How we used the SPIN method to attract customers to the Skolkovo company
Once our friends asked for help with promotion and sales for their company. They were engaged in research in the field of laser technology, and at that time were already residents of Skolkovo. True, the question of the applicability of their development in real production was still open.
By a happy coincidence, for the purposes of self-development, I studied and worked out the techniques of large sales according to Neil Rackham 's book “Model SPIN” .
And it was difficult to think of a more suitable product, like engineering services in the field of quality control. For this project we took.
')
And that's what we did (I will quote some of the principles described in the book, and how they were implemented here)
When it comes to selling (especially large), you need, first of all, to hear the customer and understand what he needs, what hidden and obvious needs he has. It sounds, of course, as a "captain obvious", but this is true.
Therefore, as Neil writes, it is not necessary to ask the client how long his company has been on the market, what they do and other “husks” - it is much more correct to go to the point and ask one specific question: “What problems do you have in ...”
Speaking more scientific language, it is necessary to ask less "situational", and more "problematic" questions.
In our case, we just started calling the plants to the quality department (or to the metrology department) with the following script:
"Good day! My name is Sergey, company ..., We are engaged in technical and technological solutions in the field of linear and angular metrology, quality control of geometrical parameters at various stages of production: input, outgoing and processing control.
For our solutions we use the equipment of world leaders: Nikon Metrology, Aberlink, Hexagon Metrology and our software.
I wanted to ask if you have any tasks to control the quality of geometric parameters? ”
To our surprise, after such a brief introduction, many began to eagerly and in great detail talk about their problems and tasks. Where are their weak points, where they are losing money, and what I would like to solve.
Of course, not everyone was so eager for a dialogue, and the tasks were sometimes inadequate, such as “I want everything to work, we didn’t need to learn anything, you did it in a week and it was free.”
Nevertheless, among the large array of tasks, we have highlighted the really interesting - which was mentioned by the largest pipe plants in Russia. Measurement of the inner surface of the couplings, and in particular of the internal thread.
We decided that we need to dive into this problem more deeply.
The second stage of the SPIN method is the development of the client’s need from “hidden” to “explicit” . The main mistake in large sales, as Neil writes, is to propose a solution ahead of time, when the client’s understanding of the problem is not completely formed, when he doesn’t understand how much money he is losing, what associated costs arise, etc.
For developmental needs, use retrieving questions .
We went to the factories in person. And they began to thoroughly “try” metrologists, technologists and economists. They began to ask: “Why do you want to solve this problem? What are you not satisfied with the existing methods of control? " .
We learned that the existing method has several disadvantages:
Nothing fatal, at first glance, but when they began to develop the problem and find out how these problems affect more significant indicators : the percentage of production defects, labor productivity, customer returns due to reclamations - it turned out that the problem is much more serious than initially thought.
To be honest, the client, when he answered these questions, himself became somewhat irritated and did not very willingly share numerical data, and it came to the point that he openly asked: “Well, you can offer something or not!”
This indicated that the client really became aware of the problem more deeply. But it was still early to propose a solution.
(Of course, it is not quite good when a client falls into negative when communicating with you, but this reaction was predictable. Neal warned in his book that these questions should be used politely and carefully, and not bend over).
We finished the meeting with the client at this stage and promised to prepare a solution concept in the near future.
Acting according to the “SPIN” methodology, the next stage was to form the “ solution value ” for the client. That is the understanding that the investments that will be associated with the introduction of new equipment will pay off quickly and repeatedly .
Since we had certain data on the impact of this problem on the plant’s performance indicators, we made up a small financial model for internal needs in order to understand the cost of the problem.
By the most conservative estimates, we counted that the client loses about 60 million per year . It is clear that we are not financial analysts and the model is very approximate. But this gave an additional reason that we are moving in the right direction.
We began to form a solution concept:
Many called the customer and asked "guiding" questions:
And we found out some more interesting moments : it turns out that if they get a solution with the given parameters, in addition to product control tasks, they will be able to perform reverse engineering functions, that is, take imported products, scan it, quickly prepare technical documentation and bring to market production.
And in the wake of the sanctions and import substitution, this will allow them to occupy a significant share of the newly established market.
That is, we, and most importantly, the client began to understand that the price of the solution we offer is significantly lower than the benefits that this solution can bring.
There is practically nothing to write about the last stage. Although he took considerable time. Understanding the need for a solution, the client actively participated in the formation of those. tasks, preparation of the contract, conditions of the tender, preliminary tests, etc.
In the language of the industrial equipment market, this means pre-order.
The most interesting thing is that since this market is rather narrow and “everyone knows everyone,” after our conversations about this decision with the three largest factories, the rumor reached other market participants. They began to look for similar solutions on the Internet, and, of course, ran across our advertising campaign in direct - and turned to us.
So, having spent 2000 rubles on direct, we received 8 pre-orders with a cost of 5 to 15 million each, one of them almost immediately ended with a contract (there the task was simpler, and our friends could immediately deliver the solution)
And not everyone can boast of this anymore ... Although, of course, the point is not the direct.
PS Post-history of this project.
In no case do we claim to be a great connoisseur in the field of sales techniques SPIN, I am sure that we did not use even 10% of the possibilities of this approach. But even this gave a tangible result.
Now friends, for whom we have done this, are actively developing the product, have attracted substantial investments for the implementation, and I believe that they will soon make a decision for these plants.
By a happy coincidence, for the purposes of self-development, I studied and worked out the techniques of large sales according to Neil Rackham 's book “Model SPIN” .
