How to spin SPIN selling into a modern-day sales powerhouse

It’s been just over 50 years since Neil Rackham and his team first devised a sales strategy that would revolutionise the way sales teams conducted their calls and closed their deals. The fact that it’s still used today goes to show how effective the SPIN selling process continues to be.

Naturally, the environments in which businesses operate have changed massively since the 1980s. Cold calls and rolodexes have transformed to AI assistants and nuanced lead scoring. We’ve come a long way.

Customer behaviours and expectations have also seen a dramatic shift in recent years. According to research from our State of Sales Report , 65% of consumers say that they will remain loyal to companies that offer personalised experiences over a product-first approach.

Fortunately, that’s exactly what Rackham and his team designed SPIN to deliver.

In this article, we’ll explore exactly what the SPIN strategy is and how it works, and we’ll dive into the types of questions you should use to achieve success. We’ll also look closely at how to implement the approach into a modern sales environment.

• What is SPIN selling?
• Is SPIN selling still relevant today?
• How does the SPIN process work?
• How SPIN selling pivots sales conversations
• 30 SPIN selling questions to add to your playbook
• What are the pros and cons of using SPIN selling?
• How SPIN compares to other sales methodologies
• How to implement SPIN into a modern sales process
• SPIN selling - a classic that holds up

SPIN selling is a trusted sales strategy developed by Neil Rackham and described in his best-selling book, SPIN Selling, first published in 1988. It is the culmination of a huge study that examined 35,000 sales calls and identified the factors that make a sales call succeed.

Through his research, Rackham concluded that a product-led sales call was often ineffective. Rather, calls that focused on value-driven conversations, guided by four specific areas of questioning (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff), were much more likely to be successful.

We’ve highlighted these four areas that make up the acronym in the table below.

Despite the fact that it’s been around for five decades, the SPIN selling process is still powerful today. In fact, it's only becoming more relevant. The structured SPIN methodology lends itself very well to the complexities of modern-day deals.

Before Rackham developed his SPIN strategy, the art of selling was very different. It focused heavily on salesperson persuasion, with the ABC (Always Be Closing) mantra at the centre of everything. Product was king, regardless of why customers required it.

But as industries grew more complicated and the buying process became less emotionally-driven and more strategic, this traditional approach became less successful. Instead, sellers who took the time to gradually lay out why their solution was the best and appealed to multiple stakeholders within the buying process were much more likely to secure the sale.

The mindset switched from product-pushing to problem-solving.

And the process is much the same today. Consumers are more tech-savvy than ever before. They will often come into a sales exchange already having knowledge of what a product or service is through their own research. What separates successful sellers from unsuccessful sellers is how they can apply this shared knowledge to fix pain points uncovered through structured, value-driven questioning, with the goal of long-term customer retention.

The core principle behind SPIN is that you need to take the time to understand the buyer’s needs and situations rather than attempting to sell a product.

This might sound a little counterintuitive, but if you implement the process correctly, the buyer will naturally discover why they need the product or service through conversation without the need for direct persuasion.

Let’s take a look at the four stages in a little more detail. We’ll use a scenario of a company that sells project management software as an example.

First, you should look to build a picture of the buyer’s business as a whole and the context of what they do. Even at this early stage, you should be trying to anticipate potential issues or pain points that the customer might be experiencing based on what they are saying.

You can then enquire about aspects such as how the buyer currently manages projects and the size of the project team.

Next, attempt to discover the problems that the buyer is currently experiencing with their existing setup. Here, the buyer will hopefully verbalise the pain points that you were expecting.

In our example scenario, the seller discovers that it’s difficult to keep all team members updated on projects at the same time, meaning that many are often working with outdated information.

Now, look to uncover the consequences of the pain points highlighted. This is the first time you might start to present a sense of urgency, informed by the buyer’s responses to their own problems.

In our example scenario, the seller discovers that the consequences of team members using outdated information are repeated work and delayed timelines, resulting in frustrated clients.

Finally, you can pose questions designed to help the buyer see the value or benefit of your product or service. Even at this stage, the goal is for the buyer to arrive at the benefits themselves rather than pushing them with overly persuasive tactics.

In our example scenario, the seller might enquire as to how reduced delays and a centralised dashboard might impact the buyer’s business.

After this final stage, you can begin to pinpoint the exact ways your product or service can solve the issues. If this were an initial sales call, you don’t need to push for a hard close – rather, try to end with either an ‘Advance’ (a clear, meaningful step towards buying) or a ‘Continuation’ (no clear action taken, but an insinuation for further discussions).

