If you want to deliver a persuasive presentation, you need to understand your audience's needs and problems. One way to do that is to use the SPIN model, a framework that helps you ask the right questions and uncover the value of your solution. In this article, you will learn the steps to use the SPIN model to identify your audience's needs and problems.
The SPIN model is a sales technique developed by Neil Rackham, based on his research on successful sales conversations. SPIN stands for Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-payoff. These are the four types of questions you should ask your audience to guide them from their current situation to their desired outcome.
Before using the SPIN model, do your research about the client - there is nothing worse then using generic and general questions.
Situation questions are essential for gathering basic information about your audience's background, context, and goals. Asking the right questions can help you establish rapport and better understand their current situation. However, you should be mindful of not asking too many questions, as they can bore or annoy your audience. Instead, do some research beforehand and focus on the most pertinent aspects of their situation. Examples of situation questions you can ask include: 'What is your role in your organization?', 'How do you measure your performance?', and 'What are your main challenges or priorities?'.
"S"ituation is contextual, like the setting shot in a movie. Quickly establish where you are in relation to the client, and then move on to the next 'scene', or in business the core of the meeting.
Problem questions are essential for discovering the specific problems, difficulties, or dissatisfactions that your audience has with their current situation. Such questions can help you uncover their pain points and create a sense of urgency. You might ask questions like: How often do you face this issue? How does this affect your results or productivity? How do you feel about this situation? Ensure you ask enough problem questions to make your audience aware of the gap between their current and desired situation. Utilize open-ended questions and listen attentively to their responses.
"P"roblem is about prioritization from scale. Use your basic math skills, for each problem ask 'how often' the issue occurs and 'how big' is the issue, then multiply. An IT issue where you only have a 5 minute outage sounds small, but if it happens 100 times a day (either because same person 100 times or 100 people once) that is a much bigger deal.
Implication questions are designed to explore the consequences or effects of the problems that your audience has. They give insight into the magnitude of the issue, and help demonstrate the value of solving it. Examples of implication questions include: What impact does this have on your team or customers? How does this affect your reputation or competitiveness? What will happen if you don't address this issue? Asking implication questions can build up the pressure and motivation for your audience to take action. Consider using probing questions and empathizing with their emotions for best results.
"I"mplication is the downstream impact of the big problem just outlined. If the problem was 500 minutes of collective outage time every day, then the implication is 500 minutes of operation downtime, translating into over 8 hours a day, essentially, paying an entire employee's salary worth going down the drain to these outages.
Need-payoff questions are the ones you ask to elicit the benefits or advantages that your audience would get from your solution. Asking these questions helps to shift the focus from their problems to your value proposition. For instance, you might ask: What would be the most important features or outcomes for you? How would this improve your situation or results? How would you benefit from solving this issue? Asking need-payoff questions reinforces the positive aspects of your solution and makes your audience more likely to buy or agree with you. Make sure to use leading questions and encourage them to express their opinions or preferences.
"N"eed-payoff is providing the ointment to the burn. We just established in the implication that there are consequences to moving forward as operations per usual. Now is the time for reclaiming what should be yours (the client's). In an example of losing out on an entire employee salary worth of outages, how can you imagine being able to see performance improve next quarter and getting that back?