Principles of sales

and negotiation
Week 4, lecture

Dr. Nikola Drašković, college professor

Agenda

 Communication skills
 SPIN
 ADAPT
 Active listening
Communication skills
Communication skills

 “Rapport in sales is EVERYTHING.” Alex Pirouz, RIDC Advisory

 Active listening requires concentration, focus, and determination.
 Successful professional salespeople are able to read and correctly
interpret non-verbal communication.
Internet changed the buying-selling environment

• Communication is faster​
• Buyers are well-informed (product, alternatives, prices, competition)​
• Internet-based technologies (and COVID-19) reduced need
for meetings in person​
• Push and hard-selling approach are vanishing
Sales communication as a collaborative process

• Collaborative and two-way form of communication​

• Allows buyers and sellers to understand the need by working together to
create the best solution for customers​
• Salespeople must ask carefully crafted questions to the customer
Types of questions based on the amount and specificity of
information desired

• Open-end - allows free customer response​

Can you, please, describe your current experience with my company.​
• Closed-end - limits the customers’ response to one or two words​
Are you satisfied with the service provided by my company?​
• Dichotomous/multiple choice - customer needs to select from two
or more options​
Which freight option do you prefer – by railway or by road?
Types of questions based on strategic purpose

• Probing question - provokes articulate and precise responses from the

customer​
• Evaluative question - uses open-end and closed-end question formats
to discover attitudes, opinions, and preferences that the prospect holds​
• Tactical question - used to shift the topic when the conversation goes
off course​
• Reactive question - question based on the information provided
previously by the other party
SPIN
SPIN

• The SPIN system sequences four types of

questions designed to uncover a buyer’s current situation
and inherent problems, enhance the
buyer’s understanding of the consequences
and implications of those problems, and lead to
the proposed solution.
SPIN

Situation Problem

Implication Need-payoff
Situation questions

Assessment of the current situation, explorative questions, general in nature​

• Who are your current suppliers? ​

• Do you typically purchase or lease?​

• Who is involved in purchasing decisions?

Problem questions

More specific probing questions, focus specific difficulties, developing problems,

and areas of dissatisfaction ​

• How critical is this component for your production?​

• What kinds of problems have you encountered with your current suppliers?​

​
• What types of reliability problems do you experience with your current system?
Implication questions

Implication questions follow and relate to the information flowing from problem

questions. Their purpose is to assist the buyer in thinking about the potential
consequences of the problem.​

• How does this affect profitability?​

• What impact does the slow response of your current supplier have on the
productivity of your operation?​
• How would a faster piece of equipment improve productivity and profits? ​
• What happens when the supplier is late with a shipment?
Need-payoff questions

Based on the implications of a problem, salespeople use need-payoff questions to

propose a solution and develop commitment from the buyer. ​

• Would more frequent deliveries allow you to increase productivity?​

• If we could provide you with increased reliability, would you be interested?​
• If we could improve the quality of your purchased components, how would that
help you?​
• Would you be interested in increasing productivity by 15 percent?
ADAPT
ADAPT

• Logic-based funnelling sequence of questions

that identifies and assesses the buyer’s situation. Assessment
• Begins with broad generalized inquiries designed to
identify and assess the buyer’s situation Discovery
• Further questions are generated to probe and discover
more details regarding the buyer’s needs and
Activation
expectations
Projection
Transition
ADAPT
SPIN vs. ADAPT

Situation – Assessment questions​

Problem – Discovery ​
Activation – Implication​
Need-payoff – Projection, Transition
Ethical dilemma
Active listening
Facets of effective listening

• Paying attention
• Monitoring nonverbals
• Paraphrasing and repeating
• Making no assumptions
• Encouraging the buyer to talk
• Visualizing
Keys to effective listening

• Find areas of interest

• Judge content, not delivery
• Hold judgements until full consideration
• Listen for ideas
• Be flexible
Keys to effective listening (continued)

• Work at listening
• Resist distractions
• Exercise the mind
• Keep an open mind
• Capitalize on the fact that thought is faster than speech
SIER hierarchy of active listening
Thank you for your attention!