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- April 2014
- Article
The Cost of High-Powered Incentives: Employee Gaming in Enterprise Software Sales
By: Ian Larkin
This paper investigates the pricing distortions that arise from the use of a common non-linear incentive scheme at a leading enterprise software vendor. The empirical results demonstrate that salespeople are adept at gaming the timing of deal closure to take advantage... View Details
Keywords: Incentives; Motivation; Compensation; Gaming; Sales Force Management; Motivation and Incentives; Salesforce Management; Software; Compensation and Benefits; Information Technology Industry
Larkin, Ian. "The Cost of High-Powered Incentives: Employee Gaming in Enterprise Software Sales." Journal of Labor Economics 32, no. 2 (April 2014): 199–227.
- September 2016 (Revised February 2017)
- Case
ZenRecruit: Sales Coaching and Performance Reviews
By: Mark Roberge
Amara Kaggwa leads the small but rapidly expanding sales team at ZenRecruit, a recruiting software application used by small businesses. Armed with six months of sales performance metrics, Kaggwa is preparing for her monthly performance conversations with two... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurial Marketing; Entrepreneurial Sales; Entrepreneurial Sales And Marketing; Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Sales
Roberge, Mark. "ZenRecruit: Sales Coaching and Performance Reviews." Harvard Business School Case 817-041, September 2016. (Revised February 2017.)
- February 2016 (Revised August 2020)
- Case
InsightSquared: Developing the Sales and Marketing Plan
By: Mark Roberge, Tom Eisenmann and Frank Cespedes
Fred Shilmover and Sam Clemens prepared for their fourth quarter board meeting. They were excited to have scaled their software startup, InsightSquared, to $2 million in revenue and secured an $8 million round of venture capital. However, they disagreed on the path... View Details
Keywords: Sales Planning; Applications and Software; Marketing; Sales; Planning; Growth and Development Strategy
Roberge, Mark, Tom Eisenmann, and Frank Cespedes. "InsightSquared: Developing the Sales and Marketing Plan." Harvard Business School Case 816-074, February 2016. (Revised August 2020.)
- April 2021
- Case
Distinct Software
By: Das Narayandas, Arijit Sengupta and Jonathan Wray
Distinct Software (disguised name), a global enterprise software company, is at an important point in its growth trajectory where the luster of its mantra of “grow and win at any cost” has dimmed with increasing competition and margin pressures. To help navigate its... View Details
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Marketing; Sales; Performance Productivity; Technological Innovation; AI and Machine Learning
Narayandas, Das, Arijit Sengupta, and Jonathan Wray. "Distinct Software." Harvard Business School Case 521-101, April 2021.
- September 19, 2017
- Article
After Equifax Breach, Companies Advised to Review Open-Source Software Code
By: Ben DiPietro and Lou Shipley
It doesn’t make much sense: At a time when high-powered automated trading systems can execute stock sales in real time, some companies that rely on open-source software to help to run their businesses track their open-source use on spread sheets on paper.
Lou... View Details
Lou... View Details
Keywords: Software; Open-source; Security Vulnerabilities; Data Privacy; Hack; Applications and Software; Safety; Cybersecurity
DiPietro, Ben, and Lou Shipley. "After Equifax Breach, Companies Advised to Review Open-Source Software Code." Wall Street Journal (September 19, 2017).
- July 2001 (Revised October 2002)
- Case
Centra Software
By: John A. Deighton and Laetitia Pouliquen
Centra is a pioneer in software eLearning. It is debating how to modify its go-to-market strategy, adding telesales to improve sales force productivity. At the same time, its market is evolving, and management thinks it may be about to "cross the chasm" in Geoffrey... View Details
Keywords: Applications and Software; Learning; Emerging Markets; Growth Management; Salesforce Management; Conflict Management; Information Technology Industry; Education Industry
Deighton, John A., and Laetitia Pouliquen. "Centra Software." Harvard Business School Case 502-009, July 2001. (Revised October 2002.) (request a courtesy copy.)
- February 2003 (Revised February 2006)
- Case
Precise Software Solutions
When and how should a firm introduce an innovative new product? Introduce too early and functionality may not be there, too late and strong competition might appear. Precise Software Solutions, headquartered in Westwood, MA, is a small, growing company with a... View Details
Keywords: Applications and Software; Product Launch; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Sales; Information Technology Industry; Massachusetts
Godes, David B. "Precise Software Solutions." Harvard Business School Case 503-064, February 2003. (Revised February 2006.)
- August 2016 (Revised June 2017)
- Case
Oversight Systems
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amram Migdal
The case, set in May 2016, discusses sales strategy and managing sales and service at Oversight Systems, an Atlanta, Georgia–based software firm that developed analytics for organizations to monitor their data for errors, fraud, and operational inefficiencies. Included... View Details
Keywords: Sales; Sales Strategy; Entrepreneurial Sales; Entrepreneurial Sales And Marketing; Software Sales; Marketing; Marketing Management; Pricing; Salesforce Management; Distribution Channels; Marketing Strategy; Technology Industry; North America; United States; Atlanta; Georgia (state, US)
Cespedes, Frank V., and Amram Migdal. "Oversight Systems." Harvard Business School Case 817-015, August 2016. (Revised June 2017.)
