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- All HBS Web (255)
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- August 1983 (Revised May 2007)
- Case
Milford Industries (A)
By: Robert J. Dolan and Benson P. Shapiro
The new district sales manager for a tool company must determine how to get his district "back on track." The case presents various qualitative and quantitative information on the salespeople. Teaching objectives include the specification of the tasks of a district... View Details
Keywords: Managerial Roles; Salesforce Management; Resignation and Termination; Performance Evaluation
Dolan, Robert J., and Benson P. Shapiro. "Milford Industries (A)." Harvard Business School Case 584-012, August 1983. (Revised May 2007.)
- February 1985 (Revised July 1993)
- Case
Puritan Drug Co.
David Thomas takes his first sales management assignment and is faced with a sales rep revolt because of a possible territory reorganization. In addition, his sales division is performing well below the national average. Rewritten version of a case by R.Z. Sorenson. View Details
Keywords: Salesforce Management; Conflict and Resolution; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Retail Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry
Moriarty, Rowland T., Jr. "Puritan Drug Co." Harvard Business School Case 585-158, February 1985. (Revised July 1993.)
- November 2017
- Teaching Note
Reinventing Best Buy
By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth
Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-455.
On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales.... View Details
Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Technology; Hardware; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Search Technology; Software; Web; Web Sites; Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul
- August 2017 (Revised November 2017)
- Case
VTS
By: Mark Roberge and Michael Roberts
The case raises issues around sales force deployment and management issues in the SaaS industry. Specifically, VTS sells a software product to the real estate industry and has designed a Go-to-Market strategy for what the founders perceive to be the unique... View Details
- March 1997 (Revised November 2013)
- Case
Purity Steel Corporation, 2012
By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila
Managers introduce a new performance evaluation system based on sales growth and return-on-investment (ROI). A branch manager wonders whether his new warehouse should be leased to mitigate the impact on ROI. Formulas and performance calculations are provided. A... View Details
Keywords: Investment Return; Judgments; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Efficiency; Compensation and Benefits; Salesforce Management; Performance Consistency; Performance Productivity; Steel Industry
Simons, Robert L., and Antonio Davila. "Purity Steel Corporation, 2012." Harvard Business School Case 197-082, March 1997. (Revised November 2013.)
- November 2022
- Teaching Note
Proximie: Using XR Technology to Create Borderless Operating Rooms
By: Ariel D. Stern, Alpana Thapar and Menna Hassan
Founded by Nadine Hachach-Haram in 2016, Proximie was a digital medicine platform that used mixed reality and a host of digital audio and visual tools to enable clinicians, proctors, and medical device company personnel to be virtually present in operating rooms (ORs),... View Details
- March 2011 (Revised June 2011)
- Supplement
Arck Systems (D)
By: Ian Larkin
The Arck Systems series of cases describes the dilemmas faced by a senior sales manager in determining a sales compensation plan at an enterprise software company. The existing compensation plan is aggressive and highly rewards "star" performers. The cases track a... View Details
Larkin, Ian. "Arck Systems (D)." Harvard Business School Supplement 911-059, March 2011. (Revised June 2011.)
- 22 Jul 2002
- Research & Ideas
Is Performance-Based Pricing the Right Price for You?
the last major consumer packaged goods advertiser to stay with a 15 percent fee, is moving in this new direction. It is sometimes a pragmatic pathway to managing risk, uncertainty, and performance for the long-term benefit of both... View Details
- 06 Jun 2018
- Research & Ideas
Cut Salaries or Cut People? The Best Way to Survive a Downturn
literature in economics on why firms tend not to cut people’s pay,” says Stanton, an applied economist who is an assistant professor in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at HBS. “We can actually measure the consequences.” A ‘natural... View Details
Keywords: by Rachel Layne
- March 2015 (Revised December 2016)
- Case
Philips Healthcare Latin America
By: Sunil Gupta
On a beautiful sunny afternoon in October 2013, Daniel Mazon (GMP 15), decided to take some time out of his busy schedule of the General Management Program (GMP) at the Harvard Business School to reflect on his company's situation. Mazon was the Vice President and... View Details
Keywords: Healthcare; Latin America; Organizational Structure; Salesforce Management; Health Care and Treatment; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry; Latin America
Gupta, Sunil. "Philips Healthcare Latin America." Harvard Business School Case 515-097, March 2015. (Revised December 2016.)
- March 2011 (Revised June 2011)
- Supplement
Arck Systems (E)
By: Ian Larkin
The Arck Systems series of cases describes the dilemmas faced by a senior sales manager in determining a sales compensation plan at an enterprise software company. The existing compensation plan is aggressive and highly rewards "star" performers. The cases track a... View Details
Keywords: Transformation; Framework; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Design; Performance Evaluation; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Software
Larkin, Ian. "Arck Systems (E)." Harvard Business School Supplement 911-060, March 2011. (Revised June 2011.)
