SPIN Selling was developed here at Huthwaite International - our unique research involving the observation of some 40,000 business to business sales interactions reveals exactly what successful sellers do. Asking people what they do is never as authentic as observing what they do and we continue to research, challenge and evaluate our original findings. The key to successful selling is not down to gimmicks or tricks, but the result of measurable, trainable behavioural patterns.

Simply following a formula doesn’t reflect real conversations - especially when it’s increasingly uncommon that an entire sale will happen in one discussion. With longer buying cycles and complex purchasing decisions, it’s more important than ever before that salespeople do their research to determine where their prospect is positioned in the buying cycle.

For example, if a prospect is actively looking at suppliers, this indicates that they are further along in their buying cycle - meaning that more obvious Situation questions are redundant at this stage. Asking these kinds of questions could have a negative effect on your progress and send your prospect into the arms of another supplier.

This is especially true in the current climate; in the years since SPIN Selling was created, we’ve been able to gain crucial information about our customers online, meaning that certain questions don’t need to be asked anymore - such as company size, for example. Understanding the SPIN model and how to apply it to your individual prospects is key to using the methodology to your advantage.