{"id":10171,"date":"2020-07-02T19:13:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T23:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=10171"},"modified":"2020-07-10T20:48:33","modified_gmt":"2020-07-11T00:48:33","slug":"how-to-become-a-good-salesperson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-good-salesperson\/","title":{"rendered":"What Makes a Good Salesperson: The SPIN Strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Do you want to know what makes a good salesperson? Can the SPIN strategy help?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your quest to finding out what makes a good salesperson can drive you to find great sales opportunities and strategies. As you learn what makes a good salesperson, you&#8217;ll be able to experiment with different approaches. One of these is the SPIN strategy. Keep reading to see it works, and for tips on using SPIN successfully. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Makes a Good Salesperson? <strong>Questions Drive Success<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you ask yourself what makes a good salesperson, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/spin-selling-questions\/\">SPIN selling Questions<\/a> are crucial to success in many types of interactions besides sales\u2014for instance, negotiations, management interactions, performance interviews, and group discussions. The more questions you ask, the more likely you are to meet your objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are different types of questions, some of which are more effective than others. Sales training has emphasized two types\u2014open and closed questions\u2014dating back to at least the 1920s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Closed questions are directive and usually elicit a \u201cyes\u201d or \u201cno\u201d answer\u2014for example, \u201cHave you purchased new equipment in the last five years?\u201d Closed questions are less engaging, which can make them useful in dealing with long-winded customers, or when you have little time.&nbsp;What makes a good salesperson depends on your ability to deal with all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/kinds-of-customers\/\">kinds of customers<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Open questions are non-directive and encourage an in-depth answer\u2014for example, \u201cCan you tell me more about your business?\u201d or \u201cWhat\u2019s your biggest concern?\u201d They\u2019re effective at eliciting information because they get the customer talking. Sometimes, you learn something you didn\u2019t expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the research on which this book is based found no correlation between using either open or closed questions and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/sales-success\/\">sales success<\/a>. Researchers found no benefit for one type over the other in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/major-sales-spin-selling\/\">major sales<\/a> calls, although sales training has long emphasized the importance of asking mostly open questions instead of closed questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Better Approach<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers found that successful reps handled the investigating stage differently. Rather than focusing on asking open and closed questions in large sales, they asked four different types of questions in a sequence. These successful reps\u2019 investigating questions can be described as the SPIN sequence, which can help you learn what makes a great salesperson. Here\u2019s an overview:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1)<\/strong> <strong>S-Situation questions<\/strong>: Start by asking fact-finding and background questions, such as<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\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<p><strong>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 may not ask enough of these questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3) I-Implication questions:<\/strong> Asking good situation and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/problem-questions-spin-selling\/\">problem questions<\/a> may be enough to win a small sale. However, you need to go further in large sales and ask a more sophisticated question that explores 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 a sense of urgency for solving it. These are more difficult questions to frame, even for experienced salespeople.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>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 Need-payoff questions contribute strongly to sales success. Top reps ask these questions 10 times more often than average reps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asking SPIN questions is the best way to use the investigating phase of a sales call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Implied and Explicit Needs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two types of needs: implied and explicit. In small versus large sales, they play out differently. You&#8217;ll need to learn both to know what makes a great salesperson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/implied-needs-spin-selling\/\">Implied needs<\/a> are problems and frustrations expressed by the customer<\/strong>\u2014for instance, \u201cI\u2019m not happy with the quality our press is producing,\u201d or \u201cOur system creates too much waste.\u201d<\/li><li><strong>Explicit needs are <\/strong><strong><em>strong<\/em><\/strong><strong> wants or desires expressed by the customer<\/strong>\u2014for example, \u201cWe need a more efficient system,\u201d or \u201cWe have to cut our procurement costs.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In small sales, implied needs can result in sales success without further development into explicit needs. In fact, the more implied needs a rep can uncover, the greater the chances of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-make-a-sale-2\/\">making a sale<\/a>. In these sales, implied needs are \u201cbuying signals,\u201d or behavioral cues that the customer wants to buy; however, in large sales, this isn\u2019t the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In large sales, the relationship between implied needs (customer problems) and making a sale is weaker. The <em>number<\/em> of implied needs you uncover has no bearing on sales call results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In a large sale, implied needs are a starting point requiring further development into explicit needs<\/strong>. The quantity of needs you uncover isn\u2019t important; it\u2019s how you develop them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Become a Good Salesperson by <strong>Presenting Benefits&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>After the investigating stage of a sale where you ask SPIN questions, the next stage is demonstrating value. This stage, also referred to as demonstrating capability, is where you present your solution. In a major sale, some ways are more effective than others, and knowing what makes a good salesperson means you can effectively switch between the two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the last 60 years, sales training has advocated using features and benefits to demonstrate value, or describe your products and services. The conventional wisdom has been that<strong> features are facts or characteristics about a product<\/strong>; they aren\u2019t persuasive. <strong>Benefits are the ways features help the customer<\/strong>, and they\u2019re a compelling way to present your solution\u2019s value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But research indicates that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The way reps are trained to use benefits is ineffective in larger sales.<\/li><li>The traditional approach is likely to get a negative response.<\/li><li>Defining a benefit is more complicated than it seems.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Features<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Conventional wisdom has held that facts\/features are neutral, neither helping nor hurting sales success. Examples are: \u201cThe cost is $20,000,\u201d \u201cWe have two models, basic and enhanced,\u201d or \u201cThis computer has X amount of memory.\u201d Facts play out a bit differently in small and large sales\u2014<strong>research has shown facts may help slightly in small sales, but their impact is neutral in larger sales.<\/strong> Specifically:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Reps in unsuccessful calls spend somewhat more time discussing facts\/features, but basically, features don\u2019t have an impact on sales.<\/li><li>In successful small sales, describing features contributes slightly to success. This isn\u2019t the case for larger sales.