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SPIN Selling: Situation Problem Implication Need-payoff

Neil Rackham

3.98 · Rating details · 9,064 ratings · 299 reviews

The international bestseller that revolutionized high-end selling!

Written by Neil Rackham, former president and founder of Huthwaite corporation, SPIN Selling is essential reading for anyone involved in selling or managing a sales force. Unquestionably the best-documented account of sales success ever collected and the result of the Huthwaite corporation's massive 12-year, ...more

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Hardcover, 197 pages

Published May 22nd 1988 by McGraw-Hill Education (first published 1988)

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Feb 03, 2017 Sean Gibson rated it really liked it

There were a lot of awesome discoveries in the 80s, including, but not limited to, Big League Chew, the fact that long-haired men wrenching out soul-baring metal guitar solos would lead to multiplatinum album sales and the removal of countless bras so that they could be flung onstage, and the revelation that the process of selling majorly expensive goods or services was different from the process of selling, say, a PEZ dispenser.

It is the concluding item on the aforementioned list that is, unfo There were a lot of awesome discoveries in the 80s, including, but not limited to, Big League Chew, the fact that long-haired men wrenching out soul-baring metal guitar solos would lead to multiplatinum album sales and the removal of countless bras so that they could be flung onstage, and the revelation that the process of selling majorly expensive goods or services was different from the process of selling, say, a PEZ dispenser.

It is the concluding item on the aforementioned list that is, unfortunately, the focus of SPIN Selling (I say “unfortunately” because the first two items are of greater general public interest, I think). Despite the fact that this book is three decades old (leading to some fairly dated references), it contains some pretty valuable (if hopefully common sense) insight into large-scale sales that should be helpful to anyone wrestling with how to sell more effectively.

“COFFEE’S FOR CLOSERS!”

Perhaps the most interesting takeaway is that while closing techniques (such as the alternative close, the presumptive close, and the no-clothes close (okay, I might have made one of those up, though let’s face it, that particular technique could prove optimal in certain situations)) are effective when you’re selling smaller items, they actually result in fewer sales when you’re talking about major purchasing decisions.

If you think about it, that makes sense, right? On large purchases, not only are considerable resources at stake, but jobs are as well—if you’re the one in charge of, say, purchasing a new document management system for a large professional services firm and you pick a bad product/vendor, odds are pretty good that you’ll end up with a pink slip, whatever the heck that is (to paraphrase the late, great George Carlin, “I never got a pink slip…someone would just come by my desk and say, ‘GET THE F@CK OUT!’”).

Instead of closing like crazy, Rackham’s research suggests a much more effective approach is to identify problems the customer is having, help them realize the potentially significant implications of those problems, and then propose a solution that addresses those needs. Again, it’s not advanced thermonuclear physics, but it does require a different mindset when approaching a client because it means listening and asking questions you may not have the answer to, which is not something people are always comfortable doing (especially when you’re used to simply trying to provide a solution whether it’s needed or not).

One other interesting takeaway was Rackham’s perspective on the goal for a meeting in a large-scale sale: chances are it’s going to require multiple meetings to close a deal, so the goal shouldn’t necessarily be to close the deal in every meeting/conversation, but, rather, to conclude the meeting by taking the next step toward purchase, which might be getting a meeting with the next level of decision maker, getting a chance to demo a product or solution, etc.

These insights are helpful regardless of whether you’re selling laser hair removal systems or legal services. Beyond that, there are very few jobs where some element of “sales,” broadly construed as meaning the act of persuading someone to agree to something and provide you with consideration in order to achieve that goal (whether such consideration is money, resources, time, etc.), so even if you’re not a salesperson, this might be a helpful guide for thinking about how to better service your clients (whether they’re people inside of your organization or external companies).

If this book had featured a Bon Jovi soundtrack and dudes in strategically ripped jeans jumping off of stages and doing Flying Eddies, it might have garnered that coveted fifth star. As it stands, however, a solidly useful guide to the world of helping unearth and define client problems so that you can tailor your solution proposal accordingly. ...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Leonidas rated it it was amazing

Full Review: What is Spin Selling?

One of the most intuitive books on the market for selling. SPIN Selling explains the science behind consultative selling, or rather, presenting an offer to a potential client, based systematically on the clients pain-points, using a powerful questioning process.

