The

applicability of the SPIN selling

method in the 21th Century

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Table of Contents

Introduction.............................................................................................................................................3
Backgroundinformation.........................................................................................................................3
SmallSalesSellingCharacteristics.......................................................................................................4
CharacteristicsofMajorSales.............................................................................................................4
Problemstatementandobjectives.........................................................................................................5
Purpose....................................................................................................................................................5
Mainresearchquestion...........................................................................................................................5
Subquestions..........................................................................................................................................5
AimandImportance................................................................................................................................5
Researchmethodsanddesign................................................................................................................6
Researchphilosophy...........................................................................................................................6
Researchapproach..............................................................................................................................6
Researchstrategy................................................................................................................................6
Datacollectingtechniquesandprocedures........................................................................................6
Dataanalyzingmethods......................................................................................................................7
ScopeandLimitations.............................................................................................................................7
Literaturereview.....................................................................................................................................7
Timeframe..............................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction

ThereareseveralarticlestobefoundonthesubjectofSPINsellingmethodbutnoneofwhich
addressesifthemethodcanstillbebeneficialinthebusinessenvironmentofthe21thcentury.This
canbedivinedasagap,becausethebusinessenvironmenthaschangedalotifyouwouldcompare
withthe80sand90s,changessuchastheglobalization(morecompetitionanddoingbusinesswith
otherculturessuchasChina),ITusage(suchasinternet,mobilephonetechnology,tabletsandpcs)
andothertechnologicaladvancements.Andbecausesomanycompanieshavebenefitedinthepast,
itwillbedefinitelyworthwhiletoresearchitsapplicabilitytoday.

Itiscommonlyknownthattherearemanydifferencesinstrategiesandmethodsused,tosell
productsandservicesthatrequirelargeinvestmentsincomparisontosalesthatrequiresmall
investments.Usuallywhentheamountofmoneyrequiredforaninvestmentincreases,thansodoes
theamountofstakeholdersinvolvedinmakingtheinvestmentdecision.Suchsalessituationscanbe
referredtoashighvaluesales.Highvaluesalestendtorequirelongerandmoreintensivesales
periodsbecauseofthefinancialandpsychologicalweightofthedecision.
ForthisresearchIwillfocusontheITindustry,thisindustryinvolvescompaniessuchasSAPwhich
offersbusinesssoftwarepackagesasproductsandconsulting/trainingsessionsasservices.ThisB2B
businessisrathercomplicatedbecauseitinvolvesbothproductandservices;thispackagecanbe
referredtoasamajorsalebecauseofthehighcostsandamountofstakeholdersinvolved.
Duringthe80sand90shalfofthefortune500companieswereusingtheSPINsellingmethod,either
literallyorsimilarmethodsthatoriginatedfromtheSPINsellingmethod.
AlthoughmanyB2Borganizationsinvestalotofmoneyandtimeintrainingtheirsalesstaff,thereis
alwaysroomforimprovement.Formanyyearsthemajorityofthebestsalesforcesofthelargest
companiesintheworldwereoftenverysuccessfulingeneratingleadsinhighvalueB2Bsales,by
applyingtheSPINsellingmethod(NeilRackham).Thequestionis,canthisstillbethecaseinthe
rapidlychanging21thcenturywhereinnovativetechnologicalsolutionshavehadagreatimpacton
thebusinessenvironmentandcantheSPINmethodstillbebeneficialforthecompaniesintheDutch
ITindustrywhicharesellingbusinesssoftware.

Background information

NeilRackhamhadbecomedissatisfiedwiththeeffectivenessoftraditionalsalesmodels,whichin
mostcasesfoundtheirrootsinsmallsales(salesmodels).BasedonNeilspersonalexperiencesand
researches,hecouldconcludethatmajorsalesaremorecomplexandrequiredifferentsales
methods.Anotherreasonfordevelopinganewsalesmethodwasthatmostsalestrainingdesigners
andprovidershadmadetheinaccurateassumptionthatwhatworksinasmallsalewill
automaticallyworkinalargeone.Themainpurposeofthemethodwastoreplacetraditionaland
rathersimplisticsalesmodelswithonespeciallydesignedforthehighlevelbusinessinteractionthat
majorb2bsalesdemand.Itsthechangesincustomerperceptionandbehaviorthatmakemajor
salesdifferentandmajorsalesmostlyrequiremorecallsandlongerdurations.

