3 Acronyms Used in Sales Training You Should Know

When it comes to sales training, there’s one teaching strategy everyone’s heard of—acronyms. It seems like every selling tactic or sales methodology has a catchy acronym attached to it, which is ideal for learning new techniques and remembering them. However, regardless of how helpful these words may be, it’s important to know which ones matter and how to use them. 

If you’re wondering which acronyms used in sales training you should know, here are the most important.

1. SPIN Selling

All successful salespeople know that asking the right questions to their clients is imperative for a positive experience on both sides. It’s an idea that was popularized by Neil Rackham in his book SPIN Selling: a book that’s now been deemed a “must-read” for anyone involved in selling or managing a sales team. The revolutionary SPIN strategy covers the four types of questions all salespeople should ask their clients. These questions are key to identifying buyer pain points, determining if there are any challenges that need to be overcome, and furthering the relationship between the buyer and the seller.

Situation questions are designed to help the seller gain a deeper understanding of the buyer’s current situation and what needs they have.  
Problem questions help get to the root of the prospect’s current issues and why they’re problematic.
Implication questions help the seller gain a deeper understanding of what consequences come from not solving the prospect’s problem (or problems).
Need-payoff questions encourage the buyer to think about how their situation would change if their problem were solved.

As the way people buy begins to change, customers are less likely to be swayed when a seller tells them reasons to buy. Instead, it’s much more effective to help them come to these realizations on their own, and SPIN selling helps sellers do just that.

2. SNAP Selling

SNAP selling is a sales strategy created by internationally recognized sales strategist, Jill Konrath. By using the simple steps highlighted in the SNAP selling strategy, salespeople are able to learn how to overcome customer hesitation, speed up the decision-making process, and ultimately win more sales. The four simple steps in this acronym are consistently used in sales training because they’re easy to understand, easy to follow, and genuinely lead to more sales.

Keep It Simple: Make the sales process easy for your customers to understand and follow. Otherwise, you run the risk of slowing down the sales process or losing them completely.   

Be iNvaluable: Be memorable and stand out as the one person your customers absolutely can’t get by without. If not, your customers will think they can get the same service from you (or someone else) another time and way.

Align: Keep the lines of communication open—you don’t want to think you’re on the same page with your customers but learn down the road you’re not.

Raise Priorities: Make sure the most important decision is always at the forefront of the customer’s mind.

3. NEAT Selling™

NEAT Selling™ is an acronym used in sales training that is focused on understanding the prospect, getting information in front of the right people, and providing them with a compelling reason to buy. 

The “N” stands for needs. It’s important for sellers to understand their customers’ needs at a deeper level beyond just the surface. The “E” stands for economic impact. This helps the buyer understand the economic implications of making a change. “A” stands for access to authority. While they probably won’t get the chance to speak with the company’s CFO, it’s important your prospects speak to someone with authority. Last but not least, the “T” stands for timeline. If you want to make a sale, there needs to be a compelling reason and time to do so.