- February 2008 (Revised August 2011)
- Case
Olympia Machine Company, Inc.
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Benson P. Shapiro
The management team of an industrial equipment supplier is debating the company's method of compensating salespeople. Different executives have offered different alternatives to the current method of straight salary plus expenses. Each option has different implications... View Details
Keywords: Governance Controls; Compensation and Benefits; Mission and Purpose; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Business Strategy; Industrial Products Industry
Cespedes, Frank V., and Benson P. Shapiro. "Olympia Machine Company, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 708-490, February 2008. (Revised August 2011.)
- February 1980 (Revised June 1984)
- Case
Quaker Steel and Alloy Corp.
By: John J. Gabarro
Lower middle-level manager is faced with the need to bring about a change in the call patterns of the sales force selling her product. Based on an earlier case by P.R. Lawrence. View Details
Gabarro, John J. "Quaker Steel and Alloy Corp." Harvard Business School Case 480-063, February 1980. (Revised June 1984.)
- October 2017 (Revised March 2020)
- Case
Medicetra Medtech Company, Inc.
By: Doug J. Chung
Medicetra MedTech Company is a dental equipment distributor, and senior management is deciding whether to implement a new incentive compensation program for the sales force. For many years, Medicetra had paid salespeople only a fixed salary. Although the current plan... View Details
Keywords: Sales Compensation; Sales Force Retention; Employee Fairness; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Retention; Fairness; Performance Improvement
Chung, Doug J. "Medicetra Medtech Company, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 518-049, October 2017. (Revised March 2020.)
- August 22, 2017
- Article
Find the Right Metrics for Your Sales Team
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Robert Marsh
This article reports the results of a survey of key performance indicators (KPIs) used by more than 800 sales groups across industries. The most common KPIs are closed deals and salesperson performance against quota, which, on average, firms measure monthly. But a... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V., and Robert Marsh. "Find the Right Metrics for Your Sales Team." Harvard Business Review (website) (August 22, 2017).
- 2014
- Teaching Note
Fine Harvest Restaurant Group
By: Clara X. Chen, Kenneth A. Merchant, Tatiana Sandino and Wim Van der Stede
The Fine Harvest Restaurant Group cases A and B examine a company's design of a new system to evaluate the performance (and determine the bonuses) for its restaurant managers. Fine Harvest had traditionally evaluated restaurant managers based on store margins and had... View Details
- April 1999 (Revised May 2000)
- Case
Pilgrim Drug Company
David Thomas takes his first sales management assignment and is faced with a sales rep revolt because of a possible territory reorganization. In addition, his sales division is performing well below the national average. Rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details
Burton, M. Diane, and Jeffrey L. Bradach. "Pilgrim Drug Company." Harvard Business School Case 499-062, April 1999. (Revised May 2000.)
- December 16, 2021
- Article
Avoid a One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Sales Coaching
Coaching sales reps is about clarifying relevant behaviors and whether the issue is motivation or ability. Some reps may work hard, but lack certain capabilities while others demonstrate capability but seemingly lack motivation or effort. Good coaching helps to clarify... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "Avoid a One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Sales Coaching." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (December 16, 2021).
- June 1986 (Revised July 1990)
- Case
OTISLINE (A)
By: F. Warren McFarlan and Donna B. Stoddard
Describes the company's use of information technology to strengthen its position in the elevator sales and service market. Also demonstrates how information technology can be used to better manage and control a large geographically dispersed service organization. View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Sales; Marketing; Rank and Position; Salesforce Management; Service Operations; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Global Range; Accounting; Business Ventures; Industry Growth
McFarlan, F. Warren, and Donna B. Stoddard. "OTISLINE (A)." Harvard Business School Case 186-304, June 1986. (Revised July 1990.)
- September 2005 (Revised March 2007)
- Case
Lifefont: The Case for RetailDriver
Examines how Lifefont (pseudonym), a multidivisional consumer packages goods company, develops a system to manage and measure the impact of promotional events in retail outlets. View Details
Keywords: Framework; Change Management; Compensation and Benefits; Cost vs Benefits; Growth Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Customer Relationship Management; Product Marketing; Salesforce Management; Advertising; Management Systems; Information Technology; Retail Industry
Martinez-Jerez, Francisco de Asis, and Karim Fakhry. "Lifefont: The Case for RetailDriver." Harvard Business School Case 106-005, September 2005. (Revised March 2007.)