Research & IP - Buying Cycle

In the 1970s, Huthwaite’s founder Neil Rackham and a team of 30 researchers conducted the first, and to this day, the only comprehensive observation-based study of sales excellence. The team spent over 12 years examining more than 35,000 sales calls in 23 countries conducted by the world’s leading sales organisations.

As a result, Rackham was able to identify the specific behaviours of successful sales people that are: 

• Observable
• Repeatable
• Teachable
• Measurable

It was these differentiating behaviours—not closing techniques or other questionable techniques—that separated excellent from average sellers and pioneered what today is know as consultative selling. Rackham’s findings gave rise to Huthwaite’s ground-breaking and now famous sales training models—including SPIN Selling^® and the Buying Cycle ^™.

These models and our approach to sales performance improvement are neither theory-based nor received wisdom. Rather, they are field-researched, field-validated and field-proven. Because they are rooted in genuine behavioural science, they are timeless.

Times, however, do change.  The selling environment grows increasingly competitive. Differentiation becomes ever more fleeting. So, Huthwaite continuously updates the application of our models and approach to reflect the realities of the evolving marketplace.  We seek always to apply fundamental behaviours to the current selling context.  In fact, we’ve even written a new book about selling in the age of commoditisation:  Escaping the Price-Driven Sale.

Learn more about our research and its application in the following sections:

White Papers

Videos

Books

Get more info on the Buying Cycle here .