Extensiveresearchwhichtook12yearsfrom1976till1988andincludedthestudyof35,000sales
callsconductedbyvarioussalesexpertsoftheworldsbiggestcompanies,showedthattheSPIN
sellingmethodwasavalidatedandsuccessfulmethodinhighvalue/B2B/longtermsales.
TheprovenmethodistheresultoftheHuthwaiteCorporations(NeilRackhamsresearchcompany)
massive12year,$1milliondollarresearchintoeffectivesalesperformanceandthisgroundbreaking
resource,detailstherevolutionarySPINsellingmethodforlargeaccountb2bsales.

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TheSPINmethodisbasicallyaquestioningmethodwhichcanbeappliedinb2blargeaccountsales
calls,majorsalesconsistsofseveralstagesandeverystagerequiresdifferentquestioningtechniques.
Whereasthetraditionalsellingmodelsonlyidentifiedtwotypesofquestioninginonemodel(open
andclosedquestioning),theSPINmethodknows4differenttypesofquestioningwhicharerelevant
foreverystageofthesalesprocess.ThesefourtypesofquestionsareSituation,Problem,
ImplicationandNeedpayoff.Thesefourfromapowerfulquestioningsequencethatsuccessfulsales
peopleuseintheInvestigatingstageofthecall,thustheemphasiswiththeSPINsellingmethodison
theinvestigatingstage.Asalesprocessconsistsofthefollowingstages:Preliminaries(thisstage
involvesanintroduction),Investigating(thisstageinvolvesacquiringinformationregardingfor
examplethesituationofthecompany,people,problems,needs),Demonstratingcapability(this
stageinvolvespartsinwhichthesellerconvincesthecustomeroftheirvalue)andObtaining
commitment(inthisstageyouseekforcommitmentfromthecustomerandclosingthesale).

Majorsalesaresignificantlydifferentfromsmallersalesintermsofcustomerpsychology;asaresult
theyrequiresomeverydifferentsellingskills.TheSPINsalesmethodscorefocuswhichreally
distinguishesthedifferencebetweensmallsalesandmajorsalesistheunderstandingofthe
customersneedsandthatswhy,theemphasizeisontheinvestigationstage.DifferentNeedsin
SmallSalesandLargeareasfollowed:NeedstakelongertodevelopintheInvestigatingstage,Needs
arelikelytoinvolveseveralpeopleandNeedsaremorelikelytobeexpressedonarationalbasis
evenifthecustomersunderlyingmotivationisemotional.
Adecisionthatdoesntmeettheneedsoftheclientismorelikelytobeunsuccessfulandthereforeit
isimportanttobeawareoftheimpliedandexplicitneeds,whichcanbediscoveredduringthe
investigatingstage.Thenextimportantstepthatthismethodprovidesisaboutlinkingthefeatures
andbenefitsofyourofferingtotheexplicitneedsthatwerepreviouslyaddressedbythecustomer.
Thefollowingpointoffocusisaboutpreventingobjections,whichalsocomesbacktofocusingon
explicitneedsbyaskingimpliedquestionsintheinvestigatingstage.Thefinalstepisclosingthesale
whichisbasicallyallaboutproposingcommitment.AtlastifyouhavecoveredalltheaspectsofSPIN
sellingmethodthantheclientwillaskfortheorder.
Thebenefitsofthismethodincomparisontoothersisthatcompaniescanuseamethodthathas
provenvaluebasedonaveryintensiveresearchintheactualfieldoflargeaccountsales.Italsolies
emphasizeonlongtermrelationshipbuildingbasedonmutualproblemidentificationandsolving.

Small Sales Selling Characteristics

Thetraditionalsellingtechniquesthatmostofthesalespeoplehasbeentrainedtouseworkbestin
smallsalesasalewhichcannormallybecompletedinasinglecallandwhichinvolvesalowdollar
value.Thesesellingtechniquesdontworkformajorsalesandinfactcanhurtsuccessasthesales
growlarger.