The subtitle of the book describes quite well what’s inside; “The Best-Validated Sales Method Available Today. Developed From Research Studies Of 35,000 Sales Calls. Used By The Top Sales Forces Across Th ...more

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Jan 01, 2013 SJ Loria rated it liked it

This is not going to be a normal review, these will be more of my notes to remember what I just read and become increasingly familiar with a new lexicon / jargon that is business speak.
One quick annoyance, one quick whoa cool moment, then bullet points. This book costs $30 and you are done reading it in an hour. Why are business books so expensive and yet written at about a 3rd grade reading level?
First though one thing I found rather interesting in reading this book is that it emphasizes the ri ...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Jenny rated it it was amazing

Whether you like it or not, all business involves sales in some capacity. Written in 1988, Rackham describes his findings from observing 35,000 sales calls over a period of 12 years. He outlines the sales format that most often led to long-term success (Situation --> Problem --> Implication --> Need-Payoff). The recommendations are authentic, powerful and helpful; this book is a must-read for anyone in business! ...more

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Jan 28, 2017 Ilona rated it did not like it

It was such a drag to read this book that I am surprised that it only took me 2 months (including skimming through the last chapter cuz omg).
This could be easily summarized into an A4 article and loose none of the insights.

It took 100 pages to make an introduction to how cool they are. Only then they start talking about SPIN. Spin is asking different questions instead of only situational questions. Here it is.

The key takeaway so far is that the sale can be short term (a chocolate bar for 2 eur) ...more

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Apr 02, 2016 Chad Warner rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: salespeople

Recommended to Chad by: Brent Weaver

Shelves: business, non-fiction, sales

An enlightening approach to large sales that require multiple interactions. Success in such sales requires a different methodology than small sales that usually take one interaction. In a large sale, you must build the customer's perceived value of your solution, and the most effective way of doing that is to ask the right questions.

The book is based on 10 years of observing and analyzing over 35,000 sales transactions. As the author explains, "We've put thousands of sales calls under the micros ...more

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Jun 10, 2011 Tony rated it really liked it

The first thing you have to realize about “SPIN Selling” by Neil Rackham is that it’s a book for selling to large accounts, written before anybody else was writing books about selling to large accounts. Yes Virginia, selling to large accounts is different than selling to smaller ones. To begin with, you cannot close the sale in one day, as a result opening the discussion by trying to closing technique is counterproductive.

Besides, in major sales, the salespeople usually are not in the room when The first thing you have to realize about “SPIN Selling” by Neil Rackham is that it’s a book for selling to large accounts, written before anybody else was writing books about selling to large accounts. Yes Virginia, selling to large accounts is different than selling to smaller ones. To begin with, you cannot close the sale in one day, as a result opening the discussion by trying to closing technique is counterproductive.

Besides, in major sales, the salespeople usually are not in the room when most of the important decisions are made. It’s the salesperson’s contact who needs to sell within her organization. It’s the job of the salesperson to arm his contact with enough information to make her an effective influencer.

Like any good book on sales, Rackham has methodology, in this case a four step questioning process. In fact, the book gets its name from the four types of questions asked: Situational, Problem, Implication and Need Payoff. Rackham says the key to sales is understanding where you are in the sales cycle – he identifies The Preliminaries, Investigating, Demonstrating Capability and Obtaining Commitment – and only to asking the kinds of questions that get you to the next level because sales in large accounts follow a specific sequence over a long timeline.

SPIN Selling process
Situational questions set the context for asking Problem questions that reveal implied needs, like the desire for a more accurate billing system. Asking Implication questions about how many ways a more accurate would help the end-user’s company lead to Need-Payoff questions, which help the buyer focus on solutions and benefits.

Speaking of benefits, Rackham notes that benefits come in two varieties: those that can help any customer and those that address your customer’s express need. He differentiates the two types of “benefits” by calling the former an Advantage and the latter is a real Benefit. Advantages help close small sales, while Benefits, which address explicit buyers needs, help land big deals.

Yes, the book is dated. Written 1988, it doesn’t take into account that your customers already know a fair amount about your product from the Web. At least somewhere in the questioning process, you have to determine how much your customer already knows about your product, if only to dispel mistaken assumptions. Additionally, while the book is very strong on tactics, it mistakenly assume you will only sell to someone lower in the company’s organization. It does not provide tactics on how to use the SPIN method to move up the company’s organizational ladder, trying to get closer to the person who decides what projects get funded.

All of that being said, nearly 25 years after the book was published it is still a foundational book on selling to large account sales. While the information available to customers has changed, the process for moving a customer through the sales cycle has not.

