Presented by:

Anoop Kurup (09IB-008)

Baiju Hindocha (09IB-027)
Jithu Pillai (09IB-035)
Joseph Thomas (09IB-029)
Rahul Chatterjee (09IB-043)

BUYER-SELLER DYAD &

SPIN TECHNIQUE
 S.P.I.N. Technique
 Is a 'hurt and rescue' approach.
 You find their problem and 'hurt' them by exposing the terrible things
that might happen.
 Then you ‘rescue’ them with your product.

 Situation questions

 Problem questions

 Implication questions

 Need-payoff questions
 SPIN Technique
 Situation
 Data gathering
 Focus on background details
 Problem
 Explore problem areas
 Focus on buyer’s pain
 Implication
 Discuss effects of problem
 ‘Hurt’ in buyer
 Need-payoff
 Make customer ask for a solution
 Introduce your solution and ‘rescue’ the customer
 Baxter India Pvt. Ltd.
• Business: Healthcare (IV fluids, surgical
glues, anti-hemophaelic factors, renal therapy
machines)
• Customers: Doctors
• Selling strategy to be used: Persuasion
strategy
• Selling situation: Missionary selling
• Selling style used: Technical sales
 Sales before employing SPIN
technique

• Medical representative went to doctor and

showed brochure of products
• Sales was not focused on buyer – sales pitch
was about product, features and advantages
• Doctor would perceive benefits and decided
whether to buy or not
• Sales may also happen due to personal
relationship of medical representative
 Sales after employing SPIN
technique

• S (Situation) Questions’ Examples:

 What percentage of your patients are covered by insurance?

 How many surgeries do you do an average every month?

 How many of these are aorta related surgeries or redo surgeries?

 Is the cost of these surgeries fixed (as a part of a package) or variable?

 How many units of blood are used on an average in a surgery?

 Which hemostatic agent do you currently use to stop bleeding in a surgery?

 Sales after employing SPIN
technique

• P (Problem) Questions’ Examples:

 Does the hemostatic agent used currently work with active bleeding?

 Is one unit of the hemostatic agent used enough to stop bleeding?

 Are there any side-effects with the hemostatic agent currently used?

 Is the blood required for transfusion always available?

 Are there instances of infection due to the blood used for transfusion?
 Sales after employing SPIN
technique

• I (Implication) Questions’ Examples:

 If the cost of surgery rises beyond affordability for the patient, how does he
pay for the surgery?

 Are you legally liable if there is any side-effect of the hemostatic agent used?

 Are you legally liable if the blood used for transfusion is infected?

 What happens if blood required for transfusion is not available in time?

 How do you stop active bleeding in off-pump surgeries?

 Sales after employing SPIN
technique

• N (Need-payoff) Questions’ Examples:

 Would it help if you had a hemostatic agent that worked very

effectively even with active bleeding in off-pump surgeries?

 Would it be useful for you to have a hemostatic agent that is

successful in stopping even heavy spurting type bleeding with a
single dose?

 What if there was a hemostatic agent that eliminates the risk of

infection since it doesn’t use bovine elements and reduces the need
for blood transfusion drastically?
 Measurement of benefits of using
SPIN technique

• Company taking up projects of identifying and

quantifying benefits of using SPIN technique
• KAMs, ASMs feedback taken on
implementation and benefits of using SPIN
technique
• Monetary benefits still to be quantified
 Sunwatt India Pvt. Ltd
 Sunwatt India is part of Sunwatt
International which is
headquartered in Southern France.
 In the business of 'Harnessing
Clean WATTS from the SUN'
 Products
  Manufacturing and Trading of Solar
Photovoltaic Modules and Systems. 
 Promoting Solar Power Based Green
Advertising Media in Educational
Campuses on all India basis.
 Not mass manufactured, developed
according to customer
 Sunwatt India
 Selling situation: Creative Sales Person of Tangible Products
 Selling strategy used: Client Profit Planning
 Selling style used: Consultative Sales
 Introduced because –
 new type of product
 difficult to get people’s attention
 Formal training sessions
 Technical knowledge
 Competitor products
 SPIN selling
 How is SPIN used?

