SPIN selling technique by Neil Rackham

Last Wednesday 25 January I went to a workshop of Sales Cubes organized by Software in Brussels at Tour & Taxis. The workshop was about Consultative Selling and how to use it. It's a special technique that is based on SPIN selling.

SPIN selling is a technique that is developed by Neil Rackham and is based on scientific research about psychology and what persuades people. It's a way of asking questions to find out the problems and implied & explicit needs of a customer.

• Situation Questions
• Problem Questions -----> Implied Needs
• Implication Questions
• Need Payoff Questions ----> Explicit Needs
• Benefits

Situation questions

Asking questions about background facts of the customer's situation.

Purpose: based on this information the seller can identify the potential problems the buyer might have.

Problem questions

Asking questions about problems and dissatisfaction's that the customer is currently experiencing.

Purpose: to focus the discussion on the problems and the needs of the customers that you as a seller can address.

Implication questions

Asking questions about the consequences of the problems

Purpose: these questions enable the seller to measure the amount of pain the current problems are causing the buyer.

Need payoff questions

Asking questions about the added value to the customer when solving these problems.

Purpose: these questions will enable the seller to measure the amount of benefits his or her product will have for the customer.

When having asked these questions, you can use the FAB sales model to sell your product.

Feature --> Advantage --> Benefits (for the customer)

More information on these subjects you can find by clicking on the links.