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Justin Roff-Marsh
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The Machine: A Radical Approach to the Design of the Sales Function Hardcover – October 20, 2015

by Justin Roff-Marsh (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 351 ratings
See all formats and editions
A silent revolution in salesIn The Machine, Justin Roff-Marsh shows readers how to follow the intrepid executives on three continents who have implemented his ideas over the last 15 years, building ridiculously efficient sales functions--and market-dominating enterprises--as a consequence.
Roff-Marsh calls these executives his silent revolutionaries.
This revolution has been brewing for a long time. For the last 20 years, organizations' ability to produce has overtaken their ability to sell, and, for at least as long, customers have unfailingly embraced every opportunity to avoid interacting with traditional field salespeople.
Applying the division of labor to sales might not seem controversial, but this innocent-sounding idea decimates the sales management orthodoxy and replaces it with a strange new world where sales is primarily an inside activity, where salespeople earn fixed salaries and focus their attention exclusively on selling conversations, where regional sales offices become redundant, and where marketing and engineering become seamlessly integrated with sales.
 The 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.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    244 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Greenleaf Book Group Press
  4. Publication date
    October 20, 2015
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1626342245
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1626342248
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"We doubled our top-line revenue in the year following our implementation of The Machine and are applying these same concepts to an international company we just acquired and seeing the same sort of gains in effectiveness."
--Aubrey Meador, President of ARCA

"The pioneering work of Justin Roff-Marsh in the design of effective sales 'machines' is, in my view, world leading. Organizations who ignore it in the connected, globally competitive twenty-first century do so at their peril."
--John Lyons, independent company director and coauthor of Marketing without Money

"There's no reason for the sales department to be the least predictable and most chaotic part of a company. The Machine offers a proven system for growing sales in an organized, consistent way."
--Andrew Warner, Founder of Mixergy

"In his provocative book, The Machine, Justin Roff-Marsh has thoughtfully and forcefully challenged the status quo as it pertains to the design of the sales function. Some readers will be angry, some dismissive, and a select few will be enlightened by this alternative approach."
--Mike Schleyhahn, President of Swagelok San Diego

"The Machine will challenge everything you know about the sales process! It makes a lot of sense, passes all logical tests, and in the end, might just keep you awake at night. I can attest that the ideas are valid and the payoffs real."
--Jeff Stuart, President of Hydra-Power Systems Inc.

"Justin's approach to addressing the tired structure of sales environments is nothing short of revolutionary. The Machine shows how to drive growth with a tightly synchronized machine, as an alternative to herding individual salespeople."
--Paul O'Dwyer, author and business growth coach

"Justin's book is a delight. Justin translates the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts to sales, demonstrating that there is a substantially better way to sell."
--Humberto R. Baptista, CEO of Vectis-Solutions and lecturer at TOC Schools

"As an operations guy, I'm driven by process, efficiency, and repeatability. The notion that the sales function is an art immune from the rigors of process has never sat well with me. The Machine shatters that myth."
--Marc Allman, COO of AMS Controls

"Justin Roff-Marsh gets to the root causes of underperforming sales quickly and succinctly. It is clear he knows sales inside and out and has thought deeply about the profession's problems. The book is both global in its implications for sales and practical in its applications for selling."
--Charles Coury, President of 9Wood

"We have worked with Justin and his team for the past seven months and I am continually impressed with the team's professionalism and knowledge."
--Jim O'Connell, President of Hotsy Pacific

About the Author

Justin Roff-Marsh is the founder of Ballistix and the developer of Sales Process Engineering. Ballistix builds highly efficient sales functions for organizations in North America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Sales Process Engineering is a radical approach to the design and management of sales functions. Roff-Marsh propagates his (generally controversial) ideas via his popular blog (salesprocessengineering.net) and via a busy international speaking schedule.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Greenleaf Book Group Press (October 20, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 244 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1626342245
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1626342248
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 351 ratings

About the author

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Justin Roff-Marsh

Justin Roff-Marsh

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Justin Roff-Marsh is a sales management radical.

He takes issue with the starting assumptions that underpin the traditional approach to sales management and, consequently, rails against standard practices like salespeople's autonomous mode of operation, commission-based compensation, salespeople's ownership of accounts and much, much more!