• S (Situation) Questions’ Examples:

 How is the power situation in your locality?

 What are the different types of electrical equipments that you

use?

 What is your average power bill?

 How is SPIN used?

• P (Problem) Questions’ Examples:

 For how many hours is there a power cut at your place?

 How do you manage to cope with these power cuts?

 Are you satisfied with your power bill and the current power
situation and the way you cope with it?
 How is SPIN used?

• I (Implication) Questions’ Examples:

How do you feel about the situation that you have?

Is the excess power bill hurting your finances?

Even with the additional investment, is the current solution giving you total satisfaction?

What will happen if the power cuts become more frequent and longer and the alternative
power costs increase or double?

Can you still survive the situation?

Do you think there should a better and cheaper alternative? An alternative where you don’t
have to worry about costs any more or be dependent on the power companies?
 How is SPIN used?

• N (Need-payoff) Questions’ Examples:

 If you are provided an alternative power solution which is
cheaper and also provides tax benefits, will you be interested?

 Would you like a product where the more power you use from
it, the more tax benefit you would get from the government?
 Benefits of using SPIN
 Clients impressed with preparedness and deep
understanding of their problems.
 100 invitation letters -> 50 leads -> 25 sales
 Sales personnel benefits
 Client is very receptive & attentive
 Less efforts required to convince
 Referral sales opportunities
 Sales Methodology
 Selling Situation: Creative Sales for Intangible
products
 Selling Style: Consultative Sales
 Selling Strategy: Client Profit Planning Strategy
 Profiling, Prospecting and Background work before
a sales pitch is carried out by the Marketing Team
 Subsequent meetings and sales pitch till the closing
is done by the Sales Team
 SPIN at DHL

• S (Situation) Questions’ Examples:

1. How many distribution points do you have currently?

2. What is the average volume of the shipments that you generally

make?

3. How frequently do you need to move your shipments?

4. How many places are there where you need to move your shipments?

5. What is the budget that you allocate for the logistics movement?
 SPIN at DHL

• P (Problem) Questions’ Examples:

1. Do you have delays in delivery?

2. What is the average delay for a delivery?

3. Is your current service provider easily accessible?

4. Does your current service provider contact you or do you have to contact them?

5. How often does your current service provider contact you?

6. How capable is your current service provider in handling unplanned orders?

7. Do you face any other problem with your current service provider?
 SPIN at DHL

• I (Implication) Questions’ Examples:

1. How much a delay of one day does disturb your production plans?

2. What is the affect on the company profits due to delays?

3. What part of the cost can be reduced if delays are completely eliminated?

4. How much cost can be saved if your service provider contact you frequently?

5. What is the time saved in your production if all the movements are done as per plan?

6. What is the loss in goodwill to your customers due to delay in your production?

7. How much cost is saved if unplanned orders are taken care of without issues?
 SPIN at DHL

• N (Need-payoff) Questions’ Examples:

1. How easy will it be for you if your current delay is reduced to
half?

2. What if you don’t have to depend on your service provider to

call and get your requirements?

3. What if you never have to anger your customers due to delay

of movement of documents?
 Benefits
 Three day training to every new sales executive to
teach the framework
 Results: Conversion rate has increased drastically
after the adoption of this structured technique to
approach sales(Data not divulged)
 No problems faced in the current approach
 The structured approach is ENOUGH as the sales
method should be SIMPLE
 SVP Group: SALES

 Selling Strategy used: Negotiation

 Selling Situation: Creative sales person for

tangible product

 Selling Style: Commercial Sales

 SPIN Selling

• S (Situation) Questions’ Examples:

1. Do you consider opening shop in cities apart from
metropolitans?

2. Do you consider doing business on a leased property?

 SPIN Selling

• P (Problem) Questions’ Examples:

1. Do you find malls with world class facilities in cities apart
from metropolitans easily?

2. Are you satisfied with the facilities provided to you by other

mall operators?
 SPIN Selling

• I (Implication) Questions’ Examples:

1. If you were living in Ghaziabad, wouldn't you be happy if you
did not have to drive down to Noida/Indirapuram/Delhi to shop
in malls?

