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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(391)
- News (33)
- Research (333)
- Multimedia (2)
- Faculty Publications (310)
- October 2024
- Article
How to Use Sales Assessments
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 2017
- Article
Getting Your Money's Worth: Improving Sales Compensation
- April–June 2015
- Article
It Doesn't Matter If Competitors Know Your Strategy
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.
- Article
Well Said: Why Articulating Your Strategy Can Set You Apart
Senior finance managers now operate in an altered c-suite landscape. The executives reporting to the CEO have doubled in the past 30 years, mostly an increase in functional specialists, not general managers responsible for cross-functional integration. Three decades... View Details
- Article
Why Reports of the Death of the Salesman Are Greatly Exaggerated
Keywords: Sales
Cespedes, Frank V. "Why Reports of the Death of the Salesman Are Greatly Exaggerated." Reuters.com (November 6, 2014).
- October 7, 2014
- Blog Post
How to Select Sales Managers Who Can Actually Manage.
Keywords: Sales
Cespedes, Frank V. "How to Select Sales Managers Who Can Actually Manage." HubSpot (October 7, 2014). http://blog.hubspot.com/sales/how-to-select-sales-managers-who-can-actually-manage.
- 2022
- Chapter
Coordinating Marketing and Sales in B2B Organizations
This chapter focuses on the topic of coordinating marketing and sales in Business-to-Business (B2B) organizations. It provides an historical overview, indicating that this is not a new issue facing firms, that the business press has outlined a recurring set of... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "Coordinating Marketing and Sales in B2B Organizations." In Handbook of Business-to-Business Marketing, edited by Gary L. Lilien and Rajdeep Grewal. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012.
- December 2008 (Revised October 2009)
- Case
Wal-Mart Stores in 2003 (Abridged Version)
Examines Wal-Mart's development over three decades and provides financial and descriptive detail of its domestic operations. In 2003, Wal-Mart's Supercenter business has surpassed its domestic business as the largest generator of revenues. Its international operation... View Details
Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Business Growth and Maturation; Competitive Advantage; Labor Unions; Operations; Global Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Gender; Retail Industry; United States
Cespedes, Frank V. "Wal-Mart Stores in 2003 (Abridged Version)." Harvard Business School Case 709-423, December 2008. (Revised October 2009.)
- December 2008 (Revised September 2009)
- Case
Cola Wars: Going Global
This case is meant to be used in conjunction with the extant "Cola Wars" case studies. It outlines the global positions of Pepsi and Coca-Cola as of 2008 in the soft drink market, and then provides an overview of their competitive situations in three markets: Mexico,... View Details
Keywords: Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Industry Structures; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Food and Beverage Industry; China; India; Mexico
Cespedes, Frank V. "Cola Wars: Going Global." Harvard Business School Case 709-451, December 2008. (Revised September 2009.)
- 2005
- Other Unpublished Work
Coordinating Sales and Marketing: Why, Why Not, and Now What?
Cespedes, Frank V. "Coordinating Sales and Marketing: Why, Why Not, and Now What?" 2005. (Presented and published by the Marketing Science Institute.)
- 1995
- Book
Managing Marketing Linkages
- 1995
- Book
Concurrent Marketing: Integrating Product, Sales, and Service
Cespedes, Frank V. Concurrent Marketing: Integrating Product, Sales, and Service. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1995.