Division A ISCS WAKAD

GROUP- ROLL NO 41-50

A-41 NEHA PATIL
A-42 POOJA SHARMA
A-43 PRADEEP SHARMA
A-45 PRASHANT SHARMA
A-46 PREETI RANI
A-47 PRIYANK JAIN
A-48 RAHUL SHARMA
A-49 RAJAN
A-50 RAVIJ SHAH

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SPIN SELLING APPROACH

The ro

What is the Goal of Questioning?

Situation
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Questions
 • To uncover needs

– Implicit needs

– Explicit needs
– Implicit need – a statement of a buyer’s problem,
dissatisfaction or difficulty with a current situation
– Explicit need – a clear statement of a buyer’s want, desire or
intention to act

In smaller sales, the more implied needs you can uncover, the
better chances you have of closing the sale.

In larger sales, implied needs are simply a starting point.

What matters here is not how many you uncover but what you
do after you uncover them.

S-Situation questions
• Gather background information and develop understanding of
the context of the sale.
• In big sales, minimize the small talk and focus on finding
background detail that can be used to make sense of the buyer's
business situation.
• Context creates meaning. This is about understanding the wider
context before you zoom into the details.
• IMPACT: Least powerful of the SPIN questions. Can be negative .
Most people ask too many.
SO
 ELIMINATE UNNECESSARY QUESTIONS
 DO YOU HOMEWORK THOROUGHLY

• What equipment are you using now?

• How long have you had it?
• Is it purchased or leased?
• How many people use it?

Every good seller begins the sales call by assessing the terrain, by
asking questions to clarify the customer's current situation. So
Situation Questions are essential, but here's the surprise. Huthwaite's
research found that, Do ask Situation Questions, but be sure they're
necessary ones. Don't ask a question to elicit information that you
easily could have obtained before beginning the call . And know that,
when overused, these questions bore the customer.

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PROBLEM Questions
Explore customer problems, dissatisfactions, difficulties and concerns
• Ask questions to uncover problems which your product can
address. But the tendency is..
• If you are selling Tractors, ask about maintenance costs,
breakdowns and so on…
• If you are selling Life Insurance, ask about how many dependents
the person has…
• A trap here is to dive straight into presenting the benefits of
what you are selling. You may know the problem, but they do
not!

Going straight to the sales pitch will just get you objections

• Are you satisfied with your present equipment?

• What are the disadvantages of the way you’re doing it now?
• How difficult is it to process orders with your present system?
• What reliability problems does your equipment have now?

• How concerned are you about . . . ?”

• “Does it worry you that . . . ?”
• “How difficult do you find it to . . . ?”
• “Is there a risk of . . . ?”
• “What sort of problems do you get with . . . ?”
• “How happy are you with . . . ?”
• “Are you satisfied with the level of . . . ?”
• “Is it hard to cope with . . . ?”
• “How well are you able to cope with . . . ?”
• “What sort of dissatisfaction do you have with . . . ?”
• What prevents you from achieving that objective?

Implication questions
• Instead of telling them the problem they have (which is also
likely to raise objections), the goal is now to get them to see (and
feel!) the problem. By asking questions which draw out the
implications of the problem, they get to feel the pain that will
drive them towards your product.
• Link isolated problems by examining their effect on customer
business and organization
• "if this problem is not solved, what are the undesirable
consequences?".

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 • The goal of implication questions is to help break down the
problems of specific customers in order to make implied needs
explicit and to analyse the cost effectiveness of solving them.

For Example,
The life insurance salesperson could carefully ask what
would happen to the children if the target person died or
became very ill.

More sample questions

• Does your overtime expense increase when your
equipment goes down?
• Do bottlenecks result because you only have two people
who can operate your order processing system?
• Are you experiencing high turnover and training costs
because of the difficulty that your employees are having
in operating your equipment?

