Keril’s Cliff Notes: Spin Selling
Three Bite-Sized Takeaways for IT Sales Success
If you’re like me, you have an ever-growing tower of books stacked in the corner of your office. I’m a nerd y’all. You know me. And I LOVE reading about sales. I’m always ordering books, spending hours devouring them and finding ways to apply new hacks and how-tos to my daily life. Always leveling up. That’s the goal.
Listen, I know not everyone loves to read. Or, let’s be honest, who has the time these days? But I know EVERYONE loves to level up and improve their work. That’s why you’re here after all.
And for you my sales nerdz, we’ve got something new. Each month on This Sales Life we’ll have a dedicated post that sums up, breaks down, and ultimately delivers 3-5 bite-sized action items from one of the experts. I can’t be the only one giving advice on this blog – I’m the first to admit I don’t know everything!
So we’re starting with a classic: Spin Selling by Neil Rackham
Spin Selling Summary
This book is an international bestseller for a reason. Rackham examines in depth why the techniques that succeed in small sales don’t translate into large sales. This is incredibly applicable in IT sales, where we’re often closing multi-million dollar deals that need to be approved and signed off on by a committee of more than a dozen decision-makers.
What is SPIN Selling?
Let’s break it down a little more. SPIN stands for…
Situational Questions
Problem Questions
Implication Questions
Need-Payoff Questions
Now, y’all have heard me rattle on about the significance of what questions you ask clients (and potential clients) for years now. So it’s validating, to say the least, that Neil Rackham backs me up. Or, more honestly, I should say that this technique came from him, to begin with. And now I’m finally showing my work to you all.
In short, asking the right questions is the KEY to successful sales.
Now let’s see how the focus on questions can be immediately applicable to our work in IT Sales.
Three Key Takeaways
I promised you three bite-sized applicable techniques to use TODAY, with no delay. And here they are…
Ask More Situational Questions. Like we’ve spoken about in posts past, you shouldn’t show up to a meeting unprepared. Instead, arrive with situational questions that help the client gain clarity on what they need. This way, you can sell seamlessly by providing a solution to a stated problem. An example might be: What happens if you don’t solve this problem within the next 6 months? Is finding a reliable cloud solution a priority to your team and company right now or is it on the back burner? These questions not only help the client, but they also help you know if the client is serious about working with you.
Upgrade Your Goal. A great quote from this book: “People do not buy from salespeople because they understand their products but because they felt the salesperson understood their problems.” Adjusting your goal from selling to understanding ultimately makes you a more successful tech sales professional.
Focus on your Sales Calls. The best way to implement the SPIN questions is on sales calls. After the necessary, “Hi, how are you? I’m fine thanks you?” small talk stuff, you can dive into using SPIN questions to gain situational clarity. Then, when wrapping up your calls find ways to prevent objections by focusing on the benefits of your solution/product instead of features or advantages.
With these three upgrades in your pocket, you’re ready to rock and roll into 2023 with a higher close rate, more confidence, and happier clients.
What’s Next?
While you’re anxiously awaiting next month’s edition of Keril’s Cliff Notes, a perfect next step is to join a community of tech sales professionals who are building a better world through empathetic selling and problem-solving.
Lissen, I know that everyone doesn’t have the budget for another monthly membership—although this Patreon is pure gold so you may wanna give it some thought—so y’all know I’ve always got a freebie or two ready for instant download, and implementation.
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