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(378)
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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(378)
- News (26)
- Research (332)
- Multimedia (2)
- Faculty Publications (306)
- February 1991
- Teaching Note
Imperial Distributors, Inc. (B), Teaching Note
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Keywords: Distribution Industry
- October 1989
- Background Note
Key Interfaces
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Cespedes, Frank V. "Key Interfaces." Harvard Business School Background Note 590-054, October 1989.
- October 1988 (Revised November 2006)
- Background Note
Aspects of Sales Management: An Introduction
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Discusses certain general issues that affect sales-management requirements in most companies: 1) the nature of the salesperson's "boundary role" in the organization, and 2) the relevance and limits of compensation policies as a key means of affecting the salesperson's... View Details
Keywords: Salesforce Management
Cespedes, Frank V. "Aspects of Sales Management: An Introduction." Harvard Business School Background Note 589-061, October 1988. (Revised November 2006.)
- October 1988 (Revised November 1989)
- Case
Pepsi-Cola Fountain Beverage Division: Tea Breeze
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry
Cespedes, Frank V. "Pepsi-Cola Fountain Beverage Division: Tea Breeze." Harvard Business School Case 589-060, October 1988. (Revised November 1989.)
- February 1988
- Case
IBM Marketing Organization (B): Process
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Cespedes, Frank V. "IBM Marketing Organization (B): Process." Harvard Business School Case 588-061, February 1988.
- February 1988
- Case
General Electric: Customer Service
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships
Cespedes, Frank V. "General Electric: Customer Service." Harvard Business School Case 588-059, February 1988.
- June 1987 (Revised May 1992)
- Case
Carolina Power & Light Co.: Customer and Operating Services Group
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Cespedes, Frank V. "Carolina Power & Light Co.: Customer and Operating Services Group." Harvard Business School Case 587-179, June 1987. (Revised May 1992.)
- July 1986 (Revised February 1993)
- Case
Amerisource
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Cespedes, Frank V. "Amerisource." Harvard Business School Case 587-044, July 1986. (Revised February 1993.)
- January 1986 (Revised November 2006)
- Case
Peripheral Products Company: The 'Gray Market' for Disk Drives
By: Frank V. Cespedes
In mid-1985, the vice president of marketing for a large manufacturer of disk drives is considering how to deal with a growing "gray market" for his company's products. The case provides good background material on the evolution of gray markets throughout the disk... View Details
Keywords: Price; Growth and Development; Code Law; Leadership; Marketing; Distribution; Production; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Distribution Industry
Cespedes, Frank V. "Peripheral Products Company: The 'Gray Market' for Disk Drives." Harvard Business School Case 586-124, January 1986. (Revised November 2006.)
- April 1984 (Revised July 1985)
- Case
Springs Industries: Apparel Fabrics Division
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Keywords: Apparel and Accessories Industry
Cespedes, Frank V. "Springs Industries: Apparel Fabrics Division." Harvard Business School Case 584-143, April 1984. (Revised July 1985.)
- October 2024
- Article
How to Use Sales Assessments
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Judging a person’s fit for a sales job is complex, and research shows that managers greatly overrate their ability to predict someone’s performance on the basis of interviews. Hence, using assessments is a growing trend in sales hiring and training. This article... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "How to Use Sales Assessments." Top Sales Magazine (October 2024), 10–11.
- September 2024
- Article
Sales Coaching and Value Creation
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Despite the prevalence of “coachability” in firms’ stated hiring criteria, managers over-estimate the amount of time they actually devote to coaching their people. For example, research indicates that only 15% of sales managers even spend as much as 25% of their time... View Details
Keywords: Competency and Skills; Employee Relationship Management; Management Practices and Processes
Cespedes, Frank V. "Sales Coaching and Value Creation." Top Sales Magazine (September 2024), 20–21.
- December 2023
- Article
Looking Forward – To Better Strategy-Sales Coordination
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Business decisions are about tomorrow, not yesterday. A key to looking forward in most firms is the annual strategy meeting, where linking sales efforts with strategy is vital for implementation and profitable growth. But according to surveys, less than half of... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "Looking Forward – To Better Strategy-Sales Coordination." Top Sales Magazine (December 2023), 26–27.
- July 2023
- Teaching Note
Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 823-002. Belden manufactures devices such as switches, cables, adapters, and connectors. Faced with market changes, the firm initiated a new Enhanced Solutions Delivery (ESD) initiative. In November 2022 executives are evaluating the... View Details
- March 2021
- Teaching Note
Performance Improvement Consulting and Hi-R-Me: Making Sales Calls
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 819-043. This case study focuses on concepts, tools, and behaviors relevant to making sales calls along a typical progression with a prospect: from an initial phone call thru more in-depth discovery to a go/no-go meeting. The teaching... View Details
- September 2018
- Article
Assembling the Sales Team
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Data and analytical tasks have lengthened productivity ramp-up times in many sales contexts, making each hire a bigger sunk cost for a longer time. Most companies adopt two common practices: They hire on the basis of “experience” and/or look at their best reps and try... View Details
- Article
Sales Productivity, Not Just Sales Technology
By: Frank V. Cespedes
This article discusses the reasons behind the rapidly increasing investments in “Sales Enablement” (SE) technology, including the declining costs of that technology, a change in company cost structures, and a consequent shift in the focus of productivity improvements... View Details
- April–June 2015
- Article
It Doesn't Matter If Competitors Know Your Strategy
By: Frank V. Cespedes
It is difficult for people to implement what they don't understand. Yet, research indicates that, on average, more than 50% of employees in organizations say they do not understand their organization's strategy. Further, the percentage of people reporting ignorance of... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "It Doesn't Matter If Competitors Know Your Strategy." ThinkSales (April–June 2015), 10–11.