The Book That Changed How EVERYONE Sells | Selling Made Simple

Believe it or not, there wasn’t a whole lot of data out there on sales techniques in the past. A lot of the industry was based on “feel”, “intuition”, and “charisma”. That is until one revolutionary book came along and turned the business of selling on its head in 1988. And the research-driven techniques this book uncovered are just as effective today as they were 30+ years ago. Today we’re talking about one of the most influential books in sales history, SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham. The History of Sales As the scholars among you may already know, the first sales model that was widely used across markets we developed in the 1920s. It focused on traditional selling tactics like using open and closed questions, presenting features/benefits, objection handling, and closing. This alone was often enough to win over most prospects. But as sales grew in price and complexity over the years and particularly in the late eighties, this model alone wasn’t enough to get the job done. And that’s where Neil Rackham’s SPIN Selling came in. This extensively tested new model was built to address the changing sales landscape. It uses a questioning method that follows the acronym SPIN: * S for Situation * P for Problem * I for Implications * And N for Need Payoff We’ll get into the specifics of it all in a sec. But first let’s look at… Why SPIN Works Why SPIN Selling works. When it comes to the larger complex sales of B2B businesses today, there are four main differences that sales reps like you need to compensate for. 1. A Longer Sales Cycle While small sales can be handled in a single call, modern sales require many calls, often with different stakeholders over the course of several months. 2. A Larger Commitment Small sales don’t require a lot of commitment due to the lower price tag. But more complex deals typically require a larger financial commitment, meaning the rep needs to demonstrate MORE VALUE to make it worth the investment. 3. Ongoing Relationships Due to the longer sales cycle, more complex deals will naturally create deeper relationships between the buyer and seller. As a result, that relationship (whether good or bad) tends to have more of an effect on the deal itself. 4. Higher Risk There’s a higher risk with larger deals. If the solution isn’t a fit, there’s more money at stake here. But don’t forget, there’s also a loss of time, respect, and even future advancement on the line. How to Use SPIN Selling How can you use SPIN Selling to maximize success with your prospects? Like so much of sales, success depends on asking the right questions. And SPIN is all about what types of questions you should be asking. S – Situation Questions  Situation questions. These are the fact-finding and background questions. Questions like, “What do you see as your company’s biggest opportunities for growth in the coming quarter?” This is where you start the conversation out. They’ll help you build context around the buyer so you can naturally transition into the next stage. Now before we move on, it’s important that you use these types of questions sparingly as they may eat up a lot of the customer’s time and patience. Once you’ve built up some context, time to move on to… P – Problem Questions Problem questions. These are questions that explore problems or issues your product can solve. Questions like “Are you concerned about your aging equipment’s ability to meet your clients’ quality standards?” These questions uncover implied needs. These are the smaller, more generalized customer frustrations. Frustrations like “Our press quality is lacking,” or “our system creates too much waste.” Your job is to then build those needs into larger, more urgent issues—the explicit needs. I – Implication Questions