Why “SPIN Selling” Still Holds Relevance Today

The sales profession has drastically changed over the years.

Thankfully, a lot of the old school techniques have evolved, clients have changed and sales professionals are now problem solvers.

However, this doesn’t mean that all of the old sales tactics have little or no value.

Let’s take it back 30 years to 1988.

SPIN SELLING

After more than 12 years of research and making 35,000 sales calls, academic Neil Rackham authored “SPIN Selling” — a guide on how to ask good questions in the right order, use active listening and translating a prospect’s needs into a product’s features.

Rackham’s strategy focuses on how to win larger consultative deals and abandon traditional sales techniques that only work on small ones. You see, larger deals require client nurturing and commitment. Whereas, smaller ones take less time and result in faster turnover and little value.

That’s why Rackham proposed tailoring specific questions and asking the right amount of them, so that a prospect’s specific needs would be revealed.

After being published in 1988, “SPIN Selling” is still relevant and is considered the ultimate how-to guide on problem solving. It does so by creating value through an ongoing relationship with the buyer.

In the sales world today, you can abandon most traditional sales techniques. However, one simply cannot abandon the techniques Rackham shared 30 years ago.

Happy 30thanniversary to the book that teaches sales professionals to bring value, identify needs and become a trusted advisor.