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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,416)
- People (4)
- News (410)
- Research (1,772)
- Events (4)
- Multimedia (13)
- Faculty Publications (1,058)
- 17 Feb 2023
- News
Sales Management That Works with Frank Cespedes
- 02 Sep 2024
- News
Sales Management That Works with Frank Cespedes
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 2021
- Book
Sales Management That Works: How to Sell in a World That Never Stops Changing
Selling is changing, but the impact on sales of megatrends like ecommerce, big data, and AI is often misunderstood and not supported by empirical data. Managers who fail to separate fact from hype will make decisions based on bad assumptions and, in a competitive... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. Sales Management That Works: How to Sell in a World That Never Stops Changing. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2021.
- April 2021
- Article
The Effects of Quota Frequency: Sales Performance and Product Focus
By: Doug J. Chung, Das Narayandas and Dongkyu Chang
This study investigates the comprehensive and multidimensional effects of quota (goal) frequency on sales force performance. We develop a theory of salespeople’s behavior—aggregate effort and the product type focus—in response to the temporal length of a sales-quota... View Details
Keywords: Sales Force Compensation; Field Experiment; Quotas; Quota Frequency; Commissions; Bonuses; Goals; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Goals and Objectives; Behavior; Performance
Chung, Doug J., Das Narayandas, and Dongkyu Chang. "The Effects of Quota Frequency: Sales Performance and Product Focus." Management Science 67, no. 4 (April 2021): 2151–2170.
- November 1980 (Revised June 1986)
- Case
Quaker Oats Co.: Field Sales Force Strategy and Management
Schubert, Lynda A. "Quaker Oats Co.: Field Sales Force Strategy and Management." Harvard Business School Case 581-061, November 1980. (Revised June 1986.)
- May 2011
- Case
Baria Planning Solutions, Inc.: Fixing the Sales Process
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and William Schmidt
Baria Planning Solutions (BPS) is a consulting firm that specializes in using spend analysis to help companies identify savings through reduced procurement costs and improved supplier performance. Management is concerned about the disappointing performance of the sales... View Details
Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Technology; Operations Management; Product Lines; Manufacturing; Capacity Planning; Production Planning; Production; Management Practices and Processes; Service Operations; Supply Chain Management; Salesforce Management; Planning; Consulting Industry; North and Central America
Wheelwright, Steven C., and William Schmidt. "Baria Planning Solutions, Inc.: Fixing the Sales Process." Harvard Business School Brief Case 114-568, May 2011.
- April 2006 (Revised April 2012)
- Background Note
The Company Sale Process
Lays out the steps, the timeline, and the process by which a company is sold. Focuses on the sale of companies with enterprise values greater than $100 million. These transactions are large enough to require the help of a financial adviser and attract both strategic... View Details
Fruhan, William E., Jr. "The Company Sale Process." Harvard Business School Background Note 206-108, April 2006. (Revised April 2012.)
- 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.
- 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
- 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.)
- 2014
- Other Teaching and Training Material
Marketing Reading: Sales Force Design and Management (Teaching Note)
By: Doug J. Chung and Das Narayandas
Chung, Doug J., and Das Narayandas. "Marketing Reading: Sales Force Design and Management (Teaching Note)." Core Curriculum Readings Series. Boston: Harvard Business Publishing 8216, 2014.
- May 2023
- Article
Where Sales Technology (Really) Helps
Interest in Sales Enablement (SE), the catch-all term for attempts to increase sales productivity with AI and other technologies, is driven by multiple factors. One is the declining costs of the tools. Also, selling is now data-hungry work and not just in tech sectors.... View Details
- April 2008
- Case
Campbell and Bailyn's Boston Office: Managing the Reorganization
By: Anne Donnellon and Dun Gifford Jr
Ken Winston, the regional sales manager at a securities brokerage firm, has reorganized his generalist salespeople into Key Account Teams (KAT) to increase sales of specialized, higher-margin fixed income products. Winston is also implementing a new corporate... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Fixed Costs; Group Dynamics; Human Resource Management; Compensation; Matrix Organization; Sales; Leading Teams; Management; Leadership; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Groups and Teams; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Financial Services Industry; Boston
Donnellon, Anne, and Dun Gifford Jr. "Campbell and Bailyn's Boston Office: Managing the Reorganization." Harvard Business School Brief Case 082-182, April 2008.
- January 2017 (Revised September 2017)
- Case
Sales Razor Technologies
By: Paul Gompers and Noam Wasserman
Describes the issues facing a founder-CEO regarding building a board of directors, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing system development work. View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Conflict Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Employees; Management Teams; Product Development; Technology Industry
Gompers, Paul, and Noam Wasserman. "Sales Razor Technologies." Harvard Business School Case 217-040, January 2017. (Revised September 2017.)
- October 2013 (Revised April 2015)
- Case
Myomo: Getting Sales in Motion
By: Frank V. Cespedes, Shikhar Ghosh and Matthew Preble
In late 2012, the management team of Myomo, a startup which had designed a unique myoelectric arm brace for patients with dysfunctional arms, was deciding which of the three sales models the company had tested to pursue as its sales strategy going forward. Each model... View Details
Keywords: Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Care and Treatment; Business Startups; Sales; Growth and Development Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry
Cespedes, Frank V., Shikhar Ghosh, and Matthew Preble. "Myomo: Getting Sales in Motion." Harvard Business School Case 814-034, October 2013. (Revised April 2015.)
- 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.