Neil Rackham is chairman of a go-to-market research consultancy firm and former chairman of Huthwaite, Inc. an international research and consulting firm. Born in England, he grew up in the jungles of Borneo. At age 18, he returned to England and survived a crash course in civilization that prepared him to enter Sheffield Univeristy, where he earned a degree in experimental psychology. While a post-graduate research fellow at Sheffield, he developed a range of behaviour analysis techniques that allow precise statistical measurement of interactive skills. He began to use these research tools to study areas such as selling and negotiating where success depended on complex interpersonal skills. From watching top performing salespeople in action, Neil became convinced that much of the traditional wisdom on how to sell was inadequate and often downright wrong. He put together a research consortium, supported by Xerox and IBM, raising the funds to mount the largest ever research study of successful selling. This massive project involved a team of 30 researchers who studied 35,000 sales calls in over 20 countries. From the results of these studies he published the groundbreaking SPIN® Selling [McGraw-Hill,1988] and Major Account Sales Strategy [McGraw-Hill, 1989]. His books regularly rank among business bestsellers, and SPIN® Selling is McGraw-Hill's best selling business book ever, its sales increasing each year since its publication. Neil Rackham has worked closely with many leading sales forces such as IBM, Xerox, AT&T, Citicorp and McKinsey & Company. He's a sought-after conference speaker who received top reviews from participants for his capacity to take complex issues and make them accessible and interseting. He uses a combination of humor, passion, and group interaction to stimulate and challenge his audiences. Neil is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He has been an advisor on sales performance to several Fortune 100 companies. His other books include Rethinking the Sales Force: Redefining Selling to Create and Capture Customer Value [McGraw-Hill, 1999], Managing Major Sales [Harper Business, 1991], and Getting Partnering Right: How Market Leaders are Creating Long-Term Competitive Advantage [Mc Graw-Hill, 1996]. More than half then Fortune 500 train their salespeople using sales models derived from his research.
The Spin Selling Fieldbook: Practical Tools, Methods, Exercises, and Resources