Publications

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November 1984 (Revised May 1989)
Case

Wright Line, Inc. (A)

The Wright Line division of Barry Wright sells accessories used to store, protect, and provide access to computer media such as cards, tapes, and diskettes. With the explosive growth in the business computer market and the pronounced trend toward decentralized use, the... View Details

Keywords: Salesforce Management; Product Marketing; Computer Industry

09 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

Overcoming the Challenges of Selling Brand New Technology (Hey, Need a 3-D Printer?)

“Nothing sells itself,” says Frank Cespedes, senior lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School. “When companies introduce new products, they are offering something that by definition is going to replace... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology; Consumer Products; Electronics; Industrial Products; Information Technology; Manufacturing; Medical Devices & Supplies; Retail

25 Jan 2017
Working Paper Summaries

The Effects of Quota Frequency on Sales Force Performance: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung and Das Narayandas

April 1991 (Revised March 2017)
Teaching Note

Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (A) and (B)

By: Robert Simons

Teaching Note for (9-190-103) and (9-190-122). View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Salesforce Management; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

2004
Working Paper

Effort or Timing: The Effect of Lump-Sum Bonuses

This article addresses the question of whether lump-sum bonuses motivate salespeople to work harder to attain incremental orders or whether they induce salespeople to play timing games (behaviors that increase incentive payments without providing incremental benefits... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Salesforce Management

SSRN

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28 Mar 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Do Incentive Plans for Exemplary Employees Lead to Productive or Counterproductive Outcomes?

Keywords: by Carolyn Deller and Tatiana Sandino; Telecommunications

August 2017
Article

Incentives versus Reciprocity: Insights from a Field Experiment

By: Doug J. Chung and Das Narayandas

We conduct a field experiment in which we vary the sales force compensation scheme at an Asian enterprise that sells consumer durable goods. With variation generated by the experimental treatments, we model sales force performance to identify the effectiveness of... View Details

Keywords: Sales Force Compensation; Field Experiment; Heterogeneity; Loss Aversion; Reciprocity; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits

Find at Harvard

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March 1997 (Revised July 1999)
Case

S1 Corporation

S1 is a fast growing subsidiary of the Samsung Group in South Korea that sells business security products. S1 has implemented a number of marketing initiatives that the company president would like to have evaluated. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Price; Salesforce Management; Consumer Products Industry; Service Industry; South Korea

February 2020
Case

Drift: The First Sales Hire

By: Mark Roberge

David Cancel and Elias Torres, the co-founders of Drift, scaled their business to thousands of users and hundreds of thousands in revenue. However, they were falling short of the annual revenue target they communicated to the board of directors. Having scaled the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; Salesforce Management; Selection and Staffing

September 1986
Case

BOC Group: Ohmeda (A)

The president of Ohmeda, a wholly owned company of the BOC Group, plans to grow the company's medical equipment sales from $95 million in 1985 to $158 million in five years by focusing on the sale of "high-tech" equipment. At the same time, the president expects to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications; Salesforce Management; Marketing Channels; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

04 Feb 2021
Research & Ideas

Inside CEOs' Pandemic Worries: Uncertainty, Employees, and Kids

How will my children learn via Zoom? We interviewed 10 CEOs in July about how they are managing the unprecedented stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then checked in with them again at the end of 2020. The interviewees hail from... View Details

Keywords: by Gamze D. Yucaoglu, Robin Abrahams, and Boris Groysberg

May 2017
Teaching Note

Promontory, Inc. (Brief Case)

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Handlin

Teaching Note for HBS No. 917-535. The Promontory teaching note covers a) how and why buying processes in Promontory’s market generate the array of selling approaches illustrated in the case; b) the impact of incremental sales increases on the firm’s cost structure and... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Salesforce Management; Marketing Strategy

Web

Data for Impact: Impact Measurement from Startup to Fortune 500 C-Suite - Course Catalog

facing demands to look beyond their bottom line, to meet a broader set of responsibilities to society and our planet. This is evidenced by the strength of ESG and impact investing industries but also by the proliferation of roles dedicated to impact measurement and... View Details

December 1987 (Revised September 1995)
Case

IDS Financial Services

Scarce managerial talent, sales force turnover, and client attrition were potential problems underlying IDS' disappointing performance at mid-year 1987. The marketing vice president had three potential "fixes": 1) increasing or decreasing the $35 million budget for... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Salesforce Management; Performance Improvement; Financial Services Industry

March 1990 (Revised March 1992)
Supplement

Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (B)

By: Robert L. Simons

Details the changes made to the VIP automobile plan. View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Salesforce Management; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

September 1983 (Revised November 1984)
Case

Syntex Laboratories (B)

The recommendations of the consultants require a number of assumptions and modifications to be implemented by Syntex Labs. Presents the initial implementation plan of the company. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Salesforce Management; Pharmaceutical Industry