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Show Results For
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All HBS Web
(1,056)
- News (175)
- Research (752)
- Events (1)
- Multimedia (1)
- Faculty Publications (278)
- Article
Sales Methodologies and Selling
Sales methodologies play an important role. A common approach in a sales force allows for consistency, dissemination of best practices, acceleration of learning, and it helps the firm to scale because management then has common metrics to monitor and evaluate. However,...
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Cespedes, Frank V. "Sales Methodologies and Selling." Top Sales Magazine (November 2019), 26–27.
- January 2017 (Revised May 2019)
- Case
Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (A)
By: Doug J. Chung
Kjell & Company was a Swedish retail electronics chain. The company’s products consisted of home electronics and accessories. The company was noted for its excellent customer service and a fair “one-for-all” HR policy. Historically, the salespeople had been compensated...
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Keywords:
Salesforce Management;
Compensation and Benefits;
Change;
Decision Making;
Electronics Industry;
Sweden
Chung, Doug J. "Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (A)." Harvard Business School Case 517-090, January 2017. (Revised May 2019.)
- May 2019
- Supplement
Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (C)
By: Doug J. Chung
Kjell & Company was a Swedish retail electronics chain. The company’s products consisted of home electronics and accessories. The company was noted for its excellent customer service and a fair “one-for-all” HR policy. Historically, the salespeople had been compensated...
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Keywords:
Salesforce Management;
Compensation and Benefits;
Change Management;
Behavior;
Electronics Industry;
Sweden
Chung, Doug J. "Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 519-095, May 2019.
- June 2017 (Revised May 2019)
- Supplement
Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (B)
By: Doug J. Chung
Kjell & Company was a Swedish retail electronics chain founded in 1988 by brothers Marcus, Mikael and Fredrik Dahnelius. The company operated 84 stores, all company-owned, located mainly in the metropolitan areas of Sweden’s most popular cities: Stockholm, Gothemburg...
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Keywords:
Salesforce Management;
Compensation and Benefits;
Motivation and Incentives;
Change Management;
Behavior;
Electronics Industry;
Sweden
Chung, Doug J. "Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 517-133, June 2017. (Revised May 2019.)
- January 1992
- Background Note
Managing Sales Interfaces: An Introduction
Concerns issues involved in coordinating sales efforts with product management and customer service activities. First, discusses environmental factors that increase integration requirements among these groups, and why these factors make the field sales force a crucial...
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Keywords:
Product Marketing;
Social Marketing;
Multi-Sided Platforms;
Groups and Teams;
Salesforce Management
Cespedes, Frank V. "Managing Sales Interfaces: An Introduction." Harvard Business School Background Note 592-068, January 1992.
- September 2003
- Case
Executive Compensation at Reckitt Benckiser plc
By: V.G. Narayanan, Krishna G. Palepu and Lisa Brem
Investors felt betrayed by the increasingly lucrative pay packages awarded to CEOs and other top executives at multinational companies. Yet, board members charged with adequately rewarding executives were forced to compete with rising packages of salaries and stock...
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- June 2013 (Revised August 2017)
- Case
Coupa
By: Michael Roberts and William Sahlman
The case describes the growth of Coupa, a software as a service platform for procurement / expense management. The issues in the case are around how fast to grow and how to finance that growth. The case includes a detailed financial model that will help students...
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- October 1988 (Revised November 2006)
- Background Note
Aspects of Sales Management: An Introduction
Discusses certain general issues that affect sales-management requirements in most companies: 1) the nature of the salesperson's "boundary role" in the organization, and 2) the relevance and limits of compensation policies as a key means of affecting the salesperson's...
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Keywords:
Salesforce Management
Cespedes, Frank V. "Aspects of Sales Management: An Introduction." Harvard Business School Background Note 589-061, October 1988. (Revised November 2006.)
- June 2017 (Revised September 2021)
- Case
Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank
Set in early 2017, this case examines widespread sales misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank. Wells Fargo's governance and controls are described in the lead up to the September 2016 announcement that Wells Fargo had settled with regulators for $185 million in...