Characteristics of Major Sales

LongerSellingCycleWhereasasimplelowvaluesalecanoftenbecompletedinonecall,amajor
salemayrequiremanycallsspreadoveraperiodofmonths.
BuildingValueisCriticaltoSalesSuccessAsthesizeofthesaleincreases,successfulsalespeople
builduptheperceivedvalueoftheirproductsorservices.Thebuildingofperceivedvalueisprobably
thesinglemostimportantsellingskillinlargersales.
OngoingRelationshipAsthesalesgrowslarger,thecustomerputsmoreemphasisonthe
salespersonasafactorinthedecision.Inalargesale,productandsellermaybecomeinseparablein
thecustomersmind.
TheRiskofMistakeCustomersbecomemorecautiousasthedecisionsizeincreases.Purchase
priceisonefactor,butfearofmakingapublicmistakemaybeevenmoreimportant.

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Problem statement and objectives

Consideringthemajorchangesthathaveoccurredinthelastdecade,suchastheglobalization(doing
businesswithotherculturessuchasChina),ITusage(suchasinternet,mobilephonetechnology,
tabletsandpcs)andothertechnologicaladvancements,willtheITIndustrybusinessenvironment
stillbesuitablefortheSPINsellingmethod?IstheSPINsellingmethodbeneficialforhighvalueb2b
businesssoftwaresalesinthe21thcentury?

Relatedresearchobjectivesare:
IdentifyingchangesandsimilaritiesinbothoftheITIndustrysbusinessenvironments(now
andthen)
IdentifyingchangesandsimilaritiesinsalesmethodsusedforthesalesofBusinessSoftware
(nowandthen)
TodetermineifSPINsellingmethodaspectsareandcanbeusedandiftheycanbe
associatedwithsaleseffectiveness.

Purpose
Thepurposeittofillagapbytestingifanexistingandprovensalesmethodcanstillbebeneficialin
thechangedbusinessenvironmentofthe21thcenturywhichbroughtalongmanychanges.
Iftheresearchpointsoutthatthemethodcanstillbebeneficialintodayssetting,thantheoutcomes
oftheresearchcanbeusedasarecommendationforcompaniesintheBusinessSoftwaremarket.
Anexploratorycombinedwithadescriptivestudyisthemostsuitablebecauseitasksquestionsin
ordertoassessanoldphenomenoninanewlight,whichisthecasebecausethisresearchwill
explorethebenefitsoftheSPINmethodintheITIndustrywithaspecificfocusontheselling
process/environmentofBusinessSoftware.

Main research question

CantheSPINsellingmethodstillbebeneficialintodayshighlycompetitivebusinessenvironmentof
theITindustrywhensellingBusinessSoftwareb2b?

Subquestions
WhathaschangedintheITindustrysbusinessenvironmenttodayincomparisontotheone
thatexisted20yearsago?
WhichsalesmethodsarecurrentlybeingusedtosellBusinesssoftware?
Isinvestigationquestioningstillamajorpriorityinhighvalueb2bsalescallsandmeetings?
WhatarethesimilaritiesinthesalesmethodbeingusedincomparisontotheSPINmethod?

Aim and Importance

ThisresearchprimaryaimistodiscoverhowNeilRackhamsSPINsalesmethodmightstillbe
beneficialforaselectedcompanyintheITindustrysellingBusinesssoftwareapplications.
Thefinancialandpsychologicalweightthatisconstantlybotheringinvestmentdecisionmarkerscan
bearealhassleforboththepurchasingandsellingpartandthereforethesalesmethodisreally
important.TheSPINsellingmethodhasearneditsstripesinthepastandiftheresearchcanshow
thatitisstillbeneficialtoday,thanthisprovenmethodcanbeaveryvaluablehelptocompaniesin
theITindustrystrugglingwithgeneratingnewleadsinthehighvalueb2bsegmentwhichthe
businesssoftwaremarketis.

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Research methods and design

Research philosophy
Agreatpartofthisstudywillbebasedonobservationandthereforethemostapplicableresearch
philosophyispositivism.Thisisalsobecauseofthecharacteroftheresearcherwhichinthiscase
prefersworkingwithanobservablesocialreality.Andalldatawillbecreatedbasedonphenomena
whichtheresearchercanobserve,andinordertogeneratearesearchstrategytocollectthisdatait
likelythatIuseanexistingtheorytodevelopthehypotheses,whichisthecase.Inanutshell,this
philosophyismostsuitablebecausetheresearchwillbefromanobjectivestandpointwithamixture
ofbothquantitativeandqualitativemeasurements.

