BLOG 279 – Create a lasting solution for your customer using the SPIN framework of questions…

Ask the right questions in the right way and your customers will tell you how valuable your product or service is, you will not have to persuade them, and you won’t feel like you are doing a hard sell either – a welcome relief!

When your customer realises the value of what you are selling, they’ll convince themselves to buy, you won’t need to persuade them. You will then turn more prospects into customers and your existing customers will come back again.

This requires skills at asking the right questions, so how do you do this?

Using the SPIN framework questions will mean you ask the right questions to stimulate valuable conversations with your customers.

The SPIN questioning framework - asking Situation and Problem questions first, to investigate and uncover your customer’s current situation and the problems they have.

When you have this information and understanding, you can then move on to asking Implication questions and Needs/Payoff questions.

These are the trickiest questions to ask, so you’ll need to prepare in advance – preparation shows you’re serious about helping your customer (not just getting the sale).

Implication and Needs/Pay off questions can be seen as a double act.

Implication questions build discomfort by showing your customer the possible causes and effects of their most pressing pain points.

Needs/Payoff questions focus your customer on the solution and why it will work for them, they persuade themselves of the merit and value of what you are offering.

Good examples of Implication questions are:

‘If this continues what will be the impact on customer loyalty and team morale?’ and ‘What's the long-term productivity cost if this problem continues?’

Good examples of Needs/Payoff questions are:

‘Wouldn’t it be simpler if…?’ and ‘How quickly would you see a boost in morale if customer complaints reduced?’

When you prepare your questions right using the SPIN framework then you will build value by having a natural and understanding discussion with your customer.