Publications

Teaching Interest

MBA Elective Curriculum Personal Selling and Sales Force Management

Personal selling is the primary (and sometimes the only) form of marketing activity for many firms, especially in a business-to-business context. The course focuses on the tactical component of managing a salesforce and on the strategic element of linking sales... View Details

November 2005
Background Note

Note on Personal Selling and Sales Management

By: Thomas J. Steenburgh and Das Narayandas

Provides the background materials for the Sales Module in the first-year marketing course taught at HBS. View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Management; Sales; Education Industry

August 2021
Technical Note

Brand You: Crafting Your Personal Brand

By: Jill Avery and Rachel Greenwald

Selling oneself is something that we have to do every day in both professional and personal settings. We face it when we apply for a job, advocate for a promotion or a raise, vie for a leadership position, attempt to land a new client, write a dating profile, or meet a... View Details

Keywords: Personal Brand; Brand Management; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Identity; Opportunities; Talent and Talent Management; Jobs and Positions; Strength and Weakness; Communication

2015
Working Paper

Selling to a Moving Target: Dynamic Marketing Effects in US Presidential Elections

By: Doug J. Chung and Lingling Zhang

We examine the effects of various political campaign activities on voter preferences in the domain of US Presidential elections. We construct a comprehensive data set that covers the three most recent elections, with detailed records of voter preferences at the... View Details

Keywords: Multi-channel Marketing; Personal Selling; Advertising; Political Campaigns; Dynamic Panel Data; Instrumental Variables; Marketing Communications; Political Elections; Advertising Campaigns; United States

Read Now

September 2008
Article

Effect of Personal Taxes on Managers' Decisions to Sell Their Stock

Keywords: Taxation; Management; Sales; Stocks

Find at Harvard

November 2006
Exercise

Sell Yourself!

By: Thomas J. Steenburgh and Michael I. Norton

Helps students develop an effective sales pitch for their greatest asset--themselves. Also, broadens their understanding of how salespeople sell products and services. Before class, students are asked to interview a potential employer and to develop a preliminary sales... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Sales; Product; Service Operations; Interpersonal Communication; Personal Development and Career

06 Aug 2019
Cold Call Podcast

Super Bowl Ads Sell Products, but Do They Sell Brands?

Apple's 1984 ad, which aired, not surprisingly, on the 1984 Super Bowl when they announced the launch of the Macintosh personal computer. That is still in the advertising Hall of Fame. It was directed by Ridley Scott, who is a well-known... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Sports; Entertainment & Recreation; Media & Broadcasting

30 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Managing the Family Business: Preparing to Sell

the family business. The portrait of the business would also typically represent more than 90 percent of the owners' wealth. “If this transition is not managed well, the family has a higher risk of losing its wealth through bad investment decisions and overconsumption”... View Details

Keywords: by Jonathan Pellegrin; Food & Beverage; Retail

02 Feb 2015
Research & Ideas

Disruptors Sell What Customers Want and Let Competitors Sell What They Don’t

forcing those who watch the show to watch the ad. Some of the hottest battles are being fought over showrooming—the practice whereby consumers visit a store to check out items in person before buying cheaper online (decoupling browsing... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

25 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Should You Sell Your Digital Privacy?

you by stores, researchers, and credit agencies belongs to those companies, not to you. They in turn resell that information to others. So if our personal information is such an asset, shouldn't we benefit from our asset as well? Why... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls & Sean Silverthorne; Advertising

26 Jul 2016
Research & Ideas

Where will Pokémon Go with Your Personal Information?

the things they cleverly do is ask users to sign in using their Google account (or by establishing a new account). When you use something like Google Maps, Google keeps records and can mine that data to see where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing, and then View Details

Keywords: Re: Willy C. Shih; Video Game; Entertainment & Recreation

07 Nov 2016
Research & Ideas

Corporate Tax Strategies Mirror Personal Returns of Top Execs

Tax strategies used by top executives on their own taxes can also show up in the companies they run. Source: Melpomenem New research shows that top executives who prefer to reduce personal taxes appear to also influence the strategies of... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

April 2011
Case

Designs by Kate: The Power of Direct Sales

By: John A. Deighton and Sarah Abbott

The sales representatives at Designs by Kate (DBK) sell private label jewelry at hosted parties and through online social media channels. They are also responsible for recruiting, training, and managing new sales reps. CEO and founder Kate Creevey designed the... View Details

Keywords: Direct Sales; Consumer Marketing; Marketing Management; Personal Selling; Sales Compensation; Sales Organization; Motivation and Incentives; Marketing Strategy; Salesforce Management; Performance; Compensation and Benefits; Apparel and Accessories Industry

October 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Background Note

Plavix: Drugs in the Age of Personalized Medicine

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Mara G. Aspinall and Rachel Gordon

PIavix, one of the world's best selling drugs in 2010, appears to have a limited future. Its patent was due to expire soon, and recently new data had been discovered that indicated that a small subset of the population would be at risk for stroke, heart attack, or even... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Product Positioning; Business and Government Relations; Genetics; Competitive Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry

06 May 2015
What Do You Think?

Are You Ready for Personalized Predictive Analytics?

Summing Up Personal Predictive Analytics: Should We Be Careful What We Wish For? The world of continuous monitoring of numerous sensors for machines and humans, limitless information storage capacity, and big data combined with rapid... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

April 2011
Teaching Note

Designs by Kate: The Power of Direct Sales (Brief Case)

By: John A. Deighton and Sarah Abbott

Teaching Note to 4277. View Details

Keywords: Direct Sales; Consumer Marketing; Marketing Management; Personal Selling; Sales Compensation; Sales Organization; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Compensation and Benefits; Sales

April 2011
Supplement

Designs by Kate: The Power of Direct Sales, Faculty Spreadsheet (Brief Case)

By: John A. Deighton and Sarah Abbott

Keywords: Direct Sales; Consumer Marketing; Marketing Management; Personal Selling; Sales Compensation; Sales Organization; Marketing Strategy; Sales

January 2017
Teaching Note

Transition at DataCo?

By: Frank V. Cespedes

The founder of a data analytics company has several issues with his key business developer, an early hire who has been instrumental in building the firm. The DataCo case study illustrates a common situation in entrepreneurial ventures: an early sales hire does well but... View Details

Keywords: Sales Management; Selling; Entrepreneurial Ventures; Performance Management; Professional Services; Salesforce Management; Sales; Marketing; Performance; Consulting Industry; United States; France