We’ve all likely been on the end of a cold call at some point in our lives. No one particularly enjoys them. Part of the reason for this is that salespeople often structure calls as a sales pitch rather than a meaningful conversation.

When a sales team engages with the SPIN process, they’re committing to two main things: building trust and developing a personalised customer experience. Through initial ‘Situation’ questioning, buyers will immediately get a sense that the seller cares for their business as a whole, making it much easier to establish rapport.

This type of two-way conversation can build a rapport that no other sales exchange can replicate, as every line of questioning is guided specifically by the needs of that business. This means sellers don’t need to handle objections as often, as their presentation comes after the buyer has identified exactly what they need.

Many types of businesses, across many types of industries, use the SPIN selling method. And while it does have a fairly rigid structure, it’s flexible enough to find a home across other non-sales roles such as consulting, counselling, and teaching.

In order for the SPIN selling process to be successful, sales reps need to have a firm understanding of what questions to ask and when to ask them. The best sellers find a balance between using a set of pre-determined questions to help them unearth what they need, and the instinct to ask smart follow-up questions based on what the buyer says.

To help you get started, we’ve prepared a list of questions across all four SPIN selling stages of the process that will guide your selling process. These will be a mix of tried-and-tested questions directly from SPIN Selling and questions more geared toward the needs of modern-day businesses.

For the purposes of this section, we’ll be using a customer relationship (CRM) provider as an example.

These will be the initial questions that will help to build the context around a business. From these answers, you’ll be able to start painting a picture of what the business is, what it does, and how it achieves its goals.

You should also try to avoid too many direct fact-checking questions related to things such as company size, structure, or industry. As a seller, you should already have access to this information via online sources or your CRM. (It pays to be prepared here.)

Some key Situation questions might include:

1. Who is responsible for your CRM setup?
2. How much of your budget is assigned to CRM software?
3. How important is CRM to your business?
4. Who uses CRM most frequently, and what are their objectives?
5. Which platforms or tools do you currently use for CRM?
6. Why did you choose your current vendor?
7. What tools are you currently using to analyse customer data?
8. What metrics do you track around social engagement and pipeline influence?

At this stage, you can move on to questions designed to uncover the pain points and issues that the business is currently experiencing, either with their current setup or as a result of not having one in place at all.

As you go, make a conscious note of these pain points and build a picture of which aspects your solution can solve.

Some key Problem questions might include:

1. How expensive is your current CRM?
2. How many people are required to achieve the necessary results?
3. Does your CRM ever fail?
4. Are you satisfied with your current CRM?
5. When you have issues, do you have the necessary support and information to fix things?
6. Are most of your processes currently manual or automated?
7. How successful would you rate your lead scoring efforts?
8. Do you have a problem with data silos?

You can then use Implication questions to understand the potential consequences of the issue. Here, the key is to avoid inserting your own consequences into the conversation. The buyer needs to discover the problems themselves so they can take ownership of the solution.

Some key Implication questions include:

1. How is a lack of data integration affecting your employees?
2. How have problems with your current CRM impacted your business performance?
3. Has a problem with your CRM ever negatively affected your KPIs?
4. Would saving time on lead scoring significantly impact your team?
5. What are the consequences of data silos on your business?
6. If you didn’t experience data silos, would it be easier to retrieve customer data quickly?
7. What else could you accomplish by saving time and money?
8. Have you considered the costs vs. benefits of replacing your CRM?

The final set of questions will encourage the buyer to arrive at their own conclusion as to what their business actually needs.

These questions should form a natural link with the Implication questions, as you’re essentially asking the buyer to confirm solutions to problems they’ve already highlighted.

Take care to avoid offering solutions that your product or service can’t fulfil, even if they were covered as a major pain point. This is why questioning needs to be in-depth and as far-reaching as possible.

Some key Need-Payoff questions include:

1. Would it help if. . .?
2. Would your team find value in advanced data integration?
3. Can you think about the impact of eliminating manual input with automation?
4. Do you think an advanced CRM could improve your overall efficiency?
5. How would your business benefit from eliminating data silos more quickly?
6. Would instant customer data recall make it simpler to achieve successful sales calls?

Thousands of businesses still trust in Neil Rackman’s process to drive sales. Here are some of the main benefits of SPIN selling to consider:

• It’s an ideal structure for complex B2B selling: In today’s business landscape, many deals are complicated, with a number of involved stakeholders. For expensive deals with high stakes, making the correct decision is critical. So, the in-depth questioning over a longer period gives a potential buyer the time needed to decide.
• It’s customer-centric: Customers often want to feel valued by the companies they spend their money with. This process complements this need perfectly.
• It’s great for new salespeople: Having a firm structure in place gives a great basis from which new sales reps can learn and develop their process.
• It’s adaptable: SPIN selling can be merged with other sales models and methods to achieve the best possible outcome.

