Ready to boost your sales game and convert more customers? You’re going to need a spin-selling script!
Spin selling is one of the oldest tricks in the book for businesses looking to convert more customers. With the right script, you can start closing complex deals with ease.
Read on to find out more about the secrets of spin selling and the best spin selling script to win you new business.
Learn more about the best marketing strategies for your business – sign up our Free Webinar Sales Funnel course.
What is SPIN selling?
Spin selling is a sales technique that’s designed to help you build a relationship with any potential customer. With a spin selling script, you can work to understand your prospect’s needs before you try to sell your product or service.
If you have an effective spin selling script, you can establish yourself as a trusted advisor to your prospective customers and offer your product or service as the solution to their problems.
First coined by Neil Rackham in 1988 in his best-selling sales book of the same name, spin selling has become one of the most popular sales methods for businesses today. Why? Because it really works!
The power of listening
The secret behind the spin selling technique is listening.
Not too radical right? As a salesperson, the most effective way to convert potential customers into actual customers is to listen to what they have to say.
While it sounds simple enough, many entrepreneurs and salespeople forget this basic concept. Like a guy on a first date who gets carried away by talking about himself, salespeople often get caught up in trying to convey all the benefits of their product or service without stopping to listen to what their prospect (or date) is actually telling them.
With a spin selling script, you can build in space to ask your prospect meaningful questions and listen to their answers – rather than launching directly into a sales pitch.
Anatomy of a sales call
Pretty much every sales call, from the most basic to the most complex, follows the same pattern. There are four distinct stages of a sales call that you can predict and plan for with the right spin selling script.
Here are the four stages, which encompass SPIN:
- Preliminaries
- Need-payoff
- Demonstrating capability
- Obtaining commitment
The SPIN method makes up the first two stages of a sales call – Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff.
Download Neil Patel’s free spin selling script to get started.
Why use a spin selling script for your business?
Spin selling is a tried and tested technique for businesses looking to increase their conversion rates. A spin selling script gives you – and anyone on your sales team – a framework for closing even the most complex deals.
The idea behind spin selling is to clarify your sales process, removing any ambiguity or difficulty from your interactions with potential customers. It allows you to find common ground with the person you’re selling to and help you build a genuine connection with them before trying to sell anything.
The best spin selling scripts allow you to identify the concerns of your prospective customer, letting you control the flow of the discussion and encourage them to open up about their problems, pain points, and the solutions they’re hoping for.
A spin selling script is especially useful if you’ve just started running sales for a particular product or service. Until you have a clear picture of your audience’s pain points, it’s easier to convert people using a spin selling script than relying on online sales alone. In the early days, your call-to-action (CTA) needs to direct people to book a call with you. This gives you the opportunity to talk to your audience one-to-one.
Once you’ve taken multiple calls and you’ve been able to successfully convert your leads into customers, you can then use what you’ve learned from your interactions to refine your landing pages.
Spin selling technique explained
Ready to learn how to do spin selling yourself? Here’s the step-by-step technique plus a downloadable spin selling script.
Step 1: Preliminaries
You can think of the first step in your spin-selling script like a warm-up. You’re getting ready for the main sales pitch by taking time to get to know the person on the other end of the line.
This is the information-gathering stage. In Step 1, you’re aiming to understand your prospect’s issues and how you might be able to help.
Situation
Situation questions allow you to get a clearer picture of your buyer’s current situation. At this stage, you want to understand:
- What do the client’s current processes look like?
- What tools are they already using?
- How frequently do they use them?
Here are some questions to get you started:
- Can you tell me more about your current situation?
- What have you tried before?
- What has worked for you in the past?
- What didn’t work? Why do you think that is?
This is your chance to get to know more about your prospect’s background and their experiences of other products, services, or methods in the past. By getting a clearer idea of tools they’ve used before getting to you, you can figure out how to frame your product or service further down the line.
Download Neil Patel’s free spin selling script to see how it works:
Problem
Next up you want to ask some problem questions. Problem questions are an important part of your spin selling script as they help you understand the different problems that your product could solve for your prospective customer.
Here are some example questions to start building your spin selling script:
- What are your biggest problems at the moment?
- Do you struggle more with X or Y?
- Have you tried to get help for these problems before?
Bear in mind that many potential customers won’t have a full understanding of their problems. If they’re not familiar with the topic you’re discussing, they might have clear problems that seem obvious to you but that they haven’t been able to identify yet. It’s your job to draw those out.
Implication
The third step in your spin selling script builds on your problem questions. Implication questions hone in on the problems you’ve identified in the previous step. They also demonstrate to your customer why those problems are important and why they need to be solved.
Here are some questions you might like to ask:
- How much time is wasted on [problem] each week?
- Has [problem] ever caused delays for your business?
- How much more could you achieve without this problem?
You can get really specific here, building on your customer’s pain points that they shared in the previous step. Adapt your spin selling script to zero in on the key details of the problem e.g. wasted time or lost revenue.
Step 2: Need-Payoff
After you have completed Step 1 in your spin selling script, you can move from active listening to a discussion. This is the stage where you repeat your potential customer’s issues back to them, along with possible solutions.
The purpose of Step 2 is to make your prospect feel heard and validated. Now is your chance to express the payoff that this person needs – even if they don’t know what that is.
Crucially, this isn’t about telling your client how your product or service can help them. You want them to come to the conclusion on their own.
Step 2 of your spin selling script might go something like this:
- What would it mean to you if you can get this solved as soon as possible?
- Let me read back all the most important points you’ve told me so far.
- [Here you recite back what they have said to you in their words exactly]
- So let’s fix all these problems fast…
You might notice some surprises from your prospect at this point as it can be an unusual experience to have a stranger really listen to your problems and understand the challenges you’re facing.
