SPIN Selling SITUATION ⋅ PROBLEM ⋅ IMPLICATION ⋅ NEED-PAYOFF By Neil Rackham
1. Sales Behavior and Sales Success
Small Sales Selling Techniques
• The traditional selling techniques that most of us have been trained to use work best in small sales – a sale which can normally be completed in a single call and which involves a low dollar value. These selling techniques don’t work for major sales and in fact can hurt your success as the sales grow larger. Longer Selling Cycle - Whereas a simple low-value sale can often be completed in one call, a major sale may require many calls spread over a period of months. Building Value is Critical to Sales Success - As the size of the sale increases, successful salespeople build up the perceived value of their products or services. The building of perceived value is probably the single most important selling skill in larger sales. On-going Relationship – As the sales grows larger, the customer puts more emphasis on the salesperson as a factor in the decision. In a large sale, product and seller may become inseparable in the customer’s mind. The Risk of Mistake – Customer’s become more cautious as the decision size increases. Purchase price is one factor, but fear of making a public mistake may be even more important.

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Characteristics of Major Sales
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simplest to the most sophisticated, goes through four distinct stages: •

The Four Stages of a Sales Call - almost every sales call, from the
Preliminaries – These are the warming-up events that occur before the serious selling begins. This includes such things as the way you introduce yourself and how you begin the conversation. Investigating – Almost every sale involves finding something out by asking questions. Investigating is the most important of all selling skills. Demonstrating Capability – In every sales call you must convince your customer