{"id":10081,"date":"2020-07-09T18:12:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-09T22:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=10081"},"modified":"2020-07-10T20:45:35","modified_gmt":"2020-07-11T00:45:35","slug":"spin-selling-cheat-sheet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/spin-selling-cheat-sheet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Only SPIN Selling Cheat Sheet You’ll Ever Need"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Are you using the SPIN selling method<\/a>, and need an amazing SPIN selling cheat sheet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look no further. This SPIN selling cheat sheet gives an overview of the SPIN selling system and offers a step by step approach on implementing it in real life. This SPIN selling cheat sheet can help you put your new SPIN selling strategy<\/a> into action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The SPIN Cheat Sheet: The Approach<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Huthwaite researchers found that successful reps in large sales spend the most time on the investigating stage and handle it differently from the traditional approach. <\/p>\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. This SPIN selling cheat sheet shows you 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 questions 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 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 questions contribute strongly to success in large sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding and Developing Customer Needs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In sales, a need is defined as a want or problem identified by the customer that the seller can address<\/strong>. Salespeople discover, develop, and address customer needs by using SPIN questions<\/a> in the investigating stage of a call. This requires both questioning skills and an understanding of how customer needs develop. You can use the SPIN selling cheat sheet to understand how it works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customer needs develop differently in small and large sales, and they require different sales approaches to gain commitment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a small sale, asking one or two problem questions that highlight a need may be enough to motivate the customer to buy a relatively inexpensive item immediately. However, a customer’s perceived need for a bigger-ticket purchase takes much longer to develop. A sales rep uncovers and \u201cdevelops\u201d the need by exploring and enlarging a customer problem that her product will address, and creating an urgency to address it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Implied and Explicit Needs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are two types of needs: implied and explicit. In small versus large sales, they play out differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n