Huthwaite International

Often, "salespeople" don't have sales in their job title.

At Zühlke, a global technology consultancy, it was engineers and technical consultants – not traditional sales reps – who needed a framework for turning customer conversations into business value.

Myles Davidson, Partner & Head of Sales, EMEA, FSI & Health at Zühlke, explains why SPIN Selling worked so well for a technical audience:

💬 "We realised we needed to train a much broader group – our engineers and consultants who work directly with customers. SPIN works exceptionally well for technical professionals, because they're naturally curious and ask the right questions. It gave our team a clear framework for those magic co-creation moments when we're solving business problems together with customers."

Technical experts are already asking questions all day. SPIN just gives that natural curiosity a commercial edge.

Read the full Zühlke case study (link in the comments) 👇

AI can prep you for a negotiation, but it can't sit in the room for you.

It does in minutes what used to take days. It can help with market research, pricing benchmarks and scenario modelling – all genuinely useful.

But the negotiation itself is still determined by 6 very human things:

→ Uncovering interests AI can't ask about
→ Building trust through behaviour, not data
→ Creating value through judgement, not just options
→ Handling difficult conversations in real time
→ Influencing stakeholders with competing agendas
→ Knowing which information to use, when, and how

As access to information gets easier for everyone, the behaviours that turn information into agreement become the real differentiator.

Our latest blog breaks down where AI helps and where it simply can't.

Link in the comments🔗

AI and negotiation: why negotiation behaviours still shape successful outcomes Discover how AI enhances negotiation preparation while emphasising the vital human elements that lead to successful outcomes.

Many sales training initiatives focus on individual capability, but the organisations seeing the greatest long-term impact are focusing on something bigger: creating a shared language.

When customer-facing teams approach conversations differently, consistency suffers, with customers receiving mixed experiences. It also means coaching becomes harder, and best practice is difficult to scale.

At Nihon Kohden, SPIN is becoming a shared language across commercial teams, helping create greater alignment and consistency in customer conversations.

That's often the difference between training being a singular event and becoming part of how an organisation approaches their commercial conversations.

What's been most effective in helping your organisation embed lasting changes in the way teams engage customers?

Most organisations believe they're listening to customers, but the chances are they aren't really hearing them.

In this episode of Mastering Sales & Negotiations, Martin Couzins, Founder & CEO of Insights Media, explores why listening can be a commercial advantage. From uncovering hidden risks and opportunities to challenging confirmation bias, the conversation reveals how better questions lead to better decisions.

🎧 Listen now and read the blog: https://hubs.ly/Q04rsx480

Many organisations invest heavily in developing people, improving skills and strengthening performance management.

Yet despite good intentions, the results often fall short of expectations. Why?

What if one of the the biggest barriers to performance are the conditions people are expected to perform within?

Drawing on recent research from organisational psychology, performance science and workplace studies, this article explores questions that deserve more attention:

Do better results come from fixing people alone? Are organisations doing enough to fix the conditions around them too?

It's not an argument against learning and development. Far from it. It's a reminder that sustainable performance comes from the interaction between skills, environment, leadership, processes and team dynamics.

An evidence-based perspective on why performance can be far more complex than it first appears.

Read the full blog 👇
https://hubs.ly/Q04r6f1P0

AI has changed how quickly salespeople can access information, but it hasn't changed what customers value.

Every seller can now generate an account summary, research an industry/company, or draft an email in seconds with the help of AI. When the tools are the same, the information advantage disappears, and differentiation gets harder to find.

The sellers who still stand out are the ones who:

+ Understand the customer's world, not just their industry
+ Surface issues the customer hasn't fully recognised yet
+ Explore the business impact behind those issues
+ Build genuine commercial conversations instead of relying on scripted, generated ones

This is where SPIN Selling remains as relevant as ever.

Technology can help a seller prepare. It can't ask the right question at the right moment, understand the other sides’ emotions, or earn the trust that turns information into a decision.

As AI is becoming a common tool in sales, customer understanding is becoming rarer.

Human skill is the differentiator.

Download The Science Behind SPIN to discover the skills that make sellers successful in an AI-driven market 👇

https://hubs.ly/Q04p7fPJ0

Technical expertise is often what earns a seat at the table in industries like healthcare, manufacturing and high-tech. But on its own, it rarely wins the sale.

In one of our most popular episodes of Mastering Sales & Negotiations, Jane Banks, Founder and MD of Pure Valegro, explores why clinicians, engineers and subject matter experts can struggle to translate knowledge into commercial impact – and what organisations can do to close the gap.

From “parking expertise” to navigating complex stakeholder groups, the conversation is a practical look at what really drives sales effectiveness in technical environments.

🎧 Watch the full episode and read the insights 👇
https://hubs.ly/Q04mqWzV0

Book your spot at our upcoming SPIN Selling open event before time runs out ⌛

By joining our open events, you'll learn:
+ Proven methodologies that give you structured frameworks to improve sales
+ How to create genuine value in every conversation with customers
+ Practical skills that reduce objections and drive more meaningful advances

Our programmes combine theory with hands-on planning sessions, so you're applying what you learn immediately.

Grab your spot: https://hubs.ly/Q04kf9X-0

Founder-led selling works… until it doesn’t.

And most organisations realise too late. ⚠️

This week, Robin Hoyle and Will Ockenden unpack the big lessons from our recent conversation with Claus Klein Ipsen, Chairman at Peak Systems and long-time advisor to founder-led and VC-backed scale-ups.

In just a few minutes, they explore what really breaks when businesses try to scale sales and what to do instead.

Key takeaways 👇
✅ Why investment in your team’s skills and development is money well spent
✅ Systemising the sales process for maximum impact
✅ Get the culture right and the team will flourish

💡 Will brings both perspectives – founder and advisor – making this a practical, grounded discussion for leaders navigating growth.

🎧 Listen to the latest Quick Win episode: https://hubs.ly/Q04jJbYF0