GAP: Sell the distance between now and the goal.
Current state, Future state, the Gap between
GAP selling explained: diagnose the gap between a buyer's current and desired state, and size it, before you ever pitch.
What GAP is
GAP selling (Keenan) puts diagnosis first: map the buyer's current state, their desired future state, and the gap between them, then quantify that gap. The size of the gap, not your feature list, is what justifies the purchase.
Problem-led sales where reps tend to pitch too early and skip diagnosis.
GAP step by step
- Current state
The buyer's present situation, problems, root causes and their measurable impact.
- Future state
Where the buyer needs to be, defined in the same measurable terms.
- The gap
The distance between the two. A bigger, well-quantified gap creates the urgency and budget to close.
Coaching GAP live with Ringside
GAP's diagnose-before-you-pitch discipline maps cleanly to live coaching: encode your current-state and future-state questions as a custom Ringside framework and the coach will nudge you to finish diagnosis before you start presenting.
Put GAP in your reps' ear on every call.
Get startedFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between GAP selling and SPIN?
They are complementary. SPIN is a questioning technique; GAP is a diagnostic model. SPIN's implication and need-payoff questions are an effective way to surface and size the gap that GAP selling centres on.