The Machine

The Machine is the working title of my upcoming book. I’m  posting drafts of each chapter here as I complete them. Please subscribe using the tab above so we can deliver each new chapter, steaming hot, to your inbox. And please comment. Your comments will make this a better book for everyone.

 

 

Section name	Overview
INTRODUCTION	Builds the case for change and identifies the assumptions that underpin each model: the current sales model and the new one proposed.
PART ONE	Introduces both the theory and the practical implications of Sales Process Engineering
1. After the revolution	Describes the new model from different stakeholders perspectives – providing understanding of end result (what it looks like)
2. Four principles (and how to win a boat race)	Explains the theoretical underpinnings of new model (how it works). Introduces four principles of SPE (uses boat as analogy to explain centralized scheduling)
3. Re-envisioning the sales function	Shows how the four principles of SPE lead naturally to the standard model described in chapter 1
4. The machine within the machine	Discusses how the sales function can be (and must be) integrated with the rest of the organization (this integration is a major benefit of the new model)
5. Three variations on the standard model	Shows how the four principles naturally produce three alternate models in different environments (indirect sales [via resellers], commodity sales and a micro business or start-up)
6. The end of commissions, targets and other artificial management stimulants	Why commissions and other management short-cuts don’t make sense in this environment (and, quite likely, in most modern environments)
PART TWO	Explains how to apply SPE in the reader’s particular organization
7. Formulating a plan	Preparing to implement SPE: the critical questions and how to answer them  (ensuring the proposed model makes economic sense)
8. Converting opportunities into sales	Designing the optimal procedure to convert sales opportunities into sales.
9. Generating sales opportunities	How to originate sales opportunities: a practical guide
10. Formulating a compelling market proposition	You cannot grow aggressively without a traffic-stopping proposition. But neither sales nor marketing have a broad-enough mandate to fix this problem.
11. The role of technology	The technology you need and the technology you don’t! SPE requires CRM but it causes the technology to be used by different people in a different way.
13. Managing the sales function	The new model has significant management implications. How to make the transition from management by feel to management by numbers.
APPENDICES	Additional content
Appendix 1	Sample articles from Justin’s blog
Appendix 2	You don’t have to go it alone