{"id":10062,"date":"2020-07-03T16:59:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-03T20:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=10062"},"modified":"2020-07-10T20:11:02","modified_gmt":"2020-07-11T00:11:02","slug":"spin-selling-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/spin-selling-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"SPIN Selling Questions: What They Are, How to Use Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What are SPIN selling questions? What do they have to do with sales strategy? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SPIN method is based off of questions and their solutions. SPIN selling questions help you establish a relationship, find out customer needs, and work towards solutions that complete the sale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Are SPIN Selling Questions? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In traditional sales<\/a>, reps emphasize product features<\/a> and use standard techniques to address objections and close a sale. In contrast, successful reps ignore traditional techniques and instead focus on asking four different types of questions in a certain order, the SPIN sequence or SPIN selling questions. Here\u2019s how to use this process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1)<\/strong> S-Situation questions<\/strong>: Start by asking fact-finding and background questions, such as, \u201cWhat do you see as the company\u2019s biggest growth opportunities?\u201d Asking too many of these SPIN questions in sales<\/a> can impose on the customer\u2019s time and patience, so use them judiciously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) P-Problem questions: <\/strong>Once you understand the customer\u2019s situation, ask questions that explore problems or issues your product or solution can solve\u2014for instance, \u201cAre you concerned about meeting your clients\u2019 quality standards with your aging equipment?\u201d Less experienced reps don\u2019t ask enough of these questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3) I-Implication questions:<\/strong> Asking good situation and problem questions<\/a> may be enough to win a small, uncomplicated sale. However, you need to go further in large sales and ask more sophisticated SPIN questions that explore the implications or ramifications of a customer\u2019s problem\u2014for example, \u201cHow will this affect your fourth-quarter results?\u201d or \u201cWhat will this mean for your biggest customer?\u201d The point is to underscore a problem\u2019s significance, and create an urgency to address it. These are more difficult questions to frame, even for experienced salespeople.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4) N-Need-payoff questions: <\/strong>These questions lead the customer to articulate the benefits of your product or solution. For example, you might ask, \u201cHow useful would it be if we could increase your output by 10%?\u201d or \u201cHow would being able to reduce errors help you?\u201d When the customer links the value of solving a problem with the capabilities of your product, he\u2019s more inclined to accept your product as the best solution. Need-payoff SPIN questions contribute strongly to success in large sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Situation Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Situation questions are intended to gather facts and background information about the customer\u2019s situation<\/strong>. They\u2019re the first SPIN selling questions asked during a sales call. They\u2019re aimed at getting to know the customer<\/a> personally and learning about the business and how it operates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n