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The SPIN selling methodology gives sales professionals a framework for asking the right questions to help them close more deals. Published January 12, 2022 Neil Rackham, founder of the Huthwaite Research Group and author of the best-seller SPIN Selling, says there are two types of selling: transactional and consultative. With the proliferation of ecommerce and self-service, he claims that “more than 80 percent of transactional sales moved out of face-to-face selling” and that sales “mostly happen online without the mediation of a salesperson.” This shift means B2B sales teams need to pivot to more “consultative” roles, learning as much as they can about their customers so they can offer the best solution. Asking questions is a crucial way for a salesperson to assess a prospect’s current situation, identify their needs, and build rapport with them. But sometimes, it’s hard to know the right questions to ask. You want to learn more about the prospective buyer, but you don’t want to come across as robotic or pushy. The SPIN sales model shows sales professionals how to pick the right questions with the most impact. By using SPIN selling, you’ll be able to discover customer needs, uncover pain points, overcome objections, and experience more sales success.
What is SPIN selling?SPIN selling is a sales technique designed to help sales reps close difficult, complicated deals. The acronym SPIN stands for different types of questions:
SPIN selling questionsEach type of question carries out a particular function of the sales process. The SPIN selling questions are meant to build on each other so reps can reach the ultimate goal: winning the sale.
History of SPIN salesRackham introduced the methodology in his 1988 sales book, SPIN Selling. In the book, he outlines a sales process framework for developing and timing structured questions that sales reps should ask in person or on sales calls to close more deals. He also encourages reps to become trusted advisors—his goal is to teach salespeople how to build lasting relationships with clients through effective, ethical selling. SPIN Selling has remained a best-seller since its publication, and the namesake technique is one of the most popular sales methodologies still used today. Read on to learn how you can implement this timeless strategy in future sales opportunities. The 4 stages of SPIN sellingAccording to Rackham, there are four basic stages to every sale:
The SPIN selling stages build off one another and correspond to a category of SPIN questions. The stages could all happen during one sales call or over several months of interactions—it just depends on the customer and the process. Stage #1 Opening
At the beginning of the SPIN selling process, reps shouldn’t push their products or services on leads. Instead, focus on gradually building a sincere relationship. Gather as much information as you can about them—their role, their frustrations, and so on. CRM software helps with this learning phase and improves the quality of sales relationships by making it easy to manage customer information and track interactions.
Let's say you sell time-tracking software, and you meet a brand-new lead. At this point, don’t begin by telling them how much more productive your software can make their team. Instead, collect information by asking high-level questions such as:
By showing interest in your customers as people, rather than just viewing them as a source of revenue for your company, you’re more likely to build trusting relationships. Stage #2 Investigating
In the previous SPIN selling stage, you started to establish a genuine relationship with the prospect. In the investigation stage, you’ll go even further by asking questions to uncover information about the prospect's problems (which your product or service may be able to solve). By digging into customer needs and challenges, you’ll be able to establish yourself as knowledgeable and trustworthy. To continue our time-tracking software example, a sales rep should be narrowing in on pain points by asking the following questions in Stage 2:
Understand what has frustrated leads in the past, and you’ll be ready to explain why your product or service won’t involve those roadblocks. Stage #3 Demonstrating capability
You’ve established rapport and built a solid relationship with your prospect, so they’re likely ready to listen to how your products or services can solve their problems. In your sales presentation, walk them through the features and explain how those features can benefit their company. Say, for example, the prospect mentioned their company has a distributed workforce. You might highlight that your software is cloud-based, allowing users to access their data from any device, no matter where they’re located. Stage #4 Obtaining commitment
At this stage, the sales team successfully converts the prospect into a paying customer. The customer will select the product or service that best meets their needs and provide billing information. This is also the stage in which the sales team should reflect on what went well and what didn’t—use each customer journey as a learning experience to optimize future deals. Once this stage is complete, you can celebrate a job well done. Our SPIN selling summaryThe SPIN technique is a sequence of questions that help sales reps learn more about customers’ wants, unique needs, and pain points. (Note that SPIN sales is not a set of predefined questions to ask verbatim—reps must pick and choose the right ones given the particular situation.) Each type of question corresponds to a stage of SPIN selling. Types of SPIN selling questions
Stages of SPIN selling