2. With the exponentially growing realty rates in Ghaziabad,

don’t you think buying now would eventually act as an
investment later?

3. How important is after sales service to you?

 SPIN Selling

• N (Need-payoff) Questions’ Examples:

1. Would you be interested to buy shops in a mall in Ghaziabad
which will have facilities at par with the malls in Delhi or any
other metropolitan city?

2. If I told you that all beauraucratic hassles with regards to

opening a shop is handled by us, would that help?

3. What benefits would you get if could come closer to your

customers in Ghazibad with a population of roughly 2,500,000?
 Buyer – Seller Relationship: Importance

• Buying and selling are the two main parts of all business activities.
• Fundamental to understanding salesmanship is recognition that it
involves buyer-seller interactions.
• Business concerns look for sellers through whom they can take
their products and services at the doorsteps of customers.
• General people too look for sellers and buyers.
• Matching the client’s professional buyers with the agency’s
professional sellers makes is sustaining for both parties.
• Buyers and sellers in mature industrial markets can turn single
transactions into long-term beneficial relationships by a deeper
understanding of the complex connection between the two.
 Pertinent QUESTIONS
1. From the supplier's viewpoint, does it pay off to be
in long-term customer relationships?
2. If yes, how do you as the supplier get started? 
3. If you the supplier are in an arm's-length
transactional relationship, how do you move it into
a fuller relationship?
 Long Term Relationships
An academic research paper by Professor Narakesari
Narayandas and Professor V. Kasturi Rangan of Harvard
Business School found out that:
 Suppliers increased sales over time: “If you get in with
fewer customers for a long time, you get a greater share of
wallet from the fewer customers”

 Manufacturing costs went down: "Even in long-term

relationships, opportunism is always shown. Customers still
are opportunistic, customers still look out for themselves."
 Jump Starting a Relationship

The vendor wants money first; the customer sits back with arms folded
and replies, "Prove to me that you can do what you say”. Rather
than going after the entire volume, break up the needs into different
parts, and try to initiate a relationship using one component, selling
only this one component. There has to be a natural progression
from one part to another—some connection.

 Healing power: It has to solve an important, visible customer pain.

 High quality: The supplier must be confident of its performance.
 Ease of use: The customer has to be able to evaluate the product.
 Fair price: It must not be too expensive for the customer.
 Transaction to Commitment
 The process always has to be initiated by supplier.
 The road is bumpy at first, when distributor proposes a trade off of
offering the customer lower prices if he gives him higher volume,
then initially customer cherry-picks.
 There comes a day when the customer begins to see benefits.
 The customer now begins to realize that taking a hands-off
approach in the relationship is actually detrimental
 That’s when they begin to INVEST.
 Make sure you get through the investment phase at the beginning—
investing in skills and systems—and figure out how long to invest
and pull out.
 Five-stage buyer-seller relationships evolution
process

Stage of relationship Activities

development
Stage 1 • Search for potential partners from outside and inside sources.
Pre-relationship stage • Evaluate and select potential partners based on social and
economic aspects.
• Finding more information and cross-checking partners’
competency.
• Matching needs and capabilities
Stage 2 • Make initial contact.
Early stage • Establish rapport with partners.
• Testing for compatibility of partners.
• Determining and defining mutual goals.
Stage 3 • Joint planning of activities, responsibilities and relationships.
Development stage • Develop personal relationship and trust.
• Direct involvement through regular contact and socialization.
• Little commitment towards trial trading activities.
• Adaptations and adjustments through agreement, negotiation
and self control.
 Five-stage buyer-seller relationships evolution
process

Stage of relationship Activities

development

Stage 4 • Increased commitment and recognition of mutual benefits

Long-term stage through institutionalized conflict resolution process.
• Development of inter-organizational and member
adaptations.
• Ongoing trading activities.

Stage 5 • Long term rewards based on mutual behavior and trust

Final stage • Termination based on extent of mutual interest and cost
benefit analysis of continuing in the relationship
Buyer-seller dyad