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SPIN® -Selling
True or false? In selling high-value products or 'closing' increases your chance of success; it is essential to describe the benefits of your product or service to the customer; objection handling is an important skill; open questions are more effective than closed questions. All false, says this provocative book.
Neil Rackham and his team studied more than 35,000 sales calls made by 10,000 sales people in 23 countries over 12 years. Their findings revealed that many of the methods developed for selling low-value goods just don‘t work for major sales. Rackham went on to introduce his SPIN-Selling method. SPIN describes the whole selling
Situation questionsProblem questionsImplication questionsNeed-payoff questionsSPIN-Selling provides you with a set of simple and practical techniques which have been tried in many of today‘s leading companies with dramatic improvements to their sales performance.
Neil Rackham and his team studied more than 35,000 sales calls made by 10,000 sales people in 23 countries over 12 years. Their findings revealed that many of the methods developed for selling low-value goods just don‘t work for major sales. Rackham went on to introduce his SPIN-Selling method. SPIN describes the whole selling
Situation questionsProblem questionsImplication questionsNeed-payoff questionsSPIN-Selling provides you with a set of simple and practical techniques which have been tried in many of today‘s leading companies with dramatic improvements to their sales performance.
- GenresBusinessNonfiction
241 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 28, 2020
30 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
About the author
Neil Rackham
37 books71 followersAuthor of the Spin Selling. Find out more about Spin Selling at http://www.huthwaite.co.uk/training-s...
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 11, 2022
the rare business book based on actual research
Very specific to B2B sales (most business books are oriented around B2C because it’s easier to talk about, and easier to find relatable examples). Rigorously based on a clear analysis of data collected by the author. Clear lessons that make perfect sense and seem very practical to implement. In a sales meeting yesterday I already found myself intuitively putting some of the lessons into practice with positive results.
Two caveats:
- everything seems plausible and logical while you’re reading it, but I haven’t had much time to try it in the field yet. There’s probably a bit of Hawthorne Effect when you learn any new sales technique.
- most of the research is observational rather than randomised & controlled. There could be confounding factors (eg in the about closing, there’s a negative link between closing techniques and customer satisfaction. Yes it could be that closing techniques reduce satisfaction. But it could also be that keen, ready-to-buy customers didn’t need as much closing, and are also likely to be more satisfied; reluctant customers need more closing because they anticipated getting less value from the product. High-close salespeople might successfully sell to more of these reluctant/borderline customers and therefore end up with less satisfied customers on average, despite greater sales success.)
Despite these minor hesitations, and the fact that the research was mostly carried out decades ago, I feel that the lessons of this book are excellent ones and am keen to try them out more extensively in my work. Highly recommended for anyone involved in high-value B2B services or products.
Very specific to B2B sales (most business books are oriented around B2C because it’s easier to talk about, and easier to find relatable examples). Rigorously based on a clear analysis of data collected by the author. Clear lessons that make perfect sense and seem very practical to implement. In a sales meeting yesterday I already found myself intuitively putting some of the lessons into practice with positive results.
Two caveats:
- everything seems plausible and logical while you’re reading it, but I haven’t had much time to try it in the field yet. There’s probably a bit of Hawthorne Effect when you learn any new sales technique.
- most of the research is observational rather than randomised & controlled. There could be confounding factors (eg in the about closing, there’s a negative link between closing techniques and customer satisfaction. Yes it could be that closing techniques reduce satisfaction. But it could also be that keen, ready-to-buy customers didn’t need as much closing, and are also likely to be more satisfied; reluctant customers need more closing because they anticipated getting less value from the product. High-close salespeople might successfully sell to more of these reluctant/borderline customers and therefore end up with less satisfied customers on average, despite greater sales success.)
Despite these minor hesitations, and the fact that the research was mostly carried out decades ago, I feel that the lessons of this book are excellent ones and am keen to try them out more extensively in my work. Highly recommended for anyone involved in high-value B2B services or products.
March 29, 2025
SPIN Selling is a game-changer for anyone in B2B sales. Neil Rackham’s approach is both innovative and practical, offering a clear, methodical framework for building stronger client relationships and closing more deals. The SPIN technique—focusing on Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-Payoff questions—helps sales professionals understand their clients’ needs on a deeper level, rather than just pushing products. Highly recommend!
August 12, 2023
We have been looking to improve our sales process and specifically sales calls.
This is the definitive guide that we have been looking for.
The author is an incredible scientist, and the book is the equivalent of Good to Great for Sales.
This is the definitive guide that we have been looking for.
The author is an incredible scientist, and the book is the equivalent of Good to Great for Sales.
June 9, 2025
Libro que toda persona que se dedique a las ventas deba leer
October 10, 2025
Fantastic book for anyone in the sales industry, must read
January 29, 2026
Well written, practical advice with plenty of data to back up its assertions. Rackham has a fun writing style that makes this easily digestible for the reader.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews