Sales Force Retention - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Apr 2000
News

Rethinking Call Centers: Effective Delivery of Service is Key

that recent literature has discussed "various ways to steer customer interactions to sale opportunities," the authors assert that the topic of effective service delivery has almost entirely been overlooked. "Before being able to generate... View Details

01 Sep 2013
News

Passion & Purpose

expertise in technology was helpful because I didn't have preconceived notions of how things should be done.” Lee transformed a struggling software sales company into a global provider of IT products and services. Under her leadership,... View Details

Keywords: awards; Finance; Computer Systems Design and Related Services; Professional Services; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

26 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

Yes, You Can Raise Prices in a Downturn

moment of truth, and success breeds attention and willingness to implement. Ben Shapiro: Then look at incentives. Pricing to reflect value-adding performance while paying the sales force for volume rarely... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail; Consumer Products

Samuel M. Walton

1987, Wal-Marts numbered over 1,000 and had sales of $14 billion. Gaining momentum from the success of Wal-Mart, Walton created the highly successful bulk food store chain, Sam’s Wholesale Club, which also earned revenues in the billions.... View Details

Keywords: Retail

14 Nov 2016
Op-Ed

5 Lessons I Hope Marketers Don’t Learn from Donald Trump

dreams of consumers, because a brand that’s built on such appeals will find it hard to grow to be a source of pride. Apparently misogyny, xenophobia, and contempt for the disabled have worked as customer acquisition tools for soon-to-be President Trump. But will they... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Deighton

03 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Why Fierce Competitors Apple and Amazon Became ’Frenemies’ Over eReaders

Let's get one thing straight from the start: Apple and Amazon are not friends. If they were high school students, they'd be mean girls glaring at each other from opposite sides of the cafeteria, jealously forcing their friends to pick... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Information; Publishing; Technology

25 Aug 2022
News

Case Study: Sound Check

Hoffman-Senn. The founders have questions about a leap like this: How would they adapt to the sales cycles? How or when would larger clients affect their staffing structure and self-service platform? Are these worries even warranted?... View Details

Keywords: Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

22 Jul 2014
Blog Post

From FIELD to Field, Putting What I’ve Learned at HBS into Practice

case protagonist’s shoes, trying to understand the motivations, pressures, and stakeholders influencing his/her decision making, I found myself standing in the shoes of our sales captains, sellers, and buyers. I View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technology

01 Jun 2016
News

Feedback

food, the health and safety of its consumers will fare better as well. All countries maintain their social fabric through food and family. Doug realized early on that food is fun, and food drives community and wellness. Enormous business opportunities had to follow... View Details

01 Dec 2003
News

Flex Time

sophisticated communication systems that include detailed weekly reports from UCC’s sales force and senior managers. As long as her days may be — talking on the phone with customers, following up on issues... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing

02 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Stories 2007

retention in this Q&A. Making the Move to General Manager Managers face a critical transition when they rise from functional expert to general manager. It's an exciting shift but it's also fraught with pitfalls. A new executive... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Web

Boston Manufacturing Company Records | Baker Library

the Boston Associates. The company operated the first mill in the world to combine all aspects of the manufacture of cotton cloth under one roof. The company built its labor force by contracting with individual New England farm girls, who... View Details

25 Jan 2011
First Look

First Look: Jan. 25

historically important and increasingly popular mechanism for encouraging innovation. A central concern in designing innovation contests is how many competitors to admit. Using a unique data set of 9,661 software contests, we provide evidence of two coexisting and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Dec 2022
News

Case Study: Your Call Is Important to Us

appealing, then boosting the company’s sales and marketing capacity and acquisition tactics to suit each industry. The biggest challenge with this approach, Sambvani explains, is having enough resources for the View Details

Keywords: Computer Systems Design and Related Services; Professional Services

10 Mar 2021
News

Vision: A Unicorn Evolves

“I realized that it’s not about the idea; it’s about the team,” Medina recalls of those early days. It was a revelation that would serve him well. Medina soon joined forces with product designer Andrew Kinzer and enrolled in the... View Details

Keywords: April White; entrepreneurship; technology; startups; leadership

18 Jul 2006
First Look

First Look: July 18, 2006

Working PapersNone available this week Cases & Course MaterialsThe Company Sale Process Author:William E. Fruhan Jr. Harvard Business School Note 206-108 Lays out the steps, timeline, and process by which a company is sold.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

Marketing Wine to the World

activities differ as well, as creating and marketing a wine brand typically diverges from the approach used to develop a beer label. Finally, sales force synergies appear minimal, as a single View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation; Food & Beverage

04 Jan 2021
What Do You Think?

How Do We Sustain Organization Diversity?

successes, the distraction of a later effort to improve gender diversity, the disproportionate number of Black employees laid off in a major downsizing, a drop in the number of Black candidates in the pipeline, and weak retention of those... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

03 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Marketing Your Way Through a Recession

your weaker distributors and upgrade your sales force by recruiting those sacked by other companies. 6. Adjust pricing tactics. Customers will be shopping around for the best deals. You do not necessarily... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

14 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

Keeping Your Balance With Customers

market segments. Likewise, for many years, Chemical Bank (now Chase) cultivated relationships with unprofitable customers for the same reason. Most organizations view the sale purely as a transaction and then lose touch with the customer,... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

Publications