Spin sales of Neil Reckham were patented by him as a successful means of promoting goods on the market. It has been tested by many enterprises that have had large sales worldwide. Transactions with such business entities are all the more successful, the more competent and qualified the seller is.
Origin
Spin sales started with a study by Huthwaite in the 70s. 35,000 meetings were held, during which the following issues were raised:
- Are there special skills to ensure success in large sales?
- Are fundamental skills different from those for any other implementation?
Such research was sponsored by IBM and Xerox. They hired the best sellers who did a good job with a small volume of sales, but turned out to be insolvent when carrying out large transactions.
As a result of the study, it was found that success was accompanied by those who, in large sales, used special skills, which were called SPIN.
Today, this technology is used everywhere in all the world's largest companies. It is believed that using the practical guide to SPIN sales, it is possible to sell a product to such customers who, under the classical scheme, would not be able to sell anything.
Stages
This system consists of four steps. This is noticeable in the capital letters present in its name:
- C - situation;
- P is the problem;
- And - extraction;
- H is the direction.
If the sequence is respected, then the sale of goods is successful.
At the C-stage, the seller needs to figure out for what purpose the customer wants to make just such a purchase.
At the “P” stage, the seller must find out with the help of a leading question the problem that worries the buyer. At the same time, one must try to give the impression that he is only trying to find out, not solve it.
The “And” step assumes that the solution to the problem will be reached by the buyer. In this case, the seller begins to ask questions more actively, and the client himself must formulate a solution to the problem.
The last step "H" suggests that the buyer will make an independent decision on the need to make such a purchase, based on the advice of the seller.
Technology benefits
SPIN sales have several advantages:
- this technology can be used in any field of trade;
- each client has its own special individual approach;
- the seller for the buyer acts as an adviser, and not as a seller of goods;
- the client believes that he has made an informed choice.
Competent sale should be based on the principles of satisfying the needs of the buyer. Thus, to ensure success in the field of sales of goods requires customer focus.
Factors that made SPIN a successful technology
There are only three of them:
- more sophisticated sellers appeared, whose emphasis is on building relationships;
- buyers have changed who began to pay attention to those business partners who understand their problems;
- specificity of the large sales sector, where the study is most important.
Situational issues
Spin sales technique involves several types of questions. At the “situation” stage, sellers find out the current situation or facts from the client. Questions are generally not interesting to the buyer and more important to the seller. He can pose the following of situational issues:
- What is the number of people working in your office?
- What is the duration of the production cycle in the company?
As shown by Rackham, SPIN sales should include a minimum of situational issues. Usually they are asked more than even planned. They quickly get bored with customers, they seem boring and boring.
Customer information should be found from other available sources. However, a minimum of such questions should be asked. Successful sellers do not use a large number of them when communicating with customers.
Problematic issues
They relate to dissatisfaction, difficulties and problems that arise with the buyer in relation to the current situation, which can be solved with the help of goods sold.
An example of such is the following:
- What problems are present in your company from this area?
- What does not allow you to achieve your goal?
Experienced sellers have problematic issues in the core group. This is due to the fact that any products solve someone's problems. If the seller correctly determines what products the buyer needs, then this helps to resolve a certain difficulty.
For example, when buying a Rolls-Royce, a customer raises his self-esteem by demonstrating his status. In the same way, any product can be brought to the solution of certain problems.
However, some believe that problematic issues do not help solve the problems of large sales, but only small ones.
Extractive Questions
They are the most powerful. However, they are asked by units and only the best sellers. Presentation of solutions and products by them is not made at the very beginning of the conversation with the buyer. The seller should aim to ask the client about the problems he has, which will contribute to the emergence of a relationship between them and potential solutions.
Extractive issues include those related to the nature and consequences of the problem being discussed. In SPIN sales, for example, you can use the following questions:
- How do the issues discussed affect your position compared to your competitors?
- How will the problem affect the productivity of your workers?
These questions hurt the client and make them work. As a result, he seeks a solution to get rid of these unpleasant sensations. Thus, first you need to create pain for the buyer, strong needs, and only then offer them a solution.
The seller must proceed from the following provisions:
- you need to choose the problem that can be solved or in which the seller has a competitive advantage;
- mentally imagine a conversation with a client;
- you also need to understand that the buyer may find the problem inconsequential, not worth the effort to resolve it;
- you need to think about how to convince the client that this problem is important, that it is worth the effort and costs.
In order for the seller to understand the essence of the extracting questions, he must realize the reasons that will prove that the buyer is wrong.
Guiding Questions
They relate to finding out the usefulness of a solution or its value for a client. In SPIN sales, these include, for example:
- What determines the importance of the problem being solved?
- What would be the savings for your company if the time spent on a specific operation would be reduced by 15%?
That is, these issues are aimed at solving. That is why buyers perceive them positively, as useful and constructive.
Guiding questions can be a mirror image of the extractors. For example, the latter may sound as follows: “Can unreliability lead to additional costs?” The guiding question will be as follows: “If you increase the reliability of the system, will the company's costs decrease?”
Good sellers use both types of questions in their work . Using this type, the implementer finds out things related to implicit from the client. The buyer himself talks about the benefits that such a decision will bring him. The seller should not talk about the benefits of a product, but send the buyer to the correct answer. For example, the question “How can the system that is being implemented with us help you?” The buyer himself offers solutions, the seller acts as a less assertive person.
Thus, the guiding questions allow us to create conditions under which buyers will convince themselves of the benefits of acquiring this particular product.
Technology Highlights
Neil Rackham’s “SPIN sales” do not imply treating the model as a frozen formula. It describes how the best sellers of large sales act. The discussion usually begins with situational issues for reference, then switches to identifying one or more problems.
In this case, the seller should ask problematic questions until the client switches to these problems himself. Then you need to intensify the pain, asking extracting questions, and then go to the guides. However, this sequence is not strict. In the process of discussion, it may change somewhat. Good sales come from flexibility.
Objection Prevention
Experienced successful sellers have few objections, since they know how to prevent them.
The benefits that the seller lists may cause various objections from the client. This may be due to the fact that the buyer can consider the price that is offered for only a little, in their opinion, an improved product to be overstated.
Neil Rackham’s book on SPIN sales is aimed at resolving this dilemma. The buyer must decide for himself that he needs this product at this particular moment in time. The seller must master the art of asking the right questions. In this case, the number of objections will be minimized. It is also necessary to develop the needs of customers.
Finally
SPIN sales allow using new methods of attracting buyers in the large sales sector, which are used by leading global sellers. They suggest a departure from traditional situational issues, leaving their minimum number with a switch to problematic and extracting varieties, during which problems are identified. The client, with the help of the seller, searches for a solution that would satisfy him.
The latter can, with the help of correctly formulated questions, direct this decision in his favor. The SPIN sequence inherent in the name is not a panacea that must be strictly adhered to. The discussion can also take place according to a slightly modified scheme. The main thing at the same time is to achieve a minimum number of objections and bring the buyer to a state where he makes a decision.