NEED-PAYOFF Questions
Help customers discover the value and benefits of the solution of an
implied need by asking such questions as
"how would e.g. reducing down-time help you?"
Action-oriented, 'explicit needs' trigger purchase

• Having hurt the target person with your implications, you now
give them a straw to grasp at by asking how their pain could be
resolved. With careful questions, you can get them to the state
where they are asking for your product (Need) even before you
show it to them.
• They probe the Explicit Needs
• Reduce objections because they cause buyer to explain solution
• Move discussion forward towards action and commitment

For example,
The Tractor sales professional can ask how much better the
tractor was like when it was new, or whether any of the
farmer's neighbors have solved problems of old and
problematic tractors.
The Insurance Sales Professional could ask questions that
build pictures of the target person's children being safe and

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secure whatever curve-balls the world might throw at the
family

Like Problem Questions, which they naturally follow, Need-

Payoff Questions are linked to success in more complex sales.
They can be especially useful when you're talking to top
decision makers (or those who will influence them), and they
increase the likelihood that your solution, if accepted, will
provide the payoff that answers the need. These questions
focus the customer's attention on the solution rather than the
problem, and they encourage him or her (with your assistance)
to outline the benefits that your solution will provide his or her
company. Thus a good Need-Payoff Question both pre-empts
objections and enlists customer buy-in.

D e v e l o p m e n t o f N e e d - p a y o f f Q u e s t i o n s

S T R E N G T H O F Y O U R P R O D U C T
e . g . f a s t e r

I D E N T I F Y C L A R I F Y E X T E N D

BE AN I.C.E. MAN
H o w u s e f u l w I so u s l p d e i e t d b ei m p o rC t ao nu tl d t o a f a s t e r
t o h a v e a b e a b l e t o h s a y ns dt e l em f r e e y o u r p e o p l e
f a s t e r s y s t e m m ? o r e c l i e n ut s p ? t o d o o t h e r t h i n g s ?

Identifying
• “Are you saying it would help if we could . . . ?”
• “Am I right that it would help if . . . ?”
• “Are you looking for a way of . . . ?”
• “Would you be interested in X?”
• “If I could show you a better way of dealing with X, would you be
interested?”
• “Would you like to be able to . . . ?”
Clarifying
• “Why is X so important to you?”
• “What sort of savings would X produce?”
• “What do you regard as the main benefits of Y?”

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 • “Do you think that would produce significant savings?”
• “Would you see Y as a significant improvement?”
• “How important is it for you to improve X?”
Extending
• “How else could Y help you?”
• “Are there any other ways in which Y could help?”
• “Would Y also help you achieve X?”
• How much business would you loose if your phone did not work
for 24 hours?

Points to be kept in mind..

• Four types of questions need to be addressed in sequence. The
SPIN method is not a rigid implementation formula.
• The Situation and Problem question phases are often strenuous
for customers and need to be limited.
• Desk research is required to draw up hypotheses of likely pain
points and should be tested during the interview.
• The Greatest effort should be during the Implication phase when
the customer becomes aware of the problem's severity.
• Those implied needs that are discovered to be relevant must be
developed into explicit needs during the Need-pay-off phase.

Top sales professionals incorporate a greater number of need-

payoff questions into sales calls than less successful ones.

After using the SPIN interview framework to successfully

conclude the investigation phase of the overall sales process,
the sales person and customer are ready to move to the
qualification phase in which the selling party must
demonstrate its capabilities in effectively solving the
customer's problem

Pros
• SPIN's investigation phase helps the sales person and potential
buyer focus on dealing with the customer's wider organizational
problems rather than only on the immediate benefits of a
product or service.

• It helps avoid seller-imposed limitations and encourages the

customer to define the problem and desire for a solution.

• The method has proven to be successful in more complex and

large scale sales processes. It is a helpful tool during the

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 investigative phase on a consultative sales process. Rackham
claimed that sales success is more dependent on the proper use
of investigation skills than on any other factor.

• The questioning process helps build greater trust and rapport

between sales personnel and customer.

• The method has been validated across industries and countries.

But beware successful adoption of SPIN requires practice by
the sales professional. Its application occurs on the behavioral
level.

How to use SPIN Questions

1. Write down at least three potential problems which the prospect

may have and which your products might solve before making a sales
call.

2. Write down some actual Problem Questions that you could ask to
uncover each of the potential problems you’ve identified.

3. Ask yourself what difficulties might arise for each problem. Write
down some actual Implication Questions that might get the prospect to
see the problem as large and urgent to solve.