In place of the traditional approach, he advocates that the sales function should be a 'machine', featuring the division of labor, the centralization of everything other than critical field visits and a formal approach to management.

After school, Justin rejected an offer from an engineering college and, instead, opted to study classical ballet full-time. While he loved ballet, he didn't care for the lifestyle of a dancer so he changed direction again.

He achieved immediate financial success as commissioned insurance salesperson then progressed rapidly to sales management. Before leaving the insurance industry he ran a team of 100 salespeople.

His next stop was a financial-services start-up and it was there that he developed his radical approach to sales. This approach contributed to the rapid growth of The Hudson Institute (Australia) which, in turn, prompted Justin to pine for his own business.

He founded Ballistix as a direct-marketing agency some 20 years ago and subsequently added consulting services. Today, Ballistix has clients in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Justin emigrated to the USA in 2008 to lead Ballistix's growth there (and to hone his tennis game in the Californian sunshine!)

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
351 global ratings
This book does for sales what The Goal did for manufacturing
5 Stars
This book does for sales what The Goal did for manufacturing
Learning how to implement a sales process is one thing, but redefining an entire sales system is another. The teachings of this book have had amazing impact to our moral and more importantly, our bottom-line. This book has led our company to prosperity in following it's basic principles of 1. Centralized Scheduling, 2. Standardized Workflows, 2. Specialized Resources and 3. Formalized Management
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Top reviews from the United States

Samir Penkar
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly Written | Bold Ideas | Solid Guidance | Awesome Clarity of Thought
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2015
Verified Purchase
This book will challenge some of your deep rooted beliefs in sales and marketing. But at the same time it provides an step by step roadmap to transforming your sales function.

My first introduction to Sales Process Engineering(SPE) was when I watched an interview that Justin Roff-Marsh did for Mixergy sometime back - Mixergy provides business tips from proven entrepreneurs via interviews. Loved the clarity and the confidence with which Justin put forward his ideas. I have been following Justin Roff-Marsh ever since and I am so glad he published this book.

This book is a treat to read. In fact, it is a book to be studied not read. Justin lays out the inside-out sales model in great detail, fusing the Theory of Constraints with a powerful narrative and providing detailed guidance on how to implement this sales model. I also love the fact that Justin does not leave us with high level concepts, but takes it down to an implementation level. Justin is not shy to propose bold, controversial ideas. But these ideas are not hollow, they are backed by a sincere effort to explain the “Why” behind them. Case in point is Chapter 7: The End of Commissions, Bonuses and Other Artificial Management Stimulus. A highly controversial topic, but Justin brilliantly lays out his point of view.

When I usually read business books, I speed read some chapters that don’t appeal to me or sometimes I even skip them. No so with The Machine. In fact I had to pay extra attention to what I was reading so that I could absorb the concepts and at times very curious to know where this was going. This book is a guide for entrepreneurs, sales and marketing leaders who wish to grow their business in today’s marketplace.

For marketing leaders this book should an eye opener. The hard work involved in crafting effective promotions, the illusive nature of CRM benefits and the ever challenging question on how to qualify leads for sales are some of the topics Justin tackles head-on in this book. I can already visualize how our firms’ marketing and sales can function in this new model. The book has the capacity to paint that vivid picture for you.

I hope and trust that you learn more about these concepts of Sales Process Engineering (SPE) and I would highly encourage you to read this book. Have you ever bought a new car and then suddenly you start seeing the same model at every corner of the road? Similarly after you have read The Machine, you will not be able to see a traditional sales and marketing function without the SPE lens.

Thank you Justin!
Your years of knowledge, passion and experience exuded from every chapter of this book.
5 people found this helpful
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David Paspa
5.0 out of 5 stars I particularly liked how Mr
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2015
Verified Purchase
This book is profoundly comprehensive in dealing with its subject matter, covering every aspect from the details of a phone call to a customer for a specific purpose all the way up through the organisation to the strategic responsibilities of boardroom management. The well reasoned advice and specific do's and don'ts makes it crystal clear that Mr. Roff-Marsh has practiced what he preaches over many years and with many and varied companies and honed his approach into a proven business transformation methodology. I completely agree with another reviewer here that the book touches on much more than just sales.