When the book was released, readers found that its theories ran counter to conventional wisdom because it deemphasized closing techniques in large sales. At the time, most sales books focused on closing. Actually, most sales training focused on closing because, as Rackham points out, closing used to be the one place in the sales cycle that had an understandable and quantifiable result.

But Rackham’s studies show that trying to close too early alienates professional buyers, the very person who is almost certainly on the other end of the sales call at a large account. Instead, the SPIN method relies on asking questions to tease out problems and help the client understand how the seller’s solution can tip the value equation to the buy side of the ledger.

The foundation of the book is rests on research conducted by Huthwaite corporation’s 12-year $1 million research project into sales effectiveness, not just one excellent salesperson’s career experience This means the results of the book can be applied across a wide spectrum of businesses and industries, making a great starting point for learning about major account sales.

Now on the other hand, if you want to read anything about closing the quick sale, let me point you to either Tom Hopkins or Zig Ziglar.
...more

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Jan 01, 2014 Bill Sutton rated it it was amazing

Since I'm in the process of developing a new technology based company, this book provided excellent advice and strategies for selling my type of product. Thanks to Rick Larson and Joe Liblin for recommending it to me.

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May 27, 2014 Jina rated it really liked it

Shelves: sales

This is the first sales book (not that I've read many) that I didn't want to throw across the room. Rackham's main advice boils down to, "Don't be a jerk." Why does this warrant a book? It runs counter to the training given to salespeople in large companies. For instance, Rackham found that using closing techniques a la the "Always Be Closing" mantra from "Glengarry Glen Ross" actually reduces sales when selling a high-priced item or service. It works for small-amount sales basically because the ...more

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Mar 23, 2019 Jacek Bartczak rated it it was amazing

I'm very skeptical when it comes to business frameworks but this one is very solid, practical and useful - the great manual which shows how a big size sales should be done. One the one hand the book explains how deeply problems and their implications should be examined during the sales meeting, on the other hand, shows why many things which you heard about sales aren't applicable everywhere.

If you work in the B2B sales, that framework would be very useful for you.

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Feb 01, 2020 Kacper Cebo rated it it was amazing

I took my time while reading this one. Carefully studying various parts of it, making notes, reading chapters or sections over and over. It's somewhat surprising and intriguing that although published 32 years ago (!), this book is stunningly accurate while describing some of the fundamentals of sales.

An absolute must-read for anybody in B2B sales, minor or major. Just read it.

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Sep 10, 2015 Shashwat Singh rated it it was amazing

If you are in a business where you sell anything that's a high value or complex sale(i.e something that is of a significant price and typically requires multiple meetings to sell), then you have to absolutely read this book.

The first distinction is that small sales and complex sales are very different. Many sales book are written with smaller sales in mind. What works when you're selling a 100$ product is completely different than what works when you're selling a 10,000$ or 100,000$ product. Thi If you are in a business where you sell anything that's a high value or complex sale(i.e something that is of a significant price and typically requires multiple meetings to sell), then you have to absolutely read this book.

The first distinction is that small sales and complex sales are very different. Many sales book are written with smaller sales in mind. What works when you're selling a 100$ product is completely different than what works when you're selling a 10,000$ or 100,000$ product. This book is meant for the latter type of sale, and is very thorough and covers most everything you'll need to know.

The authors of this book have conducted thorough and detailed research with the sales departments of some of the world's biggest companies. Their findings are surprising but are scientifically based. Unlike many selling books, they aren't going of anecdotal evidence or what they think works. Their testing methodology is extremely thorough, and their Appendix goes through how exactly they tested their sales methods. Basically, they used a very scientific approach to creating their methodology.

Their whole method is based on asking questions. According to their research, asking specific types of questions increases success in complex sales. Proper questioning is the major factor in increasing sales success in higher value sales. By asking the right questions, the customer realizes the gravity of the problem he's facing, and essentially sells himself on the solution(Your product or service).

These questions are Situation, Problem, Implication, and Needs-Payoff Questions. I.e the SPIN Model.

Situation Questions- They are basic questions about the situation the customer is in. You need to avoid asking too many of these as asking too many can result in a slight negative effect. Regardless these are necessary because you need to discover the customer's situation.

Problem Questions- You are asking the customers what their current problems are. This is key as you're starting to develop the customer's needs.

Implication Questions- This is where things start getting good. These questions basically take the problem questions, and delve deeper into them. For example an implication question would be, "You said your website is down around 1 or 2 days a month because of technical issues, does this result in less inbound leads contacting you because your website is down. Does the loss of those leads result in significant revenue loss?"

