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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(35,615)
- People (85)
- News (12,003)
- Research (14,907)
- Events (472)
- Multimedia (1,589)
- Faculty Publications (12,313)
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- October 2023
- Article
Finding New Business and Developing Relevant Sales Capabilities
There are few alternatives to growth for most companies. It’s the rare firm whose goal involves getting smaller and, for employees, there is a strong correlation between their company’s growth rate, promotion opportunities, and job satisfaction. But a growth strategy... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "Finding New Business and Developing Relevant Sales Capabilities." Top Sales Magazine (October 2023), 24–25.
- April 2014
- Article
The Cost of High-Powered Incentives: Employee Gaming in Enterprise Software Sales
By: Ian Larkin
This paper investigates the pricing distortions that arise from the use of a common non-linear incentive scheme at a leading enterprise software vendor. The empirical results demonstrate that salespeople are adept at gaming the timing of deal closure to take advantage... View Details
Keywords: Incentives; Motivation; Compensation; Gaming; Sales Force Management; Motivation and Incentives; Salesforce Management; Software; Compensation and Benefits; Information Technology Industry
Larkin, Ian. "The Cost of High-Powered Incentives: Employee Gaming in Enterprise Software Sales." Journal of Labor Economics 32, no. 2 (April 2014): 199–227.
- 2024
- Working Paper
Fire Sales of Safe Assets
By: Gabor Pinter, Emil Siriwardane and Danny Walker
We use trade-level data to study price pressure effects in the UK gilt market from September to October 2022. During this period, forced sales by liability-driven investment funds (LDIs) led to price discounts on the order of 10%, accounting for roughly half the total... View Details
Pinter, Gabor, Emil Siriwardane, and Danny Walker. "Fire Sales of Safe Assets." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-015, September 2024.
- January 2019 (Revised February 2020)
- Case
Roush Performance: How to Design a Sales Force Compensation Plan
By: Doug J. Chung
Roush Performance manufactured and marketed factory-modified performance vehicles and high-end aftermarket automotive performance parts. Since its inception, Roush Performance had focused on building its engineering technology competency and diversifying its product... View Details
Keywords: Sales Force Management; Motivation; Compensation; Salary; Commissions; Bonuses; Quotas; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives
Chung, Doug J. "Roush Performance: How to Design a Sales Force Compensation Plan." Harvard Business School Case 519-066, January 2019. (Revised February 2020.)
- Article
New Sales Realities
Business leaders need to understand that it’s the fit of People, Process, Pricing, and Partners that drives sales effectiveness. As firms confront new buying processes, required sales competencies affect hiring, training, and development (People). Without a coherent... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "New Sales Realities." International Journal of Sales Transformation 7.1 (April 2021): 26–27.
- 2020
- Article
A Practical Approach to Sales Compensation: What Do We Know Now? What Should We Know in the Future?
By: Doug J. Chung, Byungyeon Kim and Niladri B. Syam
Personal selling represents one of the most important elements in the marketing mix, and appropriate management of the sales force is vital to achieving the organization’s objectives. Among the various instruments of sales management, compensation plays a pivotal role... View Details
Keywords: Sales Compensation; Sales Management; Sales Strategy; Principal-agent Theory; Structural Econometrics; Field Experiments; Machine Learning; Artificial Intelligence; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; AI and Machine Learning
Chung, Doug J., Byungyeon Kim, and Niladri B. Syam. "A Practical Approach to Sales Compensation: What Do We Know Now? What Should We Know in the Future?" Foundations and Trends® in Marketing 14, no. 1 (2020): 1–52.
- May 2016 (Revised June 2017)
- Case
Sales Compensation Vignettes
This case study is comprised of two vignettes about startup companies considering whether and how to change their sales compensation plans. ElMenus.com is a restaurant app venture in Egypt seeking to lower customer churn while confronting new competition. BigBelly is a... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "Sales Compensation Vignettes." Harvard Business School Case 816-092, May 2016. (Revised June 2017.)
- March 2017
- Teaching Note
Sales Compensation Vignettes
This Teaching Note supports the case study comprising two vignettes about startup companies considering whether and how to change their sales compensation plans. The case allows students to compare and contrast the objectives, structure, and process of sales incentives... View Details
- February 2017
- Article
Rethinking Sales Compensation
Compensation is probably the most discussed aspect of sales and the single biggest portion of the more than $900 billion that U.S. companies alone spend annually on sales efforts. But research indicates that less than 10% of companies believe that their sales incentive... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "Rethinking Sales Compensation." Top Sales Magazine (February 2017).