4. Write down three Need Questions for each implication.

EXAMPLES:-

1)EXAMPLE:
Doctor: (Situation Question) Do you use a removable partial denture?
Patient: Yes, I have an upper and a lower.
Doctor: (Problem Question) Are they difficult for you to chew with?
Patient: (Implied Need) They are for some foods, but I’ve learned how to get along with
them.
Doctor: (Implication Question) You say they are hard to use for some foods. What
effect does this have on you.?
Patient: (Perceiving the problem as small) Very little, because I’ve had them for so long
I’m used to them.

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Doctor: (Implication Question) But you say the partials are hard for some foods.
Doesn’t that create situations where you have to avoid some foods?
Patient: (Still perceiving the problem as small) No, it’s only when I go out to eat that I
sometimes have to be careful what I order, so I don’t go out to eat much.
Doctor: (Implication Question) Sounds like the difficulty in chewing with these partials
may keep you from going out as much as you would like.
Patient: (Recognizing a bigger problem) Yes, that may be true. I don’t like eating in
front of other people with these partials if I can help it. Sometimes it’s
embarrassing.

Doctor: (Implication Question) What does that embarrassment mean to you in terms of
your relationships with people?
Patient: (Seeing More) Well, I hardly ever go out to lunch with my co-workers or my
supervisor because of the embarrassment I have, especially if I try to eat any-
thing but soft foods.
Doctor: (Implication Question) I can see how that would make you feel. Are there any-
Other implications of the embarrassment you feel?
Patient: I’m hoping for a promotion at work, but I’m worried that my inability to
comfortably interact with my boss and co-workers, especially at lunch meetings,
may prevent me from being considered for the job.
Doctor: (Implication Question) What will the effect of getting the promotion have on
you?
Patient: (Realizing the problem is quite serious) Well, the extra money is really
important now since we’re expecting our second child. Also, the promotion
will necessitate me interacting even more with upper management and my other
co-workers socially.
Doctor: (Summarizing) So from what you’ve said, because your upper and lower
partials are difficult to chew with your selective of what you eat. This prevents
you from going out to eat as much as you would like. You’re up for a promotion
at work, but because your embarrassed to eat out, especially in front of
supervisors and co-workers, it may prevent you from getting the promotion that
you desire.
Patient: Yea, when you put it that way those partials are creating a very serious problem
indeed.

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.
EXAMPLE:
Doctor: So your chief problem is an inability to chew with your present dentures. (Need
-Payoff Question) And from what you’ve said, you’d be interested in anything that can
improve your ability to chew?
Patient: Oh yes, it’s a big problem and I’ve got to take action.
Doctor: (Need-Payoff Question) Suppose you had teeth that didn’t move around, would
that help?
Patient: It would be one factor. But remember there are lots of other factors like not
getting food under the teeth and not getting sore spots
Doctor: Yes, I understand there are several factors, and as you say not having teeth that
move around is one of them. (Need-Payoff Question) Would you explain how
having teeth that didn’t move around would help you?
Patient: Well I could stop using the denture adhesives I now have to use.
Doctor: (Need-Payoff Question) And that would be worth doing?
Patient: Yea, I hate the taste of that stuff.
Doctor: (Need-Payoff) Is there any other way teeth that didn’t move would help?
Patient: If they didn’t move, then I guess they would be less prone to get food
underneath them and that would probably cut down on the sore spots that
I get.

2)EXAMPLE:-

Conversation between service provider and customer

regarding internet facilities:

Situation question:-

Sales person: -Which company’s services are you using?

Customer: Idea
Sales person: - Post paid and prepaid connection?
Customer: Post paid
Sales person: - Do you get proper customer care services?
Customer: No

Problem Solving Questions:-

Sales person: - Does your company needs unlimited
surfing irrespective of volume of upload and download?
Customer: Yes
Sales person: - How frequently would you like to have
recheck or maintenance of services and parts?
Customer: Once in a month
Sales person: - How difficult you find to get your
problems solved by customer care executives?
Customer: Unsatisfactory procedures in handling
problems.

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 Implication Questions:-
Sales person: - While downloading in volumes how less
speed of server may cause delay in data flow?
Customer: Less than 256kbps

Need pay off Questions:-

Sales person: - How uninterrupted connectivity with 24
hrs services may be useful for your organization?
Customer: very useful as everyone get data on time and
internal connectivity of organization is good.

Books Referred:-
1) S.P.I.N Selling
By Neil reckhom Huthwaite,inc.
2) Spin Selling Field
By: Tata McGraw Hill

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