Creating a Well-Designed Sales Playbook w/ Kevin Roach

The Manufacturing Executive · 23 Mar 2021 · 35m · Episode 41

What this episode covers

Kevin Roach, President of Harpak-ULMA, explains how his company developed a rigorous, buyer-centric sales playbook to replace ad-hoc selling. He details a five-stage process—Recognition, Determining Needs, Evaluating Options, Resolving Concerns, and Selection—that requires prospect activities to advance, ensuring alignment and preventing sales cycle elongation. Roach emphasizes integrating Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) into sales conversations to demonstrate financial value, while leveraging partners like Rockwell Automation and PTC to build smart, connected packaging equipment.

Mentioned

Companies
Harpak-ULMA, Rockwell Automation, PTC, Honeywell Intelligrated, SBC Sales Benchmark Index, DoubleCheck, TW Cutter, Epicore Software, Activint Solutions, Rockwell Software, GE Industrial Software, Gorilla 76

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Product Startup · 22m

    218: Best Sales Processes for Selling Hardware Products

    Wesleyne Whittaker, CEO of Transformed Sales, outlines a three-phase sales process for hardware startups: prospect, nurture, and close. She emphasizes that founders must extract their technical knowledge and educate potential buyers through multi-channel content, such as video and writing, to demonstrate value rather than competing on price. Whittaker advises using a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) entry point to build customer lifetime value and argues that price objections are actually failures to communicate product worth.

  • Being an Engineer · 56m

    S6E42 Ramzi Marjaba | From Idea to Approval: Persuasion for Engineers

    Ramzi Marjaba, founder of We the Sales Engineers and former Senior Solution Specialist at Keysight Technologies, explains how engineers can apply sales discovery frameworks like BANT to secure internal buy-in and external deals. He emphasizes that sales engineers at companies like Veeam Software and Pipeline Design & Engineering must diagnose root business needs rather than just presenting products, using empathy to navigate complex stakeholder dynamics. Marjaba argues that individual contributors must sell business outcomes, such as unlocking revenue or reducing risk, to justify investments in custom equipment or new ideas.

  • The Hardware Entrepreneur · 38m

    #047 - RERUN - How next-generation retail looks like, with Vibhu Norby of b8ta, USA

    Vibhu Norby, co-founder of b8ta, explains how his software-powered retail platform addresses the conflict of interest between hardware brands and traditional retailers. He details b8ta's four-step customer journey analytics—impressions, discovery, demo, and sales—and contrasts this with the slow, margin-heavy traditional retail model. Norby also discusses the validation process for b8ta, noting the mistake of failing to secure Letters of Intent, and shares lessons on planning for success to avoid operational bottlenecks during early scaling.

  • Product Startup · 29m

    141: Product Sales Process for Hardware Startups

    Scott Brogan, founder of Company Expert, explains how hardware startups can build a structured B2B sales process to sell to wholesalers and retailers. He emphasizes starting with clear goals, identifying target companies and key decision-makers, and leveraging the credibility of partners to accelerate growth. Brogan advises documenting objections, maintaining enthusiasm, and using storytelling to differentiate new brands from established competitors. The discussion covers the transition from conscious incompetence to unconscious competence in sales through repeated practice and process refinement.

  • Being an Engineer · 40m

    S6E10 Clint Biggs | Sales Engineering, Relationships, & Earning Potential

    Clint Biggs, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Testeract (formerly President of SOLUbit), discusses his 30+ year career in test engineering sales, including his tenure at National Instruments. He explains how Testeract uses standardized software frameworks to accelerate the development of custom automated test systems for industries ranging from consumer electronics to aerospace. Biggs emphasizes the importance of consultative selling, building genuine relationships over rigid processes, and aligning sales and engineering incentives to deliver value rather than just features.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by The Manufacturing Executive. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.