P – Problem
Are there any problems with how things are done now?
Problem questions
How many people are required to do the job with the current process?
How long does it take you to do the job now?
Is it too costly to complete an average job?
If you had to solve one problem you have now, what would that be?
SPIN Selling
Neil Rackham
Chapter 7: Escalating To The Implications
The implications questions deepen the real
consequences of your prospect’s problems. The
reason to make the sale happen starts at this stage.
However, most vendors stop the investigation process
in the previous two phases: Your prospect may be
blind to the impacts and consequences of their
problems, and their job is to highlight them, bringing
to the conversation the consequences of these
problems that your client may not have considered,
such as overtime costs, etc. The idea of each
implication is to make the problem even bigger and, if
done correctly, the implication questions will
accelerate the closing.
If you spend too much time on (duty they
mentioned), what other duties are overlooked?
Are there any business goals or KPIs you have missed
because of (current problem identified)?
I – Implications
If there is a problem with (necessary duty), how long
does it take to fix this issue?
Implication questions
Have you ever lost a customer because of the current
process?
In recent memory, what issues have been caused
because of your current process?
Have you gone over budget because of the current
(too costly or timely) way of doing things?
How does (the current situation) affect your personal career growth?
If (day-to-day duty) doesn’t happen, what is the result?
Does (prospect’s problem) affect duties of your superiors or other team members?
In the final stage of SPIN Selling, your objective is to
make the prospect realize the value and urgency of
solving the identified problem. You need to ensure
that the buyers recognize the product’s benefits to
the problem. You need to be able to ask how they
intend to solve the company’s problems. You can also
make the prospect imagine what the future would
look like if that problem disappeared.
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