You get the idea, basically you're showing how their problem has all these other implications which greatly negatively impacts their business. You are developing "explicit needs", basically the customer realizes that this problem HAS to be taken care of.

Needs-Payoff Questions- These questions are where you ask a customer what the value of solving their problem is and whether it'd be useful for you to fix the explicit needs you developed through Implication Questions. With this question, they're basically selling your solution to themselves.

There's a lot of detail in the book. The author debunks many common sales myths through his research, including the idea that you need to apply "hard closing" techniques(this is completely false, and can hurt your chances at closing the complex sale).

There's a huge amount of detail in this book. I highly recommend you read this as I have literally thousands of words of notes from this book I've taken down. ...more

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Jun 02, 2018 Isaac Perdomo rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, sales

Probably the only book ever entirely based on actual research and focused in larger sales. There are general techniques in selling—closing, handling objections, etc.—that work perfectly in small sales, but fail miserably in large ones.

The author dissect the sales process into 4 categories: preliminaries, investigating, demonstrating capabilities, and obtaining commitment or closing.

He shows how, in larger sales, closing is NOT the most important part of the process but Investigating.

Said that, ...more

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Sep 03, 2008 Gregory rated it it was amazing

Aside form The Book Of Mormon, This book has had perhaps the greatest impact on my career and my role as a father.
Definitely on my personal list of classics...
This book was first recommended to me by a colleague by the name of Matt Fowler.
As a side note, Matt's decision to hire me was one of the most significant career events of my life.
This is by far the best book I have ever read on question based problem solving.
If you read this book, you will probably want to purchase the SPIN Selling Field ...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Andrew K. rated it really liked it

Shelves: b-school, manager-tools

Yes, this is a sales book. But it is a sales book about not being a creepy salesman. The basic jist is that small sales involve shysterism -- and give salespeople a bad name.

Consider what it used to be like to buy a TV at Circuit City, where the salespeople operated on commission -- high-pressure, low enjoyment.

But then there is the whole category of large sales, such as selling a large IT system or consulting engagement -- where the “salesperson” is going to meet with the customer many times ...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Chung Chin rated it it was amazing

For people who are keen to improve their skills in selling, this is one book that I will highly recommend. This is because, the content of the book comes from comprehensive research by the author's company. And like all wise researchers, the author advises the reader to take some of his pointers with a pinch of salt, because he is not able to say conclusively "This is it! Follow this and you'll sell". Rather, he tells you that "This is what we found and PROBABLY will be helpful, but because we c ...more

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May 21, 2014 Wesley Wade rated it it was amazing

We are all in sales to some degree, and this book can help you when it comes time to communicate a big idea, yourself during an interview, and of course an actual sales meeting. For over eight years I was in B2B sales, and this book was the bible for my profession. Rackham doesn't just give the typical superlative-driven mantras about your winning tone and demeanor, he gives an empirically-based study on large dollar sales. As the reader, you will walk away with a process, a framework for questi ...more

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May 04, 2008 Trent rated it did not like it

Do yourself a favor and trade it in for The Solution Selling Fieldbook.

This process is disengenuous and antiquated and people now see through it.

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Mar 06, 2014 Chiara rated it it was amazing

amazing. i hear it's one of few that's backed by research and numbers instead of just anecdotes. learn this and you're set to sell.

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Jun 14, 2014 Sean Harry rated it it was amazing

I recommend this book frequently! I love the methodology he uses for asking questions that keep going deeper. This is a great method for selling anything -- including your own skills and abilities!

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Jan 07, 2019 Soheil rated it it was amazing

I have spent many unnecessary minutes on books written on a blemished premise. They usually start with their own story of how they failed and then miraculously "invented" a way to make billions. The result is usually a book that is 200 pages in length but in truth should have been just 20 pages long. SPIN Selling is no such book.

SPIN Selling is a sales methodology book for those who work in companies that make large B2B sales. If the value of your product or service is small, you can carry on wi ...more

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Dec 08, 2019 Masatoshi Nishimura rated it really liked it

Shelves: business

He brilliantly separates the sales into simple and complicated. The complicated requires a longer initial period and aftercare; therefore requring different strategies.