- 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
- Article
Channel Integration, Sales Dispersion, and Inventory Management
By: Santiago Gallino, Antonio Moreno and Ioannis Stamatopoulos
We study the effects of the introduction of cross-channel functionalities on the overall sales dispersion of retailers and the implications of these effects for inventory management. To do that, we analyze data from a leading U.S. retailer who introduced a... View Details
Keywords: Retail Operations; Online Retail; Channel Integration; Sales Dispersion; Long Tail; Empirical Operations; Inventory Management; Omnichannel Retail; Marketing Channels; Integration; Sales; Logistics; Operations; Management; Retail Industry
Gallino, Santiago, Antonio Moreno, and Ioannis Stamatopoulos. "Channel Integration, Sales Dispersion, and Inventory Management." Management Science 63, no. 9 (September 2017): 2813–2831.
- October 1988 (Revised November 2006)
- Background Note
Aspects of Sales Management: An Introduction
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.)
- Article
Sales Methodologies and Selling
Sales methodologies play an important role. A common approach in a sales force allows for consistency, dissemination of best practices, acceleration of learning, and it helps the firm to scale because management then has common metrics to monitor and evaluate. However,... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "Sales Methodologies and Selling." Top Sales Magazine (November 2019), 26–27.
- August 2021
- Article
Improving Sales Hiring
Sales hiring presents inherent challenges not found to the same extent in talent management in other functional areas. Moreover, common hiring practices make a tough job needlessly harder. This article suggests practical ways to improve sales hiring: Hire for the Task,... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "Improving Sales Hiring." Top Sales Magazine (August 2021), 20–21.
- July 2012
- Case
El Paso's Sale to Kinder Morgan
By: John Coates, Clayton Rose and David Lane
On October 16, 2011, El Paso agreed to sell itself to Kinder Morgan for just over $21 billion. Shareholders filed suit, arguing that the process was tainted by conflict and that a higher price could be obtained. Delaware Chancellor Leo Strine agreed with the plaintiffs... View Details
Keywords: El Paso; Kinder Morgan; Goldman Sachs; Leo Strine; Conflicts Of Interest; Corporate Governance; Relationships; Lawsuits and Litigation; Energy Industry; Banking Industry; United States
Coates, John, Clayton Rose, and David Lane. "El Paso's Sale to Kinder Morgan." Harvard Business School Case 313-021, July 2012.
- December 2019
- Article
Brokers and Order Flow Leakage: Evidence from Fire Sales
By: Andrea Barbon, Marco Di Maggio, Francesco Franzoni and Augustin Landier
Using trade-level data, we study whether brokers play a role in spreading order flow information. We focus on large portfolio liquidations, which result in temporary drops in stock prices, and identify the brokers that intermediate these trades. We show that these... View Details
Keywords: Predatory Trading; Back Running; Fire Sales; Brokers; Stocks; Price; Information; Knowledge Dissemination; Ethics
Barbon, Andrea, Marco Di Maggio, Francesco Franzoni, and Augustin Landier. "Brokers and Order Flow Leakage: Evidence from Fire Sales." Journal of Finance 74, no. 6 (December 2019): 2707–2749. (LEAD ARTICLE.)
- Article
The Business of Business Schools: Restoring a Focus on Competing to Win
By: Robert Simons
As business leaders worry about the decline of American competitiveness, business schools are responding by changing their curriculums. But are the topics and approaches taught in today's business schools part of the solution or part of the problem? In this paper, I... View Details
Keywords: Business Schools; Purpose Of Business Schools; Management Education; Business School Curriculum; Strategy Execution; U.S. Competitiveness; Capitalism; Management Profession; Innovation; Competing To Win; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Trends; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Making; Design; Business Education; Curriculum and Courses; Innovation and Management
Simons, Robert. "The Business of Business Schools: Restoring a Focus on Competing to Win." Art. 2. Capitalism and Society 8, no. 1 (January 2013).
- March 1992 (Revised July 1993)
- Case
Sale of Semi-Gas Systems (A)
Goodman, John B. "Sale of Semi-Gas Systems (A)." Harvard Business School Case 792-040, March 1992. (Revised July 1993.)
- March 1992 (Revised July 1993)
- Supplement
Sale of Semi-Gas Systems (B)
Goodman, John B. "Sale of Semi-Gas Systems (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 792-041, March 1992. (Revised July 1993.)
- January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
- Case
Commercial Sales Transformation at Microsoft
By: Doug J. Chung
Industry leaders should adapt to changes in the business context and consider different ways to grow. Advances in technology had shifted software demand to the cloud. As a result, Microsoft announced a strategic shift in direction from its existing ‘Windows first’... View Details
Chung, Doug J. "Commercial Sales Transformation at Microsoft." Harvard Business School Case 519-054, January 2019. (Revised October 2019.)