I am not a big reader. I prefer to learn from actions and experiences. However, there is one book I make mandatory for EVENTup’s salespeople: SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham. In a two-part series, I’m going to a) Distill the lessons from SPIN that stand the test of time, and b) In Part II, discuss how to apply SPIN to email, which wasn’t popular when Rackham wrote.
Hot I Got into SPIN
Published in 1988, SPIN Selling did what very few books do today: It backed tips with original research (what a thought!). Rackham and his team at Huthwaite Corporation analyzed 35,000 sales calls over 12 years to reach the main conclusions. Unlike prior sales books, SPIN focused on high-value sales, like the kind we often do in B2B tech.
My former CEO at Echo Global Logistics, Doug Waggoner, suggested this book about ten years ago. I was already the #1 salesperson in the company and do not enjoy reading. But I trusted him and thought, why not? Thanks to Doug, I used SPIN to sharpen my craft.
The SPIN Basics
SPIN argues that buyers should do most of the talking, and sellers should ask the questions. Rather than ram a product down someone’s throat, have a dialogue that builds an appetite for the product. SPIN is an acronym for the four types of questions that lead to good rapport, interest and ultimately sales. I’ll introduce the acronym and share brief examples from my current business, EVENTup.
Situation questions collect facts, data, and background (e.g. What do you currently use to advertise your event space?). Thanks to the web, we might have intel already, but validating it kicks off the conversation. In calls that succeed, sellers ask fewer Situation questions than in calls that fail.
Problem questions get at challenges, shortcomings, and difficulties. They uncover implied needs (e.g. Are you getting the results you want from your advertising?). Experienced sellers ask more Problem questions than Situation questions. Asking more Problem questions is linked with success in small sales but not large sales.
Implication questions get the buyer to state the costs or consequences of the problem. If you hop from problem to solution, the $150,000 price tag on your product can seem absurd. Implication questions build momentum and come in waves (five to ten in a row, if not more). If you ask them well, the buyer builds his or her own case (e.g. When you can’t fill the event space Monday through Thursday, what does that cost you? Are you getting the types of events that you want?).
Need-Payoff questions focus on the solution – what you’re selling. Wait, aren’t I supposed to be telling them about the solution? Nope. You’re better off asking questions about how your solution might improve their business (e.g. If an event platform could get you booked Monday through Thursday, how much incremental revenue would that bring in?).
Rackham found that people who closed large sales used lots of Implication and Need-Payoff questions. They went beyond the simplistic Problem-Solution framework most sellers overuse.
How I Use SPIN Today
In a sales call, I don’t switch consciously from S to P to I to N. I follow two principles that accomplish that automatically:
- I want the buyers to sell themselves the product. Even when I’m tempted to push the product on them, I ask questions instead. Eventually, they’ll ask me questions.
- People buy when they like the person on the other end of the phone. To be liked, be helpful. I genuinely want to the buyer’s business to recognize and reach its full potential. My questions communicate that.
Even if you know the answer to a question, still ask it. Think about it: When your friend is having relationship issues, do you say, “Hey, I know your marriage is falling apart. What are you going to do about it?” NO! Even if you know the marriage is struggling, you ask questions that make your friend feel SAFE and COMFORTABLE talking about it. The same is true in business: No one likes to be told they have a problem.
To recap, if you want to sell expensive products or services, ask questions until the buyers sell your product to themselves. In Part II, we’ll talk about using SPIN in email.
