🤩 Today’s SPIN® Behaviour Challenge: 

Why Most “Trusted Advisors” Aren’t

Many people claim to be a Trusted Advisor.

But the moment the conversation starts…

they begin pitching.

And the second you pitch too early, trust drops.

Not because your solution is bad.

Because your Self-Orientation just spiked.

The Brutal Truth About Trust

In The Trusted Advisor, David H. Maister introduced the Trust Equation:

Trust = (Credibility + Reliability + Intimacy) / Self-Orientation

Before the pandemic I discussed this with David and what struck me was how closely it mirrors the behavioural research behind SPIN® by Neil Rackham.

The uncomfortable insight:

Self-Orientation is the silent trust killer.

The moment the client senses:

“You’re trying to sell me something”

“You already know the answer”

“You’re waiting for your turn to talk”

…trust resets.

Why SPIN® Works

SPIN is not about asking clever questions.

It is a Self-Orientation control system.

It forces you to stay in the client’s reality long enough for their thinking to expand.

SPIN Behavior and What the client feels

Situation / Problem “They understand our world.”

Implication “They see consequences we hadn’t articulated yet.”

Need-Payoff “We are discovering the value ourselves.”

And when that happens, something subtle shifts.

You stop being the seller.

You become the person helping them reflect and learn.

That’s the moment trusted advisor status begins.

Today’s Challenge: Don’t Solve the Problem

When a client shares a problem today:

Resist the instinct to help.

Instead ask three Implication questions in a row

Example:

“What does that do to your team’s productivity?”

Then:

“And if that continues for the next 12 months, what does it mean for your results?”

Then:

“And, How does that make you feel?”

Let the ripple effect appear.

Because the strongest moment in any complex sale is NOT when you present the solution.

It’s when the client realizes the problem is bigger than they thought.

One Sentence

SPIN® works because it forces you to stop performing expertise and start creating insight.

And insight is where trust lives.

If you’re honest with yourself:

How often do you jump to solutions before the implications are fully understood?

That habit alone explains why many good sellers never quite become trusted advisors.

Change Behaviour. Change Results.™

Need inspiration — text “30 min” on my mobile +4526700356

All the best,

Anders 🤩

#SalesTraining #SPINSelling #SalesStrategy #TrustedAdvisor