Purpose
The lifeblood of business is sales. The problem is that many buyers, especially those who make purchases for major companies, know the tricks of the trade. This is when SPIN Selling can help.
How To Use SPIN Selling
SPIN Selling bases its approach on a sequence of questions. You direct these at the potential buyer.
The sequence is Situation, Problem, Implication and Need/Pay-off.
- Situation. What you’re enquiring about at this stage is the buyer’s situation. You need to find out as much as possible about the context of your sale. The risk is that you may appear as though you haven’t done any background research before you meet the buyer. Therefore ensure you do research first, and use it in the questions to show you already have a basic understanding of the buyer’s situation but want more detail.
- Problem. At the next stage, you don’t tell the buyer what problems your product or service can address. Instead, you ask questions that reveal these problems. Wait until the buyer has outlined the problems in his or her answers. Then hint at the benefits of your product or service in further questions.
- Implication. This stage refers to the implications of the buyer’s problems. What you must do is ask questions that focus on the problems and draw out any related issues. If you’re selling a computer system, for example, and the buyer has highlighted the problem of security, ask for more detail. Get the buyer to explain the implications of a computer security breach for his or her organisation. The implications may be a loss of confidential data and a breach of trust with customers. In this way, the buyer sees a problem in its entirety, and begins to feel the possible effects.
- Need/Pay-off. After drawing out the problems and their implications, you might be tempted to tell the potential buyer your product will resolve his or her difficulties. But with SPIN Selling you have to resist this temptation. You must continue questioning. Your purpose is to encourage the buyer to value your product and ask to see it. Only then do you show what you can offer.
Limitations
SPIN Selling requires practice. This is not really a limitation. You simply need to do the necessary work.
SPIN Selling training courses are a good chance to become familiar with the questioning technique. You can also practise on family and friends.
Over time, you will achieve a good flow of questions. You will also feel confident about adjusting these to suit the answers and behaviour of a potential buyer.
Related Subjects
- Sales strategy. A sales strategy establishes your target market. It enables you to find the people who may be willing to buy your product or service. Such a strategy focuses your mind on the unique features and benefits of your product or service. And it helps you understand how to present these to a customer.
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