{"product_id":"the-machine-a-radical-approach-to-the-design-of-the-sales-function-9781096000556","title":"The Machine: A Radical Approach to the Design of the Sales Function","description":"\u003cp\u003eDon't read this book if you're looking for an affirmation of the sales status quo. Roff-Marsh argues that the marketplace has changed dramatically since the evolution of the standard sales model and that radical change is being forced on organizations-like it or not!\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHere are just some of the radical changes that Roff-Marsh advocates (and sacred cows he slays) in this comprehensive and impeccably-argued treatise.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSalespeople should be inside, not in the field.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEngineers should perform necessary field sales activities.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRevenue should be the responsibility of Operations, not Sales.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSales should focus exclusively on the pursuit of new business.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOnly commercial relationships are truly important.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePersonal relationships are more likely to be the consequence of good commercial relationships than they are to be the cause of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSalespeople should be paid their market value in the form of a salary.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePiece-rate pay (commissions) should be eliminated in sales, just like it has been elsewhere.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSales performance should be mandatory, not optional.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSalespeople should be actively managed, and it should be a condition of their employment that they generate a commercially reasonable volume of new business.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSalespeople should not prospect.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe marketing department should be responsible for replenishing salespeople's opportunity queues daily.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe qualification of sales opportunities (or leads) destroys value\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003cbr\u003eSalespeople should be selling to your competitors' customers-not to folks who are actively looking for a new supplier. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Sales Development Rep role should be eliminated.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSDRs are one of many common examples of sub-optimization in sales environments. You increase the salesperson's win rate but you reduce the total volume of business won.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSalespeople should focus on selling programs, not products.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUnless a product is new and revolutionary, it should be packaged into a program of some kind (or it should be sold without salespeople).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eShut down your branch offices and open (fewer) distribution centers.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt's speed to customer that's important (not proximity).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Machine is a field guide for the executive who's prepared to wrestle sales away from autonomous field-based artisans in favor of a tightly synchronized team of specialists. Readers will embrace The Machine either to exploit the new sales order or to avoid falling victim to it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you employ salespeople and you're committed to the growth of your organization, you really should read this book.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Independently Published","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50634951131410,"sku":"9781096000556","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_2d151997-448e-4709-9237-00339ce0e5bc.jpg?v=1732825858","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-machine-a-radical-approach-to-the-design-of-the-sales-function-9781096000556","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}