And it was difficult to think of a more suitable product, like engineering services in the field of quality control. For this project we took.
')
And that's what we did (I will quote some of the principles described in the book, and how they were implemented here)
1. Identify customer problems
When it comes to selling (especially large), you need, first of all, to hear the customer and understand what he needs, what hidden and obvious needs he has. It sounds, of course, as a "captain obvious", but this is true.
Therefore, as Neil writes, it is not necessary to ask the client how long his company has been on the market, what they do and other “husks” - it is much more correct to go to the point and ask one specific question: “What problems do you have in ...”
Speaking more scientific language, it is necessary to ask less "situational", and more "problematic" questions.
In our case, we just started calling the plants to the quality department (or to the metrology department) with the following script:
"Good day! My name is Sergey, company ..., We are engaged in technical and technological solutions in the field of linear and angular metrology, quality control of geometrical parameters at various stages of production: input, outgoing and processing control.
For our solutions we use the equipment of world leaders: Nikon Metrology, Aberlink, Hexagon Metrology and our software.
I wanted to ask if you have any tasks to control the quality of geometric parameters? ”
To our surprise, after such a brief introduction, many began to eagerly and in great detail talk about their problems and tasks. Where are their weak points, where they are losing money, and what I would like to solve.
Of course, not everyone was so eager for a dialogue, and the tasks were sometimes inadequate, such as “I want everything to work, we didn’t need to learn anything, you did it in a week and it was free.”
Nevertheless, among the large array of tasks, we have highlighted the really interesting - which was mentioned by the largest pipe plants in Russia. Measurement of the inner surface of the couplings, and in particular of the internal thread.
We decided that we need to dive into this problem more deeply.
2. The development of the problem, the formation of a clear need
The second stage of the SPIN method is the development of the client’s need from “hidden” to “explicit” . The main mistake in large sales, as Neil writes, is to propose a solution ahead of time, when the client’s understanding of the problem is not completely formed, when he doesn’t understand how much money he is losing, what associated costs arise, etc.
For developmental needs, use retrieving questions .
We went to the factories in person. And they began to thoroughly “try” metrologists, technologists and economists. They began to ask: “Why do you want to solve this problem? What are you not satisfied with the existing methods of control? " .
We learned that the existing method has several disadvantages:
- does not measure all the parameters that are spelled out in GOST;
- not entirely objective as the measuring instruments wear out;
- for measuring non-standard products, it is possible to do only long-term sampling in a special laboratory, etc.
Nothing fatal, at first glance, but when they began to develop the problem and find out how these problems affect more significant indicators : the percentage of production defects, labor productivity, customer returns due to reclamations - it turned out that the problem is much more serious than initially thought.
To be honest, the client, when he answered these questions, himself became somewhat irritated and did not very willingly share numerical data, and it came to the point that he openly asked: “Well, you can offer something or not!”
This indicated that the client really became aware of the problem more deeply. But it was still early to propose a solution.
(Of course, it is not quite good when a client falls into negative when communicating with you, but this reaction was predictable. Neal warned in his book that these questions should be used politely and carefully, and not bend over).
We finished the meeting with the client at this stage and promised to prepare a solution concept in the near future.
3. Determining the value of solving the problem
Acting according to the “SPIN” methodology, the next stage was to form the “ solution value ” for the client. That is the understanding that the investments that will be associated with the introduction of new equipment will pay off quickly and repeatedly .
Since we had certain data on the impact of this problem on the plant’s performance indicators, we made up a small financial model for internal needs in order to understand the cost of the problem.
By the most conservative estimates, we counted that the client loses about 60 million per year . It is clear that we are not financial analysts and the model is very approximate. But this gave an additional reason that we are moving in the right direction.
We began to form a solution concept:
Many called the customer and asked "guiding" questions:
- What aspects of the problem would you like to solve first?
- Does this somehow affect productivity?
- If you implement a solution, will this help reduce the percentage of defective products?
- Do you intend to use the equipment primarily for the laboratory, or for workshop conditions?
- what else would you like to use the equipment for?
And we found out some more interesting moments : it turns out that if they get a solution with the given parameters, in addition to product control tasks, they will be able to perform reverse engineering functions, that is, take imported products, scan it, quickly prepare technical documentation and bring to market production.
And in the wake of the sanctions and import substitution, this will allow them to occupy a significant share of the newly established market.
That is, we, and most importantly, the client began to understand that the price of the solution we offer is significantly lower than the benefits that this solution can bring.
4. Bidding and commitments
There is practically nothing to write about the last stage. Although he took considerable time. Understanding the need for a solution, the client actively participated in the formation of those. tasks, preparation of the contract, conditions of the tender, preliminary tests, etc.
In the language of the industrial equipment market, this means pre-order.
The most interesting thing is that since this market is rather narrow and “everyone knows everyone,” after our conversations about this decision with the three largest factories, the rumor reached other market participants. They began to look for similar solutions on the Internet, and, of course, ran across our advertising campaign in direct - and turned to us.
So, having spent 2000 rubles on direct, we received 8 pre-orders with a cost of 5 to 15 million each, one of them almost immediately ended with a contract (there the task was simpler, and our friends could immediately deliver the solution)
And not everyone can boast of this anymore ... Although, of course, the point is not the direct.
PS Post-history of this project.
In no case do we claim to be a great connoisseur in the field of sales techniques SPIN, I am sure that we did not use even 10% of the possibilities of this approach. But even this gave a tangible result.
Now friends, for whom we have done this, are actively developing the product, have attracted substantial investments for the implementation, and I believe that they will soon make a decision for these plants.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/292434/
All Articles