- January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
- Case
Commercial Sales Transformation at Microsoft
By: Doug J. Chung
Industry leaders should adapt to changes in the business context and consider different ways to grow. Advances in technology had shifted software demand to the cloud. As a result, Microsoft announced a strategic shift in direction from its existing ‘Windows first’... View Details
Chung, Doug J. "Commercial Sales Transformation at Microsoft." Harvard Business School Case 519-054, January 2019. (Revised October 2019.)
- February 2017
- Teaching Note
Oversight Systems
By: Frank Cespedes
This Teaching Note accompanies the case, set in May 2016, which discusses sales strategy and channel partnerships at Oversight Systems, an early stage software firm that developed analytics for organizations to monitor their data for errors, fraud, and operational... View Details
- January 2001 (Revised January 2004)
- Case
Ninth House: e-Learning Software
By: Amy C. Edmondson, Frances X. Frei and Corey B. Hajim
Jeff Snipes, CEO of the Ninth House Network, a San Francisco-based E-Learning company, considers a strategy shift to address a recent slump in sales and to attract more customers. The revised strategy would require creating shorter, more directed content that could be... View Details
Keywords: Internet and the Web; Service Operations; Organizational Structure; Groups and Teams; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Learning; Sales; Service Delivery; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology Industry; Service Industry; Education Industry; San Francisco
Edmondson, Amy C., Frances X. Frei, and Corey B. Hajim. "Ninth House: e-Learning Software." Harvard Business School Case 601-047, January 2001. (Revised January 2004.)
- September 2016
- Supplement
ZenRecruit: Sales Coaching and Performance Reviews
By: Mark N. Roberge
Amara Kaggwa leads the small but rapidly expanding sales team at ZenRecruit, a recruiting software application used by small businesses. Armed with six months of sales performance metrics, Kaggwa is preparing for her monthly performance conversations with two... View Details
- Fast Answer
Entrepreneurial Sales
Suggested starting points for your research. Articles Business Source Complete: Access relevant academic journals, such as Journal of Personal Selling & View Details
- January 1990 (Revised February 1990)
- Case
MSA: The Software Company--Planning the AMAPs Product Line
By: Robert J. Dolan
MSA has commissioned a major market research study to assess demand potential for a computer software system designed for aerospace and defense contractors. Students must evaluate the results of the study (including a conjoint analysis) to assess whether MSA should... View Details
Dolan, Robert J. "MSA: The Software Company--Planning the AMAPs Product Line." Harvard Business School Case 590-069, January 1990. (Revised February 1990.)
- September 1999 (Revised April 2000)
- Case
Novell: World's Largest Network Software Company
By: Richard L. Nolan
After phenomenal growth and market leadership in networking, founder and CEO Ray Noorda made a frontal assault on Microsoft's core strengths. In 1994, Noorda spend over $1.5 billion acquiring companies such as WordPerfect to combat Microsoft Word, products such as... View Details
Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Competition; Internet and the Web; Strategic Planning; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology Industry
Nolan, Richard L. "Novell: World's Largest Network Software Company." Harvard Business School Case 300-038, September 1999. (Revised April 2000.)
- January 2021
- Article
Sales Hiring Is Hard to Do (Don't Make It Harder)
By: Frank V. Cespedes
In the aggregate, hiring in sales is more expensive than many companies’ cap-ex decisions. But it rarely gets the same attention and companies fail to deal with challenges inherent in sales hiring. Unlike many other business functions, there is no easily identified... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "Sales Hiring Is Hard to Do (Don't Make It Harder)." Top Sales Magazine (January 2021), 38–39.
- April 18, 2023
- Article
The Rebirth of Software as a Service
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Jacco van der Kooij
Traditional sales models focus on customer acquisition and the “funnel” or “pipeline” metrics that dominate talk about sales. But this approach falls short when applied to a recurring revenue business, where the customer life cycle looks more like a bowtie, not a... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V., and Jacco van der Kooij. "The Rebirth of Software as a Service." Harvard Business Review (website) (April 18, 2023).
- 08 Sep 2014
- Research & Ideas
The Strategic Way To Hire a Sales Team
as your markets change. In subscription-based businesses like software and many consumer web services, sales activities with high variance and impact early on are about customer acquisition. But as the... View Details
Keywords: by Carmen Nobel
- 10 Aug 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
The Science of Sales Conversations with Gong’s Amit Bendov
Keywords: Re: Alison Wood Brooks
- February 2011 (Revised May 2011)
- Case
Marlin & Associates and the Sale of Riverview Technologies
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Riverview Technologies was a Stockholm, Sweden-based company that had developed software hedge funds. After spending more than a year in an organized sale process, the winning bidder had become increasingly difficult to work with and the closing had been substantially... View Details
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Entrepreneurship; Negotiation Deal; Negotiation Offer; Negotiation Process; Business and Shareholder Relations; Financial Services Industry
Ruback, Richard S., and Royce Yudkoff. "Marlin & Associates and the Sale of Riverview Technologies." Harvard Business School Case 211-083, February 2011. (Revised May 2011.)