However, despite its success and longevity, SPIN isn’t a methodology that sales teams can deploy for every situation. It does have certain limitations, including:

• Its usefulness in low-value sales: Sometimes, consumers don’t need to solve complex problems within their business. Instead, they’re looking for a quick and convenient solution. SPIN doesn’t add value in this situation.
• With highly-informed buyers: Many business owners know their company inside out. They know the pain points and consequences and don’t need to go on a journey to discover them.
• For proof-of-concept situations: In many industries (particularly SaaS, tech), buyers will want to see a demo of the product before they engage in a deep conversation about their needs and objectives.
• With time pressures: SPIN is ideal for long, complex deals where buyers can mull over the situation. For time-sensitive deals, the SPIN approach can be too slow and might put buyers off.

SPIN selling remains one of the best foundational sales strategies for all sales teams. However, businesses often need to use it in conjunction with other sales processes and methodologies to achieve the best results. Here are some to consider:

Let’s explore each of these in a little more depth.

With this approach, a seller will attempt to challenge assumptions that a buyer might have about broader business ideas in general, including potential problems and pitfalls. The idea is that, through this discussion, the buyer will be able to latch onto these insights and see how they might affect their own business.

It requires the seller to have deep industry knowledge and also involves more assertiveness than with the SPIN method. This approach can risk becoming confrontational if a buyer pushes back on hypothetical needs.

The Sandler method is similar to SPIN in that it prioritises the trust-building process a buyer will attempt to develop during the conversation. However, where it differs from SPIN is in the setting of expectations. There is less emphasis on discovery and diagnostics, with more attention placed on early qualification.

Buyers will often appreciate this as it saves both parties time, but it can have a detrimental effect on sellers getting to the later stages of the exchange when attempting to close more deals or find an ‘Advance’.

MEDDIC is another methodology that relies on an acronym to achieve structure. It’s an approach where the focus is more on the seller than the buyer, so it doesn’t share the same level of customer personalisation and rapport-building you’ll find with SPIN.

Essentially, the seller will work through each stage sequentially and make a decision at the end of each one on whether the seller will benefit from the product or service. There is some crossover with the ‘Situation’ stage of SPIN, so there is scope for the two approaches to be used together.

This is perhaps the most similar approach to SPIN and is particularly useful for businesses that have a vast array of products and services that can be used interchangeably. Rather than highlighting a service’s strengths or features, a seller will listen to the customer explain their pain points and tailor a solution to solve those issues.

Where it differs slightly from SPIN selling is the reduced emphasis on discovery on behalf of the buyer. They work well with each other, with Solution Selling strategies often being deployed after the SPIN process has been completed.

Despite its age, the SPIN process is still valuable. That said, there are a few ways to tweak and improve it to bring it up to the present day. Here are some tips and best practices to maximise its impact on your overall sales efforts.

Your CRM should act as the central hub around which you can build your SPIN processes. You can create specific fields for each of the four SPIN stages and populate them with the most appropriate questions to act as a guide for each conversation. You can also log appropriate responses for each lead in each section.

Businesses can use this form of data gathering as a key insight into common trends and issues that their customers and prospects experience regularly.

As mentioned earlier, many modern buyers are much more savvy in understanding what their business needs. However, where they can trip up is not having a full appreciation of the consequences of not addressing those needs.

That’s why the Implication stage of SPIN is so important. By connecting pain points directly to negative business impacts (lost revenue, high churn rates, negative customer sentiment, etc.), you’re turning problems into urgent business priorities.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionise modern SPIN processes. With its ability to utilise conversation intelligence and pick up on what’s being said during a conversation, the right solution can analyse sales transcripts to generate appropriate Need-Payoff questions and provide data-driven next steps and insights.

SPIN selling is still one of the best ways to convert customers organically. Its emphasis on problem-solving and discovery is something that many buyers appreciate. Empathy is often overlooked in sales, but it’s one of the most powerful ways to build trust and long-term relationships.

And with the rise in AI, automation, and data, it’s now easier than ever to secure hot leads primed for closing.

Salesforce provides the ideal environment to establish SPIN selling within your organisation. With Sales Cloud, you’ll gain access to enhanced lead scoring, automation, and intelligent workflows, giving you greater efficiency and consistency across the entire sales process.

And, when combined with our first-class CRM Analytics application, you’ll also have access to advanced data-driven insights to help you maximise the potential of every sales call, personalise every interaction, and close deals with confidence.

Get in touch to arrange a free trial and kickstart your SPIN selling today.