Publications

21 Nov 2016
Research & Ideas

It Matters That Your CEO Doesn't Know Much About Sales

CEOs need to roll up their sleeves and learn more about the customer-facing sides of their businesses, like sales. Source: AlexBrylov Let’s face it: To most C-suite executives, sales processes are often an afterthought or a somewhat... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

03 Oct 2014
News

The Revival of a Salesman: The Importance of Sales and Strategy to Business

April 2002
Case

Sally Jameson: Valuing Stock Options in a Compensation Package (Abridged)

By: Peter Tufano

Details a thinly disguised situation facing a recent Harvard MBA graduate who was forced by a prospective employer to place a dollar value on a grant of stock options. There are two objectives: 1) Serves as an introduction to option valuation, in which students have an... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Stock Options; Compensation and Benefits

April 2019 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Clear Link Technologies, LLC: Driving Sales with Peer Effects

By: Christopher Stanton, Richard Saouma and Olivia Hull

The importance of a good peer or coworker is widely discussed, but understanding the glue that makes coworkers valuable is less understood. This case sheds light on the importance of peers and the practices and environments that make a group greater than the sum of its... View Details

Web

B2B Sales and Distribution - Course Catalog

hire and manage first line sales managers, define a sales culture and create scalable compensation systems. The go-to-market design module will address how to choose an... View Details

29 Jun 2021
News

What Does the Future of Work Look Like for America’s Biopharma Sales Force?

December 2003
Case

Sale of Hephaestus, Inc. to Vulcan Ventures, Inc.

Henry Hephaestus founded Hephaestus, Inc. in 1895. Its first product was a tapered roller bearing for use with horse-drawn wagons and carriages. It reduced friction on the axle and reduced the force necessary to move a heavy load, thereby enabling one horse to do the... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Entrepreneurship; Family Ownership; Manufacturing Industry

02 Sep 2019
What Do You Think?

Are Overlooked Forces Shielding the US from Severe Economic Downturns?

will be very important in determining the length of the current US economic expansion. Those were the messages from responses to this month’s column. Steve Adcock was optimistic about the influences of technology and services on economic cycles. As he put it, “these... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Service

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

January 1994
Case

ABC Sales and Service Division: A Case Study of Personal and Organizational Transformation

By: D. Quinn Mills, Brock W. Orwig, Janet M. Pumo, Todd C. Stilson and Richard C. Wei

In the midst of dramatic changes in the information systems industry and declining profits at the ABC Co., the vice president in charge of the sales and service division, Jeff, and his managers attempt to transform their division. The transformation gets off to a good... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Transformation; Motivation and Incentives; Resignation and Termination; Communication; Business or Company Management; Information Technology Industry

Web

Entrepreneurial Sales 101: Founder Selling - Course Catalog

a winning tactic. It is not. Often the critical success factor is exactly how a firm goes to market – with its sales force. But the rules have changed – innovations like ‘product-led-growth’ models and social media are changing the status... View Details

02 Dec 2021
News

Harvard’s Dr. Frank Cespedes as a Guest Speaker at WU on Salesperson Performance and Compensation

October 2011 (Revised April 2017)
Teaching Note

Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service (Brief Case)

By: Robert L. Simons and Michael Mahoney

Teaching Note for 4353. View Details

Keywords: Control Systems; Performance Measurement; Goal Setting; Compensation; Incentives; Motivation; Sales Compensation; Strategy And Execution; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Salesforce Management; Organizational Culture; Accounting; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits

22 May 2024
HBS Case

Banned or Not, TikTok Is a Force Companies Can’t Afford to Ignore

system to get each of their users to contribute to the content,” Ghosh notes. Unlike other social platforms that force people to build a following in order for content to be seen, the tool enables users of all abilities to build on... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology

July 2005 (Revised September 2016)
Case

24 Hour Fitness (A): The Rise, 1983–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2004, Mark S. Mastrov, CEO of 24 Hour Fitness, reflected on how far his company had come in just over 20 years. From humble beginnings in 1983 in San Leandro, California, 24 Hour Fitness had grown to become the largest privately-owned health-club chain in... View Details

Keywords: 24 Hour Fitness; Mark Mastrov; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Sales Force Compensation; Incentive Systems; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Private Equity; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Operations; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Technology Platform; Web; Web Sites; Capital Structure; Performance; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Health Industry; United States; California; San Francisco

24 Apr 2014
News

Leading a battle against corruption, a force that slows economic development

efforts are having a real impact, with fewer allegations of corruption appearing in the media. Companies with low anti-corruption efforts, while enjoying faster sales growth in corrupt markets, have lower profit margins and return on... View Details

June 2013
Case

Comprosa

By: Jim Sharpe and Jose Luis Barbero

A Spanish manufacturer of packaging films has successfully returned to break even and is considering options to attain sustainable profitability. View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Turnarounds; Distressed Debt; Private Equity; Cash Flow Analysis; Supplier Relationship; Supply Chain Management; Unions; Global Competitiveness; Leadership And Managing People; Sales Force Management; Sales Compensation; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Global Strategy; Salesforce Management; Cash Flow; Chemical Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Spain

January 2016 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Cyberdyne: A Leap to the Future

By: Doug J. Chung and Mayuka Yamazaki

Cyberdyne Inc. was a Japanese technology venture that wanted to commercialize a hybrid assistive limb (HAL). HAL was a robotic exoskeleton system for people who had difficulty walking due to nervous system disabilities resulting from stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI),... View Details

Keywords: Go-to-market Strategy; Pricing; Sales Channel; Technological Innovation; Marketing; Sales; Distribution; Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry