Yesterday, I wrote about The Solutions Focus: Making Coaching and Change SIMPLE by Paul Z Jackson and Mark McKergow in the blog post, Toyota Kata a Solution-Focused Approach? I actually found Solution Focus from reading McKergow latest book, Host: Six New Roles of Engagement. 
In the book, the author uses the metaphor, Hosting as a way to engage with other members of teams, organizations, communities, and movements. Reading it from the perspective of a sales and marketing person, I felt it added great lessons about when to and when not to engage with a customer/prospect. I will stop short of calling it a Sales and Marketing book but the Six Roles; Initiator, Inviter, Space Creator, Gatekeeper, Connector and the Four Positions; In the Spotlight, With the Guests, In the Gallery, In the Kitchen provide an interesting perspective for working with a customer/prospect.
The book was written more from a leadership perspective and situated itself as an alternative to top-down management and servant leadership. Using it as a guide for sales gives you a different approach than trying to “tunnel into” a client which typically ends with very mixed results. Or, the other alternative of leaving the customer lead the way. Instead, I took it as a challenge to find that happy medium as the author put it, “When to Step Forward” or “When to Step Backward.”
I liked this approach and created an A3 of the process for use in reading and outlining as you read the book. I also think it can be used in 2 different ways. You might want to look at it from your approach to a customer/prospect. In addition, you might try to complete it from a customer/prospect perspective. Think who may be playing these roles and what actions they are taking when they serve as the host. Might be worth a good exercise for a sales meeting.
