"SPIN takes too long for a clinic." I hear it from reps every year. It does not have to.
Neil Rackham's research gave us four types of question: Situation, Problem, Implication and Need-payoff. It also found that the strongest sellers asked fewer situation questions and more of the other kinds. In a two-minute pharma call, that finding is your permission to cut.
How I teach SPIN when time is short:
- Situation and problem in one. "Among your type 2 diabetic patients, do some still not reach their target?" You should know his situation before you walk in.
- The implication. "What happens to those patients over the next year if nothing changes?"
- The need-payoff. "If more of them reached target, what would that mean for you and them?"
Three questions. The doctor does most of the talking, describes the cost himself, and states the value in his own words. Your product then answers a need he has just said out loud.
“In a short call, cut the questions you already know the answer to, never the one that makes the problem matter.”
Lesson 5 of 15 in Step 5: The visit, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.