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- Faculty Publications (210)
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- All HBS Web (254)
- Faculty Publications (210)
- October 1989
- Background Note
Aspects of Sales Management: Key Themes
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Keywords: Salesforce Management
Cespedes, Frank V. "Aspects of Sales Management: Key Themes." Harvard Business School Background Note 590-042, October 1989.
- Article
Your Sales Training Is Probably Lackluster. Here's How to Fix It
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Yuchun Lee
U.S. companies spend over $70 billion annually on training and an average of $1,459 per salesperson—almost 20% more than they spend on workers in all other functions. Yet, when it comes to equipping sales teams with relevant knowledge and skills, the ROI of sales... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V., and Yuchun Lee. "Your Sales Training Is Probably Lackluster. Here's How to Fix It." Harvard Business Review (website) (June 12, 2017).
- 04 May 2020
- Research & Ideas
Predictions, Prophets, and Restarting Your Business
“Predictions are risky, especially about the future,” according to a popular expression. Still, business is inescapably about the future—that’s what managers’ decisions are about. In the current crisis, we have daily grand predictions about “new normals,” and View Details
Keywords: by Frank V. Cespedes
- 06 Jul 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
Do All Your Detailing Efforts Pay Off? Dynamic Panel Data Methods Revisited
- November 1984
- Supplement
Syntex Laboratories (A), Computer Supplement: Sales Force Strategy Model
Clarke, Darral G. "Syntex Laboratories (A), Computer Supplement: Sales Force Strategy Model." Harvard Business School Supplement 585-131, November 1984.
- April 2017
- Article
How Sales Can Wield Its Most Effective Weapon: Pricing
By: Frank V. Cespedes
This article discusses certain core ways that sales people can use, but sometimes abuse, pricing authority and the implications for effective sales management. View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "How Sales Can Wield Its Most Effective Weapon: Pricing." Quotable (April 2017).
- 07 Feb 2018
- News
Helping Startups Give Back
such as Tmura in Israel and Salesforce 1/1/1 in the US were already finding success with similar models,” says Goldstein, who grew up in Montreal and now lives in Toronto. “With the increasingly vibrant startup scene in Canada, we decided... View Details
- 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
Corey, E. Raymond. "Wright Line, Inc. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 585-135, November 1984. (Revised May 1989.)
- 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
- 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
Steenburgh, Thomas J. "Effort or Timing: The Effect of Lump-Sum Bonuses." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 05-051, December 2004.
- 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
- 28 Mar 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Do Incentive Plans for Exemplary Employees Lead to Productive or Counterproductive Outcomes?
- 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
Chung, Doug J., and Das Narayandas. "Incentives versus Reciprocity: Insights from a Field Experiment." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 54, no. 4 (August 2017): 511–524. (Lead article.)
- 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
Chun, Samuel S. "S1 Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 597-044, March 1997. (Revised July 1999.)
- 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
Bonoma, Thomas V., and Minette E. Drumwright. "IDS Financial Services." Harvard Business School Case 588-044, December 1987. (Revised September 1995.)
- 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
- 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
Simons, Robert L. "Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 190-122, March 1990. (Revised March 1992.)
- 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
- 2021
- Chapter
Digital Transformation and the Salesforce: Observations, Warnings, and Recommendations
By: Frank V. Cespedes
Sales is a crucial test for organizational change, including productive use (or not) of new technologies. Changes in selling always have wider organizational implications, because so many other decisions and resource commitments in firms depend upon demand forecasts... View Details
Keywords: Sales; Salesforce Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Transformation
Cespedes, Frank V. "Digital Transformation and the Salesforce: Observations, Warnings, and Recommendations." In Managing Digital Transformation: Understanding the Strategic Process, edited by Andreas Hinterhuber, Tiziano Vescovi, and Francesca Checchinato. Routledge, 2021.
- August 1983 (Revised May 1985)
- Case
Jamestown Co.
By: Benson P. Shapiro and Edward J. Hoff
In May 1983 Ms. Katherine O'Brien, vice president of marketing, was deciding whether Jamestown should discontinue the use of independent representatives in favor of a direct company salesforce. Jamestown sold informal stoneware dinnerware through department and gift... View Details
Shapiro, Benson P., and Edward J. Hoff. "Jamestown Co." Harvard Business School Case 584-017, August 1983. (Revised May 1985.)