When you’ve been through your customer’s needs, it’s time to move on to Step 3.
Step 3: Demonstrate capability
This is a crucial stage in your spin selling script – now is the point where you have to show your client that you have something to offer them.
You reach a point in every sales call where you need to explain your offer in detail and remind them of the expertise you have which makes you uniquely qualified to help them.
There is a technique you can use to outline your offer in your spin selling script, known as the FAB formula:
- F – Feature
- A – Advantages
- B – Benefits
Try this template and fill in the blanks with your own info:
Because [product] has [feature]…
[user] can [advantage]…
Which means [your client] will experience [benefits]
The idea is to demonstrate how your product or service can help your potential client and solve their pain points. At the same time, you also want to give a brief outline of what makes you the person to help.
Step 4: Obtaining commitment
The last stage of your spin selling script aims to get some sort of commitment from the person on the other end of the line.
This is the point where you explain your pricing structure and the options available to your client.
Bear in mind that there might not be a full sale yet. Larger sales often contain extra steps that are called ‘advances’. Advances are designed to move your customer gradually towards committing to their final decision and making a purchase.
Here are the types of commitments you can expect to get:
Outcome 1 – Partial commitment
Your prospect might agree to sign up for one of the products you are offering – such as a paid webinar or short course.
Here’s an example of how to end the call:
Thank you, let me get your account set up and I’ll email you about the future call details.
Here’s my personal email so you can email me anytime with questions, I’ll work out a day for us to do the consultation. Just email me your [details] so I can start going through it. Have an amazing day!
If you have any questions, feedback, or comments, we are right here – you can call us back anytime or email [email address] for priority support!
You end the call has made a sale and with your new customer’s contact details so you can work on additional sales in the future.
Outcome 2 – Full commitment
Your prospect might go one step closer and agree to your full services package or advanced product such as a membership to your course academy or community.
If you get a straight yes from your new customer, you can go ahead and close the call in a similar way to outcome 1, thanking them for their time and offering options for them to contact you with any questions, feedback, or comments.
Outcome 3 – No-sale
There will of course be instances where your prospect rejects your request. This can happen regardless of how good your spin-selling script is.
In this case, it is important to end the call in a professional manner to leave the door open for them to get back in touch if they change their mind.
Here’s an example for this outcome in Step 4 of your spin selling script:
That’s completely okay. This is not for everyone, only those serious about taking your business to the next level. You can easily use the powerful information in [your website or content channel] to change your life forever.
Anyways, thank you so much for today’s call. Have an amazing day! If you have any questions, feedback, or comments. We are here to support and nurture you!
Use a calm and reassuring tone to give your ‘no’ prospects confidence that they can come back. Often people will contact you with more questions in a couple of weeks or arrange another call to discuss in more detail.
It is normal for customers to need time to think over an offer before they agree, especially with a higher-priced offer.
Tips to perfect your spin selling script
To make sure your spin-selling script is as effective as possible, there are some things to bear in mind. Here are our tips for developing and perfecting your spin-selling script to give you the best chance for success.
One size doesn’t fit all
Remember that while there are similarities between the pain points of your prospective customers, every individual will have their own problems. It’s essential that you can tailor your spin selling script to fit each call.
If your prospect detects that you’re following a rigid, repetitive spin selling script, they won’t have the same buy-in to your brand. In fact, you risk losing the business altogether if your responses seem forced or rehearsed.
Be prepared to think on your feet and adapt your spin selling script as needed. Every customer should feel like you’re talking only to them, not a long line of people. This is especially important for steps 1 and 2 of the spin selling method.
Not everyone knows their problems
While you have a detailed understanding of your industry and your niche – your prospect does not necessarily have the same knowledge. Bear in mind that potential customers might not know the extent of their problems and what they need help with.
Part of your spin selling script is about helping your client to understand their problems – and eventually how you can help solve them. Don’t expect them to come to your call with all the answers.
Do your research
When spin selling was first introduced in the 80s, entrepreneurs and salespeople did not have the same resources at their disposal. Thanks to the internet and social media, you can now gain detailed insights into your potential customer’s needs before you talk to them.
This is especially true for B2B products and services – utilize LinkedIn to explore who your prospect is connecting and engaging with, recent content they’ve written, and their previous work experience.
If you can become familiar with your prospective client before you start the call, you can connect with them in a more detailed and effective way. Use your spin selling script as a framework but add in specific, personalized details that you’ve learned from your research.
Anticipate more educated buyers
In the same way, you can now research your prospective clients in more detail, they can also research your company too. It’s highly likely that a potential customer will have checked out your website and/or social media profiles before jumping on the call.
What does this mean for your spin-selling script? You need to anticipate that they will already have a good idea of what you’re about to say in step 3 where you demonstrate your capability. They may also have potential objections already prepared.
This means you need to have counters and answers to an educated buyer’s concerns. You may also need to demonstrate how you compare to your competitors and what you can bring to the table.
Listen
The essential part of any spin-selling script is practicing active listening. It’s no good to just nod and agree with your prospect if you’re not actually listening to them. Make notes on the most important points so that you can remember them and repeat them back in Step 2.
Listening also involves making eye contact (if you’re doing a video call) and remembering your client’s name. These small details in delivery can make a big difference to the effectiveness of your spin-selling script overall.
Download your new spin selling script
Ready to start writing your own spin-selling script? Download Neil Patel’s top converting spin selling script as a template and prepare to put your knowledge into action.
To take your marketing to the next level, sign up for Neil Patel’s Free Webinar Sales Funnel course.
