You heard about the four elements (questions you must ask) of understanding the business problem and establishing a relevant proposition for the solution. There should be a balance between the number of questions asked under each element, which can be understood using the table below:

Question Type	Description	Benefit	Impact
Situation	Questions about the customer's current processes and situations	Seller understands the buyer's context, but the buyer is bored	Used more in calls that fail; overused by inexperienced people
Problem	Questions about the customer's problems	Seller uncovers buyer's problems; the buyer is interested in discussing problems	Strongly linked to success in smaller sales
Implication	Questions leading the customers to uncover the implications of their problems	Seller transforms implied needs into explicit needs	Strongly linked to success in larger sales
Need-Payoff	Questions offering potential solutions and the benefit of solving the customer's problems	Seller influences buyer to realise the potential benefits of solving the problem	Strongly linked to success in larger sales

Source: Spin Selling by Niel Rackham

The SPIN framework starts with asking about the current situation and helps you visualise the entire journey, from when the problem arises to what will happen when the problem is solved. It is an excellent approach to follow, as it helps the client (internal or external) realise the extent of both the problem and the solution.

Following are some key points that you should keep in mind while using the framework:

The result of the framework highly depends on the quality of the questions that are asked. If you are not asking the correct questions, you will end up with a large chunk of useless information. This can go in the opposite direction as well. You might even miss some vital information by not asking a question about it. Hence, you should always include questions from all the four categories (SPIN), by striking a balance among all four.
The questions should not make the interviewee uncomfortable. You should be careful in framing the questions so that the interviewee feels free to share the relevant information.
You should do your share of research before asking the situation and problem questions so that you have some context when the interviewee is providing you with the information about the process or the company. It will help you prepare for the implication and need-payoff questions based on what solution can be provided in those problem scenarios.
The implication and need payoff should not trigger any unrealistic targets for the people facing the problem. It is a possible scenario because the client or the internal team may expect you to solve all the problems and implications arising from them.

Apart from the points above, one major challenge that comes with the framework is correctly identifying the category to which the question belongs. The major confusion lies between the situation and the problem questions. You should always keep in mind that if the question is trying to gather information about a process or an activity, it will be a situation question. If the question is meant to reveal the problems that the company might face, then it is a problem question. Let’s try to understand these using an example:

Question 1: Why do you use equipment “X” for activity “Y”?
Question 2: Is the equipment “X” reliable for activity “Y”?

Question 1 would fall under situational question as you are trying to understand the process in the company. However, question 2 will be framed after you know the process and are trying to understand whether there is any problem with equipment “X”. Hence, you should be able to distinguish between the two. To understand more about the framework, you can refer to this link.

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In the next segment, you will be asked to apply your understanding of the SPIN selling framework on the revenue return problem discussed in the previous section.