms and start a public dialogue with me. I will send each participant one of my Dirty Little Secrets books.

Here’s the deal: without taking definitions from my books (you can use previous blog posts, however) write up some definitions to the following terms:

* Buying Facilitation®
* Facilitative Questions
* decision facilitation
* buyer’s buying decisions
* navigating the buying decision
* the system buyers live in
* the change management issues buyers must address
* the difference between buy-in and buying decisions
* Buying Facilitation® and Sales: how do they work together?

As you think about the definitions, remember this: sales handles the needs assessment and solution placement end of the buyer’s decisions, but does nothing to address their off-line, behind-the-scenes, private and personal dialogues, relationships/political issues they must address internally (and not problem/need/solution driven) prior to getting the buy-in necessary to choose a solution or vendor.

I know your definitions may be wildly different from mine – many of you are still thinking “sales sales sales.” But hopefully, through our dialogue, we can both learn: you can learn the difference between the solution sale and the pre-sale, private buying decision issues, and I can learn how to say the damn thing so more of you can understand what I’m talking about.

I’ll respond frequently to your comments and I’ll publish my definitions on May 15. Thanks, everyone. And make sure I have a way to reach you so I can send you a book!

CHOICES FOR SUBMISSION

1. Comment here: For those of you who want to just talk to me, or others in the Buying Facilitation® community, this is the easiest route.

2. Blogs: If you find this exercise interesting, or like the thinking about decision facilitation, you could write a blog post, or I could do a visiting post for you.

3. Facebook: Can you do a status update: do your friends want to discuss how buyer’s buy with you? Do they want to learn how to manage the entire sale? If you can get something exciting started with lots of buy-in and discussion, I’ll send you a Buying Facilitation® in a Box. Be sure to become my friend on facebook or make your status update open to the public with the hashtag #SDContest.

And thanks for ‘playing’ with me.