Business Development in todays world has become important when we consider complex business selling processes. It became evident to me that buyer roles involved in a complex selling process is much different from the ones involved while selling lesser complex products and are much more elaborate in nature. The learning from this course was immense and I am confident they would be of great help for a successful selling experience. [/i]
As a complex selling process involves multiple buyers, it becomes very important to recognize the roles of each person we encounter so that we can gauge how far he can influence the buying decision. For the reason that the very Designations can be misleading, it is important to assess the difference between designations and actual roles. It also becomes important to understand the value that customer seeks to attain from purchasing the solution. By incorporating spin model( Sitiational, problem,implication and need pay off questions), we can assess the values held by each person and thus understand his role.
SITUATION QUESTIONS: [/b]These are neutral or factual in nature to understand the situation in which the buyer currently is in. This will help us to uncover the gap between his current state and desired future state. The problem that hinders the buyer from reaching that desired future state should be the outcome of these questions. Situation questions are best asked at the beginning of the sales call, when the buyer is exposed to changing situations or when we are speaking to a new customer. However, using situation questions in late stage of the sales cycle or in potentially sensitive areas might hamper the purpose of asking them.
PROBLEM QUESTIONS: [/b]After asking situation questions, a potential problem is uncovered. In such a stage, we must ask specific problem questions which would make the buyer aware of his problems and enable him to frame the problem well, so that he could provide us the “Implied need”. This will enable both the buyer and the seller to understand the problem well. Moreover, it gives the buyer a feeling of being listened to. He feels that his needs are of importance to the seller and that the seller is concerned and empathetic. These questions are best asked followed by the situation questions in the early stages of the selling cycle, when we have a solution to offer. However, problem questions are best avoided when there are organizational or interdepartmental politics are involved, or when we are speaking about some of the buyer’s recent decisions or when we are speaking of an existing solution we provided the buyer with.
IMPLICATION QUESTIONS: [/b]Implication questions are asked so that the buyer understands the seriousness of his problem. Many a time, we might encounter a buyer to whom we could sell our solution to if he considered the problem a potent one. In this case we must be able to make him understand the consequences of his current problem and how it might affect him. We must be able to present before him a bigger picture, highlighting what other problems the current one could lead to and how much inconvenience/ cost it would be to him. It should thus be able to provide the clear desire for a solution. However immense amount of planning, business knowledge and experience becomes relevant in this context. We must be able to understand what would be the consequences tied to the current problem of the buyer and how our solution could handle those problems. It is after having a clear picture about these, that we should go about framing our IQs
NEED PAY-OFF QUESTIONS: [/b]The need pay off questions help the buyer to state his needs explicitly and with immense clarity. NPs can be used as a powerful tool in SPIN and they are more difficult than the others to frame. However, while asking a NP question, we are shifting the focus of the buyer from the product to what it can do for them. If the other three elements of SPIN are done well, then the buyer would be able to list out the benefits of the solution to us and not vice versa. In that case, the buyer will have more commitment to the product as he himself has uncovered its benefits. Thus there will be very little objections to handle at the last stage of the selling cycle. This also paves way for obtaining commitment. NPs are best asked towards the end of the selling cycle. Asking them at the beginning stages would make the buyer feel confused and manipulated.
As a complex selling process involves multiple buyers, it becomes very important to recognize the roles of each person we encounter so that we can gauge how far he can influence the buying decision. For the reason that the very Designations can be misleading, it is important to assess the difference between designations and actual roles. It also becomes important to understand the value that customer seeks to attain from purchasing the solution. By incorporating spin model( Sitiational, problem,implication and need pay off questions), we can assess the values held by each person and thus understand his role.
SITUATION QUESTIONS: [/b]These are neutral or factual in nature to understand the situation in which the buyer currently is in. This will help us to uncover the gap between his current state and desired future state. The problem that hinders the buyer from reaching that desired future state should be the outcome of these questions. Situation questions are best asked at the beginning of the sales call, when the buyer is exposed to changing situations or when we are speaking to a new customer. However, using situation questions in late stage of the sales cycle or in potentially sensitive areas might hamper the purpose of asking them.
PROBLEM QUESTIONS: [/b]After asking situation questions, a potential problem is uncovered. In such a stage, we must ask specific problem questions which would make the buyer aware of his problems and enable him to frame the problem well, so that he could provide us the “Implied need”. This will enable both the buyer and the seller to understand the problem well. Moreover, it gives the buyer a feeling of being listened to. He feels that his needs are of importance to the seller and that the seller is concerned and empathetic. These questions are best asked followed by the situation questions in the early stages of the selling cycle, when we have a solution to offer. However, problem questions are best avoided when there are organizational or interdepartmental politics are involved, or when we are speaking about some of the buyer’s recent decisions or when we are speaking of an existing solution we provided the buyer with.
IMPLICATION QUESTIONS: [/b]Implication questions are asked so that the buyer understands the seriousness of his problem. Many a time, we might encounter a buyer to whom we could sell our solution to if he considered the problem a potent one. In this case we must be able to make him understand the consequences of his current problem and how it might affect him. We must be able to present before him a bigger picture, highlighting what other problems the current one could lead to and how much inconvenience/ cost it would be to him. It should thus be able to provide the clear desire for a solution. However immense amount of planning, business knowledge and experience becomes relevant in this context. We must be able to understand what would be the consequences tied to the current problem of the buyer and how our solution could handle those problems. It is after having a clear picture about these, that we should go about framing our IQs
NEED PAY-OFF QUESTIONS: [/b]The need pay off questions help the buyer to state his needs explicitly and with immense clarity. NPs can be used as a powerful tool in SPIN and they are more difficult than the others to frame. However, while asking a NP question, we are shifting the focus of the buyer from the product to what it can do for them. If the other three elements of SPIN are done well, then the buyer would be able to list out the benefits of the solution to us and not vice versa. In that case, the buyer will have more commitment to the product as he himself has uncovered its benefits. Thus there will be very little objections to handle at the last stage of the selling cycle. This also paves way for obtaining commitment. NPs are best asked towards the end of the selling cycle. Asking them at the beginning stages would make the buyer feel confused and manipulated.