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Keywords:
Corporate Governance;
Governance Controls;
Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms;
Governing and Advisory Boards;
Executive Compensation;
Lawsuits and Litigation;
Crisis Management;
Mission and Purpose;
Organizational Design;
Business and Community Relations;
Business and Government Relations;
Crime and Corruption;
Business Organization;
Business Model;
Ethics;
Corporate Accountability;
Governance Compliance;
Policy;
Compensation and Benefits;
Resignation and Termination;
Laws and Statutes;
Legal Liability;
Business or Company Management;
Risk Management;
Business Processes;
Organizational Culture;
Organizational Structure;
Failure;
Agency Theory;
Business and Shareholder Relations;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Salesforce Management;
Public Opinion;
Banking Industry;
North and Central America
Srinivasan, Suraj, Dennis W. Campbell, Susanna Gallani, and Amram Migdal. "Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank." Harvard Business School Case 118-009, June 2017. (Revised September 2021.)
- 01 Dec 2008
- News
A Force for Good
was a very different business from the academic programs, and it had to be managed accordingly. It needed a different organization, different kinds of people, and different governance and compensation structures. “So what he did, over a...
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- 08 Sep 2014
- Research & Ideas
The Strategic Way To Hire a Sales Team
equivalent of the entire sales force must be replaced at many firms every four years or so. And the time frame shrinks if and when companies increase revenue targets. So while strategy should drive search...
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Keywords:
by Carmen Nobel
- 21 Jul 2010
- News
Help Increase Transparency in Private Company Executive Compensation
- Program
Aligning Strategy and Sales
marketing, HR, finance, service, or general management Executives in business-to-business product or service companies—or business units of large enterprises—that depend on a direct sales force for all or...
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- April 2018
- Article
Effective Sales Training: What Are the Foundational Elements?
Across industries, turnover in sales positions averages about 25–30% annually. This means that, at many firms, the equivalent of the entire sales force must be replaced and trained every four years or so. No other function has an ongoing talent management task of that...
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Cespedes, Frank V. "Effective Sales Training: What Are the Foundational Elements?" Top Sales Magazine (April 2018), 22–23.
- 08 Sep 2014
- News
The Strategic Way To Hire a Sales Team
The Effects of Quota Frequency: Sales Performance and Product Focus
This study investigates the comprehensive and multidimensional effects of quota (goal) frequency on sales force performance. The study provides a theory of salespeople’s behavior—aggregate effort and the product type focus—in response to the temporal length of a...
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- November 1989 (Revised February 1992)
- Case
Ford Motor Co.: Dealer Sales and Service
Since Henry Ford founded Ford Motor Co., Ford vehicles have been sold and serviced the same way. By the late 1980s Ford began to consider making changes in its sales and service process. Two developments forced Ford to reconsider these processes. First, Ford found...
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Keywords:
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Change Management;
Distribution Channels;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Service Industry;
Auto Industry;
Retail Industry;
United States
Schlesinger, Leonard A. "Ford Motor Co.: Dealer Sales and Service." Harvard Business School Case 690-030, November 1989. (Revised February 1992.)
- September 12, 2017
- Article
What's the Right Kind of Bonus to Motivate Your Sales Force?
By: Doug J. Chung and Das Narayandas
Companies typically compensate their sales force by using some combination of salary, commission, and bonuses, but executives are often unsure which incentives provide the best motivation. Should bonuses be tied to quotas or should they be given unconditionally? Is it...
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Chung, Doug J., and Das Narayandas. "What's the Right Kind of Bonus to Motivate Your Sales Force?" Harvard Business Review (website) (September 12, 2017).
- 18 Feb 2015
- News
Reinvent Your Sales Process While Still Hitting Your Numbers
- Program
Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels
motivating your sales force Build strong relationships with distribution partners Harness data and technology to optimize your strategy Manage tensions between channels Expand your personal and professional...
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