<\/li><li>In larger sales, describing features is detrimental early in the call and neutral later.<\/li><li>Users are more interested in features than decision-makers are.<\/li><li>Occasionally, in the middle of a complex sale of a technical product, the customer may start asking for feature details. At this point, people with technical expertise in the product can boost the sale.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall though, the longstanding belief that features generally don\u2019t help a sale much, if at all, is correct.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Benefits<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While the definition of features is straightforward, there are numerous definitions of benefits, and selling benefits can help you learn what makes a great salesperson. For example, a benefit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Describes how a feature helps the customer.<\/li><li>Saves the customer money<\/li><li>Is a unique aspect of your solution that no one else offers<\/li><li>Creates a motive to buy<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers tested the effectiveness of various benefit assertions in sales calls, and narrowed them to two main types:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A type-A benefit, which shows how a product\/service can help generally (this is the most commonly taught benefit definition).<\/li><li>A type-B benefit, which demonstrates how a product\/service <em>meets an explicit need<\/em> of the customer.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers found that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>In smaller sales, using the type-A benefit contributed strongly to success; in large sales, it contributed only a little to success.<\/li><li>Using the type B-benefit\u2014focusing on how the solution addresses explicit needs\u2014 <em>contributed strongly to success in both small and large sales<\/em>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The book hereafter refers to type-A benefits (how it can help) as \u201cadvantages,\u201d and type-B benefits (how it addresses explicit needs) simply as \u201cbenefits.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Become a Good Salesperson by <strong>Getting the <em>Right<\/em> Commitment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of the call planning process for a major sale, the seller needs to set objectives for the call. Objectives may include intangibles like relationship building, but also must specify what level of commitment the customer must make for the call to be a success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a small sale, success is easy to define\u2014it\u2019s a customer order. But in a major sale, fewer than 10% of calls result in an order. Your ultimate goal is a sale at some point down the road; in the short term, you\u2019re looking for an indication of progress in each call, which can be tricky to define.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just meeting vague objectives isn\u2019t a sufficient standard for success. Further, it\u2019s easy to rationalize that you\u2019ve met your objectives\u2014for instance, if you leave feeling good about the meeting, you may count it as a successful closing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sales reps need a clear understanding of what constitutes successful and unsuccessful calls, so they can set objectives leading to success. Here are the typical measures of call outcomes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Orders<\/strong>: (successful) the customer makes a firm commitment, usually by signing an order form or contract. As noted previously, fewer calls result in orders in larger sales.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Advances<\/strong>: (successful) the customer commits to an action that moves the sale process toward an eventual commitment\u2014for example, he may agree to test the product, attend a demonstration, or provide access to a higher-level company official. In larger sales, your closing objective is usually to get an advance. This requires knowing ahead of time what advance you want from the call.<\/li><li><strong>Continuations<\/strong>: (unsuccessful) you get neither a yes or no. The customer says something positive. but doesn\u2019t agree to take any action\u2014for example, he might invite the rep to keep in touch or to stop in again at some unspecified point in the future. Calls that end this way can\u2019t be deemed successes\u2014success requires action.<\/li><li><strong>Refusals<\/strong>: (unsuccessful) the customer refuses a commitment\u2014for instance, by explicitly saying \u201cno\u201d to the sale, refusing another meeting, or denying access to additional people in the company.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Research shows that when reps are clear about successful and unsuccessful outcomes, they have greater success in converting continuations to advances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Objectives should focus on getting the customer to take a specific action\u2014for instance, to attend a product demonstration. In contrast, a less specific objective to gather information or build a relationship leads to an indefinite continuation of the sales process rather than to an advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learning what makes a good salesperson should be a longterm career goal. The SPIN strategy can help you apply a new and effective method that can teach you what makes a good salesperson. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you want to know what makes a good salesperson? Can the SPIN strategy help? Your quest to finding out what makes a good salesperson can drive you to find great sales opportunities and strategies. As you learn what makes a good salesperson, you&#8217;ll be able to experiment with different approaches. One of these is the SPIN strategy. Keep reading to see it works, and for tips on using SPIN successfully.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,30],"tags":[91],"class_list":["post-10171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career","category-work","tag-spin-selling","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Makes a Good Salesperson: The SPIN Strategy - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do you want to know what makes a good salesperson? Try using the SPIN method. With SPIN&#039;s progressive approach, you&#039;ll achieve your career goals.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-good-salesperson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Makes a Good Salesperson: The SPIN Strategy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Do you want to know what makes a good salesperson? Try using the SPIN method. With SPIN&#039;s progressive approach, you&#039;ll achieve your career goals.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-good-salesperson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-02T23:13:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-07-11T00:48:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/sales-framework-spin-selling-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carrie Cabral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carrie Cabral\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-good-salesperson\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-good-salesperson\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Carrie Cabral\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56\"},\"headline\":\"What Makes a Good Salesperson: The SPIN Strategy\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-02T23:13:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-11T00:48:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-good-salesperson\/\"},\"wordCount\":1844,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-good-salesperson\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/sales-framework-spin-selling-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Spin Selling\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Career\",\"Work\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-good-salesperson\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-good-salesperson\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-good-salesperson\/\",\"name\":\"What Makes a Good Salesperson: The SPIN Strategy - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-good-salesperson\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-good-salesperson\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/sales-framework-spin-selling-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-02T23:13:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-07-11T00:48:33+00:00\",\"description\":\"Do you want to know what makes a good salesperson? 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