Research approach
TheresearchIwillbeconductingwillbebasedonbothadeductiveandinductiveapproach.Thefirst
andsecondstepofthedeductiveapproachincludesthattheresearcherwillestablishahypothesis
whichinthiscasewillbeacompanygeneratesmoreleadsinthehighvalueb2bsalessegment
whenusingtheSPINsellingmethod,thenextstepinvolvestestingthehypothesis:canthismethod
stillbebeneficialinthebusinessenvironmentofthe21thcentury?Thefollowingstepsarecovering
theprocessesoftestingtheoutcomesifitconfirmsthehypothesisyesorno,andifnecessary
modifyingthetheoryinthelightofthefindings.

Research strategy
Iwilluseamixtureofseveralresearchstrategiesinordertoimprovetheresearch.Inlinewiththe
deductiveresearchapproachitwillbemostrelevanttoapplythesurveystrategywhichisalsoa
commonstrategyinbusinessandmanagementresearchandismostfrequentlyusedtoanswerwho,
what,where,howmuchandhowmanyquestions.Itthereforesuitstheexploratoryresearch
purposeaswell.Thisstrategywillfurthermoreusestructuredobservation,structuredquestionnaires
andstructuredinterviews(wherestandardizedquestionsareaskedofallinterviewees).Iwouldalso
makeuseofopenquestionsinsomecases,ofwhichtheresultswillbeanalyzedintheNvivoresearch
methodsoftware.Thesecondusableresearchstrategyisthecasestudystrategywhichisrather
usefulwhensearchingfordatathatmightanswerwhat?Andhow?Plus,inordertohaveasufficient
researchitisimportanttoincludeobservationinanuncontrollableenvironmentandIshouldbeable
toconductdocumentaryanalysisinthatwayIamabletoexploreexistingsalesmethods.

Data collecting techniques and procedures

ThemultiplemethodsismostapplicableinmyresearchbecauseIllbeusingmorethanonedata
collectiontechniqueandanalysisproceduretoanswermyresearchquestion.InfactIwillbeusing
bothquantitativeandqualitativeresearchintheformofsurveyswhichcancollectthequantitative
dataregardingyes/noquestionsandpotentialsalesresults,andthequalitativedatawillbecollected
byusingindepthinterviewswithforexampleopenquestionsforthesalesforce.
Thebiggestadvantageofthismethodisthatdifferentmethodscanbeusedfordifferentpurposesin
mystudyandIcannowbenefitfromthesituationinwhichIcanfirstuseinterviewsatanexploratory
stagetogetafeelfortheactualsituationathand,andlaterIcanthanswitchtoquestionnairesto
collectmoreaccuratedata.Itisobviousthatforexploratorypurposesadocumentaryanalysisof
existingsalesmethodscanbeusedfirstasaformofsecondaryresearchbeforeapplyingprimary
researchbyusingquestionnairesandinterviews.

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Data analyzing methods

Outcomeswillbeanalyzedbyusing;Excel,Word,SPSSandNvivoresearchmethodsoftware.
Byobserving,usingquestionnairesandinterviewsIcanidentifyifthemethodstillprovidesbenefits
forthesalesforceofcompaniesintheITindustrywhensellingbusinesssoftware.Theoutcomesof
thedatacanalsohelptoidentifyifaspectsoftheSPINsellingmethodarestillbeingused,whichwill
automaticallysupportthehypothesis.

Scope and Limitations

Ideallyitwouldbebesttoresearchtheentirepopulationwhichwouldmeanconductingresearchon
everycompanyssalesforceofeverycompanysellingbusinesssoftwareintheITindustry.
UnfortunatelyIdonthavethetimenorresourcesforsuchanepicresearchandthatswhyIve
chosentousemyfutureinternshipcompanyasasamplewhichwillrepresentonlyasmallpartofthe
totalpopulation.Thepreviouslymentionedstatementisalsothelimitationofthisresearch,butin
theendtheresearchhastobefeasible.

Literature review

N.Rackham,SPINSelling,McGrawHill,1988,ISBN0070511136
http://www.candogo.com/search/insight?i=4836
http://www.sap.com/netherlands/solutions/index.epx
http://drenigmavaldez.articlealley.com/spinsellingtoboostyourbusiness30714.html
http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sales/3151/WhatisSPINSelling.html
http://www.profitworks.ca/blog/195spinsellingquestions

Time frame

April

Literaturereview

May

Researchproposal

June

Primary+secondaryresearch

July

fieldwork+Analysis

August

Improvement

September

Report+oralpresentation

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