Simple sales are ok with value props and going how it will benefit you. That works fine for a product ranging from $10-1000, where your spontaneity dominates your buying decision. Examples given are watches or utility electronics. However, when the buying decision becomes complicated, either because it's too expensive, involves m ...more

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Jun 19, 2020 Rome rated it did not like it

Shelves: for-class

I simply think that consumerism is bad and we do not need books teaching people how to psychologically manipulate people into buying more things. Also like even assuming I supported sales and was invested in this beyond having to read it for class you can make nonfiction engaging, but Rackham very much did not. Suppose this work does provide value in that you know what to watch out for when someone tries to pressure you into buying something but. I am definitely not the intended audience for thi ...more

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Jan 24, 2018 Ryan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

My favorite introduction to high-end, solution-based selling. If you put "stereotypical used car salesman" on one end of the spectrum (one-time, win/lose, asymmetric information, no reputation), this is the other end of the spectrum.

Some of the later books (Major Account Sales, especially) develop this concept better, and there has been a lot of work around team-based sales organizations since this book was written, but it's still fundamental.

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Mar 03, 2019 Bartosz Majewski rated it it was amazing

Shelves: business

One of Moliere's characters says in "Le Bourgeois gentilhomme": "Good heavens! For more than forty years I have been speaking prose without knowing it.". That's how I've felt when reading this book. This book sums up about half of my objections toward classical sales training approaches. If I've trained you you will find it pleasantly familiar. Treat is as a synthesis opportunity.

If you are selling high ticket items, products or services in a B2B environment - this is a book for you. Do your rev ...more

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Dec 15, 2019 Eugene rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: best-of-golden-greatest-hits, sales, stanford, 2019

must read for deep tech sales

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Jul 03, 2020 Mengyu Gao rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sales

The science of asking questions.

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Mar 25, 2019 Daniel TheCreator rated it really liked it

Scientific proven tips to increase sales dramatically.
The tips are aimed at high ticket sales, where you have several meetings etc.

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May 16, 2013 Robert rated it it was amazing

Neil Rackham’s classic book, SPIN Selling, is a sales how-to book. By closely examining over 35,000 sales calls, he shows a correlation between asking questions and the successful sale. He calls the model S.P.I.N. This acronym represents four different types of questions: Situational Questions (i.e. "How old is this unit?"), Problem Questions (i.e. "Is your machine hard to use?"), Implication Questions (i.e. "Could that lead to increased costs?"), and Need-payoff Questions (i.e. "Why is it impor Neil Rackham’s classic book, SPIN Selling, is a sales how-to book. By closely examining over 35,000 sales calls, he shows a correlation between asking questions and the successful sale. He calls the model S.P.I.N. This acronym represents four different types of questions: Situational Questions (i.e. "How old is this unit?"), Problem Questions (i.e. "Is your machine hard to use?"), Implication Questions (i.e. "Could that lead to increased costs?"), and Need-payoff Questions (i.e. "Why is it important to solve this problem?"). One of the main objectives of the author was to dispel the myth of closing techniques. He shows, through his research findings, that closing tactics are, in fact, effective in less complicated sales but actually detrimental in large sales.

The following are three of my favorite quotes from the book SPIN Selling:

"I look back on my enthusiasm for closing with real embarrassment. From what I now know about success in the larger sale, I see closing techniques as both ineffective and dangerous. I've evidence that they lose much more business than they gain." (pg. 23)

"If you can get the customer to tell you the ways in which your solution will help, then you don't invite objections. Nobody likes being told what’s good for his or her department of business - especially by an outsider. Customers react more positive if they are treated as the experts." (pg. 84)

"Don't talk about solutions too soon. One of the most common faults in selling is talking about your solutions and capabilities too early in the call. As we've seen in previous chapters, offering solutions too soon causes objections and greatly reduces the chances that the call will succeed." (pg. 145)

And many other helpful insights.

If you have a strong foundation in sales, I would suggest reading this book as a way to cement your understanding of the importance of asking good questions and as a guide to improve your questions. I would not recommend it to someone that is looking for a complete sales training all in one place. For example, the S.P.I.N. system stops short of encouraging a sincere desire to understand, listen and to serve others in a way that is necessary to build trust and long-term relationships. However, the empirical data in the book is very effective at showing the importance of asking good questions. If you think asking questions is only something you do before and after a sales presentation, this might be the book you need.
...more

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Jun 19, 2012 Josh rated it it was ok

his book was highly recommended, and I can't for the life of me understand why--it's dated, poorly written, and Mr. Rackham needs a new editor. This is more a book about Mr. Rackham and his research (complete with dot matrix charts and graphs!) than it is a book about new ways to bring customers into your organization.

Maybe I'm just a skeptic, but a book that relies solely on a single source of data should be viewed skeptically. More so when the single source is the author and when the author s ...more

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