Top Guide Posts for this week talk about Intellectual Curiousity, SPINning and CCO Success.

Attention MedTech and High-Tech Leaders

Do you want to find marketing and product management talent that can truly make a difference in your business?

Are you looking for people that can bring your vision and strategies to life?

Are you seeking talent that can both identify new opportunities and build out a tactical plan to address them?

Then look for talent that has that one key that can't be fabricated...

Intellectual Curiousity!

This is a trait that...

Enables one to see opportunities when problems arise.

Drives one to ask why when presented with the status quo.

Envisions ways to grow your business that others are too limited to see.

Looks beyond the data to uncover unique insights to drive your business in new exciting directions.

So, how do you find these rare gems?

They are not on job boards.

They are not looking at LinkedIn to see who's hiring.

They are fully engaged within their current companies and are highly valued by their current employer.

So, how do you bring them to your organization?

You recruit them!

You recruit them with appealing to their innate interest in growth opportunities!

You recruit them by using recruiters that fully understand the marketing function and what motivates top talent!

You recruit them with a vision of the future for your company that they can genuinely influence as opposed to barely moving the needle!

If you're interested in bringing these intellectually curious top talents to your team, contact Due North today!

Are you curious about where to find top talent? Contact Due North!

Click here to schedule a meeting.

SPIN Classes

Several years ago, when I worked for another firm, I had been asked to sit in on an intake call for a senior sales leadership role. The recruiter whose client it was knew little about these roles. At one point the client said that they wanted to be sure the candidates were proficient in SPIN selling.

The other recruiter said “Oh, I love SPIN classes. It’s my favorite workout.”

I quickly jumped in and said that my colleague was just being funny. I went on to state that I was actually certified in SPIN Selling and had trained UPS account executives in it during my time there. So, we were uniquely qualified to determine who really knew how to effectively use this powerful sales approach.

I still wonder why this client didn’t investigate whether or not this recruiter knew much about the role before retaining them.

So, what is SPIN Selling?SPIN Selling is a sales technique and methodology developed by Neil Rackham in the late 1980s. The term "SPIN" stands for Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need-payoff, which are four types of questions used to guide the sales process. The methodology is based on extensive research conducted by Rackham and his team at Huthwaite, where they analyzed thousands of sales calls and identified patterns of effective sales behaviors.

Here's a breakdown of the four types of questions in SPIN Selling:

Situation Questions: These questions aim to gather basic information about the prospect's current situation. They help the salesperson understand the context and background of the prospect's business, needs, and challenges.

Problem Questions: These questions focus on identifying the problems or challenges that the prospect is facing. The goal is to uncover pain points and issues that the salesperson's product or service could potentially address.

Implication Questions: Once the problems are identified, implication questions delve deeper into understanding the consequences of those problems. These questions help the prospect realize the potential negative outcomes or impacts of not solving their problems.

Need-payoff Questions: These questions shift the focus to the positive outcomes and benefits that the prospect could achieve by solving their problems. The aim is to help the prospect envision how their situation could improve with the salesperson's solution.

The SPIN Selling methodology emphasizes that by asking these types of questions in a structured manner, salespeople can guide the conversation, build rapport, and better understand the prospect's needs. It also helps in aligning the features and benefits of the product or service with the specific problems and needs of the prospect.

The core idea behind SPIN Selling is that by focusing on the prospect's problems and needs rather than simply pushing the features of the product, salespeople can create a more consultative and customer-focused sales approach, leading to more successful sales outcomes.

What drives a Chief Commercial Officer's Success?

Think of a Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) as the general in the fierce and ongoing war for talent. They might have the strategy and the battle plan, but it’s their army—their team—that needs to be strong, skilled, and ready to take on the world.

In today’s cutthroat environment, attracting and retaining top-notch talent is like seeking out the elite special forces for your squad. A CCO’s vision is crucial, but without sharpshooters in sales, strategists in marketing, and empathetic allies in customer service, that vision might as well be a mirage.

Here's where the real battle lies: in creating an environment where the best of the best want to stay and fight by your side. It’s about more than just salaries and perks; it's about crafting a culture where innovation thrives, voices are heard, and everyone’s dialed into the same mission.

This talent war isn’t won with a single victory. It’s an ongoing campaign where the CCO must lead from the front, inspiring their troops to build and maintain the commercial strongholds that will ensure the company not only survives but thrives.

And let’s not forget—each soldier in this war has a unique superpower. From the creative geniuses to the analytic wizards, a CCO’s team is their arsenal. The stronger and more diverse this arsenal, the better the CCO can navigate the battleground of market competition.

So yes, a CCO’s success is measured by their leadership, strategy, and decisions. But the true testament of their prowess? The team they assemble and how they marshal their troops in the relentless war for talent. That’s where the real victories are won!

Chris Gustanski – Founder and Lead Talent Guide

Chris is a classically trained marketer with over a decade of executive search experience. He moved into recruiting because he was someone that was frequently recruited and was tired of recruiters hounding him to consider roles they didn’t understand, and he wasn’t interested in pursuing. He was determined to disrupt Executive Search to deliver a better result and experience for companies and the commercial talent they need.?After over a decade seeing the dysfunction in executive search firms large and small, he formed Due North Executive Search in collaboration with his wife Amie.

To learn more about how Due North can help you build World Class Commercial teams click here to schedule a meeting.