I already had some knowledge of Theory of Constraints (TOC) which helped a lot, but this book lays out a particularly lucid path on how to implement Sales Process Engineering (SPE). Many books on TOC do not go as far with the nuances of the specific actions to take, and in which order, to ensure you begin to see the desired effects. I particularly liked how Mr. Roff-Marsh broadened the discussion by tying in the consequences of all manner of developments which have occurred since the Industrial Revolution and which explain why some of the things we take for granted are the way they are, not necessarily the way they should be.

The style of writing comes across as highly educated and the book flows extremely well from one subject to another. I really enjoyed reading it and I actually found a few passages "exciting" to see how they would turn out. Not the case studies, which might usually be the case, but the actual description of the process engineering steps themselves!

Mr. Roff-Marsh is very explicit on what is the "right" way and the "wrong" way which sat comfortably with me because the reasoned cause and effect logic is hard to argue with. Even though it seems just like common sense, it takes a strong vision and a firm approach to overcome inertia and implement real and lasting organisational change when there are many stakeholders involved. You won't have much luck sitting on the fence and there is none in this book. Consequently everything is specific and actionable.

I've seen sales done the traditional way (and done it myself when I had to) but after reading this book I can't imagine doing so again. With the SPE knowledge laid out in the book, not just what it is but how to do it, it would simply be illogical to persist with the traditional approach because the cause and effect relationships from your actions are completely missing. That is perhaps the most powerful part of the SPE approach. Everybody can see the effects of their actions and how their particular actions contribute to the whole system, including the fulfillment side of the business!

So, even if you've only read half this far, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The length of this review is testament to how much time I'm prepared to invest in promoting it. I consider Mr. Roff-Marsh a thought leader in his field and the knowledge he shares in this book is worth its cover charge plus your small time investment multiplied by thousands.
24 people found this helpful
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bruce fisher
4.0 out of 5 stars a book that makes you think
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2021
Verified Purchase
I wasn’t sure what to expect upon opening this book. It truly is a different approach to managing a business by integrating the sales function into the mainstream of a company’s activities. Very thought provoking and challenges basic assumptions about sales but just as important how an enterprise should be managed to make money.
One person found this helpful
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Kim Cuizon
5.0 out of 5 stars Lifechanging!
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2024
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Everything I questioned in a building an effective team were answered in this book! Marvelous insights that no business school ever taught me
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Scott Marker
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a fantastic book ahead of its time in changes that needed to be made in B2B sales.
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2020
Verified Purchase
Justin Roff-Marsh is a pioneer of trying to change not only the way B2B sales are done at most companies but also the way they are compensated.

In Justin Roff-Marsh’s experience, some of the best people at sales are technical people that won’t want a title that would associate them as being in sales, of any type. These types of people also do not want to work on commission.

Justin found that many of the top salespeople at the companies that he researched and/or consulted with had traits of aggressive, border-line obnoxious, behavior. The exact opposite of what most clients would want to interact with.

Justin Roff-Marsh's insights are very refreshing to hear, and his overall view of compensation of salespeople. Even the role of a salesperson in a company should be radically changed and I couldn’t believe how it mirrored my own experience. He gives examples of ways to run sales that avoid many of the traditional pitfalls of B2B sales.

A great book that is still relevant today in 2020 and beyond!
3 people found this helpful
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Gregory P. Pace
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2017
Verified Purchase
Great start, then a bit flat. You can do what the author wants with unlimited capital
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Top reviews from other countries

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Nancy
5.0 out of 5 stars Fue un regalo
Reviewed in Mexico on May 16, 2022
Verified Purchase
Le gustó
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Graeme F.
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and thought provoking
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2022
Verified Purchase
Really great read - interesting and workable sales process reengineering
- highly recommended
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Samuel L.
5.0 out of 5 stars Eye-opening and very hands-on
Reviewed in Germany on December 4, 2020
Verified Purchase
It was a great great, and many very applicable ideas and concept to use in my daily work. You can really see that the author knows what he is talking about and roots his book in experience. Great for anybody that wants to transform their sales model!
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Jean Noelting
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on June 4, 2018
Verified Purchase
Superb book on the commercial side of the business; bought it for the whole management team
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scyther
5.0 out of 5 stars A complex process yet very well written and easy to read
Reviewed in India on October 3, 2017
Verified Purchase
Must read for anyone starting out their career in sales. A bonus for tech entrepreneurs to know which skills to look for while hiring a sales manager.
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