34 examples of SPIN selling questionsTo discover what made top salespeople so successful, Rackham and his team at Huthwaite studied more than 35,000 sales calls over several years. They found that there are four types of strategic questions you should ask your customer in order to close more deals. Additionally, these four types of questions each correspond to a specific stage of the sales process. Here are 34 SPIN question examples that you can use in your next sales call. Situation questionsDuring the opening stage, be sure to ask SPIN situation questions and gather any information you need to help you address and overcome future objections. Avoid asking basic questions that you can quickly answer through research. 1. How do you currently do [insert process]? 2. Why does your company take this approach? 3. What is your budget for [insert process]? 4. How important to your organization is [insert process]? 5. What tools do you use to support [insert process]? 6. Who does [insert process] the most? What do they need? 7. How often do you have to do [insert process]? 8. How much [insert resource] do you typically use in a given day/week/month? Problem questionsOnce you reach the investigating stage, it’s time to ask SPIN problem questions and learn about the prospect’s goals and roadblocks. This conversation should help the prospect realize current and future issues your product or service could help solve. 9. How cost-prohibitive is it to do [insert process]? 10. Are you satisfied with your processes for [insert operation]? 11. Do these processes ever fail? 12. How time-consuming is it to do [insert process]? 13. Have you ever run out of [insert resource]? 14. Have you ever been unable to access [insert resource]? 15. Has a previous interruption in [insert process or operation] cost you resources? 16. Has the cost of [insert process or resource] ever kept you from [insert operation]? 17. Who is responsible for handling issues that arise with [insert process or operation]? How does it impact their workload? 18. What’s the biggest challenge your organization faces with [insert process or operation]? 19. What are the disadvantages of your current processes for [insert operation]? Implication questionsAccording to Rackham, prospects find SPIN implication questions to be the most stimulating and thought-provoking. When you get to this point, Rackham says that you “start to uncover things where you [the rep] may be able to offer a lot more value.” He explains that these questions allow sales and support teams to craft “richer and better solutions” for potential customers. Push prospects toward making a purchase by asking these questions: 20. What resources does it cost to do [insert process] this way? 21. If you had more resources, what could you accomplish? 22. How would you use more funds (be as specific as you can) each quarter? 23. How is your issue with [insert process or resource] impacting your team? 24. Does [insert process] ever keep you from reaching your business goals? 25. If you weren’t experiencing your problem with [insert process or resource], would it be easier for you to reach your goals? 26. If [insert process or operation] didn’t ever occur, what would happen? 27. Have you had this problem with [insert process or resource] in the past? 28. Where do you find you have the most bottlenecks with [insert process or resource]? 29. Are there any hidden costs for training, equipment, etc. associated with [insert process or resource]? Need-payoff questionsWhen you arrive at the final stage, ask SPIN need-payoff questions to encourage the prospect to communicate the usefulness of your product or service in their own words. If you’re successful, these questions will help the prospect realize your company’s value, and they’ll convert. 30. Would doing [insert process] make it easier to reach your business goals? 31. Would you find it valuable to do [insert process]? 32. Do you think that resolving your issue with [insert process or resource] would help your organization? 33. Why is being able to do [insert process or operation] important to your organization? 34. How do you think a solution for [insert process or resource] would help your team? Why SPIN selling still worksSales reps have a reputation for going on and on about their products or services instead of listening to decision-makers. The SPIN selling method flips this sales training approach on its head. With its carefully crafted questions, the SPIN model puts listening to prospects at the forefront of sales interactions—you can say goodbye to one-sided conversations. Integrate the SPIN questions into future sales calls to build deeper connections with leads and move them through your pipeline. Build a strategic sales planGet closer to closing the deal. Learn how to create a strategic sales plan that will get you on track. We know. It’s a lot to take in.Sign up for our newsletter and read at your leisure. Email address Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address. Please also send me occasional emails about Zendesk products and services. (You can unsubscribe at any time.) Please also send me occasional emails about Zendesk products and services. (You can unsubscribe at any time.) Yes No Please select an option Oops! Sorry something went wrong, try again later? Which of the following is the most important dimensions of customer service?#1 Just Do It. RELIABILITY: Do what you say you're going to do when you said you were going to do it. Customers want to count on their providers. They value that reliability.
When handling complaints from a customer a sales person must?5 ways to handle customer complaints. Listen and understand. Always listen to your customers. ... . Apologize. Don't be afraid to apologize for a mistake. ... . Find a solution. When your customer has a legitimate complaint, you need to find the root cause and solve it. ... . Follow up with the customer. ... . Exceed expectations.. Which of the following do customers expect from salespeople?Customers expect a salesperson to be responsive to their situation. Or, to put it another way many customers want to tell you their “story” as the way for you to understand and help them. Don't cut them short and plow ahead with your own spiel. If you do, they will be offended and feel rejected.
Is the process of identifying prospects who have a need for your product and should be contacted?Prospecting is the first step in the sales process, which consists of identifying potential customers, aka prospects. The goal of prospecting is to develop a database of likely customers and then systematically communicate with them in the hopes of converting them from potential customer to current customer.
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