Neil Rackham
Neil Rackham is a world-renowned author, speaker, and pioneering thinker in sales strategy, consultative selling, and marketing effectiveness. He is the Founder and former CEO of Huthwaite, a global consultancy recognized for its research-driven approach to sales performance and negotiation training. Rackham is best known as the creator of the SPIN Selling methodology, introduced in his seminal book SPIN Selling. Widely regarded as a classic in sales literature, the book is a staple of business school curricula worldwide and has been translated into more than 30 languages. The SPIN framework fundamentally reshaped modern sales by emphasizing customer-centric questioning, value creation, and consultative engagement rather than transactional selling. Rackham’s work has influenced how organizations build high-performing sales teams and structure complex sales conversations. Over the course of his career, he has served as a trusted advisor and consultant to executives and board members at more than 40 Fortune 500 companies, helping organizations improve sales effectiveness, negotiation outcomes, and long-term customer relationships. In addition to his consulting work, Rackham is a respected academic and thought leader. He has held visiting professor appointments at leading institutions including the University of Sheffield, Cranfield School of Management, and the University of Portsmouth.
Neil Rackham Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Author
Academic History
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B.A., Psychology
EXPERTISE & CONSULTING
Neil Rackham first gained international recognition in the 1970s when he led what is widely regarded as the largest and most rigorous research study ever conducted on successful selling and sales effectiveness.
Throughout his career, Rackham has served as a trusted advisor to executives and board members at more than 40 Fortune 500 companies, including IBM, Xerox, AT&T, Citicorp, General Electric, Microsoft, and Oracle.
He has also advised leading professional services firms such as KPMG, Booz Allen Hamilton, and McKinsey & Company, where he acted as an external advisor on sales strategy, negotiation, and channel management.
Rackham’s academic contributions are equally significant. He has been a guest or visiting lecturer at many of the world’s top business schools, including Harvard Business School, the Wharton School, Kellogg School of Management, Darden School of Business, Kelley School of Business, Ohio University, and Purdue University.
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Neil Rackham is recognized as one of the most influential figures in sales performance and sales methodology.
He has advised Fortune 100 companies on improving sales effectiveness, and today more than half of Fortune 500 organizations train their sales teams using models derived from his research.
Over a 12-year period, Rackham led a global research team that observed and analyzed more than 35,000 sales calls across 23 countries, uncovering data-driven insights that challenged traditional sales assumptions and informed his groundbreaking frameworks.
Rackham is especially renowned for pioneering consultative selling techniques, most notably through the development of the SPIN Selling methodology, which remains one of the most widely adopted and empirically validated sales frameworks in the world.
PUBLICATIONS
Rackham is the author of several of the most influential books ever written on sales strategy and sales effectiveness.
His groundbreaking classic SPIN Selling, published by McGraw-Hill, is the publisher’s best-selling business book of all time, has been translated into more than 30 languages, and is widely used in business schools and corporate sales training programs around the world.
He is also the author of Major Account Sales Strategy, a foundational work on managing complex, high-value enterprise sales, as well as Rethinking the Sales Force, a critically acclaimed book that is required reading at many leading business schools.
His additional works include Managing Major Sales and Getting Partnering Right. Collectively, Rackham’s books regularly rank among global business bestsellers and have been published in over 50 languages.