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Show Results For
-
All HBS Web
(1,851)
- People (1)
- News (257)
- Research (1,437)
- Events (4)
- Multimedia (15)
- Faculty Publications (857)
- October 2023
- Article
Finding New Business and Developing Relevant Sales Capabilities
There are few alternatives to growth for most companies. It’s the rare firm whose goal involves getting smaller and, for employees, there is a strong correlation between their company’s growth rate, promotion opportunities, and job satisfaction. But a growth strategy...
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Cespedes, Frank V. "Finding New Business and Developing Relevant Sales Capabilities." Top Sales Magazine (October 2023), 24–25.
- 11 Jan 2022
- News
Sales Management That Works with Frank Cespedes
- November 1994 (Revised May 1998)
- Background Note
Strategic Sales Management: A Boardroom Issue
By: Benson P. Shapiro, Stephen X. Doyle and Adrian J. Slywotsky
Explains why sales management has become an increasingly important and complex topic for top managers. Demonstrates the financial impact of a superior salesforce and then describes a way to gain superiority. The focus is on a salesforce that is responsive to customer...
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Shapiro, Benson P., Stephen X. Doyle, and Adrian J. Slywotsky. "Strategic Sales Management: A Boardroom Issue." Harvard Business School Background Note 595-018, November 1994. (Revised May 1998.)
- Teaching Interest
MBA Elective Curriculum Business Marketing and Sales
Business markets differ from consumer markets in important ways. Typically, the buying process is more complex, the buying units and purchase criteria differ, and marketing decisions are more closely interrelated with firm-wide strategic choices. In addition,... View Details
- Article
Four Ways to Build a Productive Sales Culture
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Steven Maughan
This article distinguishes sales efficiency (SE) initiatives (e.g., CRM, training, and KPI dashboards) from sales optimization (SO) decisions (e.g., aligning sales tasks with business strategy, customer selection, and deployment of sales resources across...
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- Apr 12 2018
- Interview
The Path to High-Performance Sales
- 08 Sep 2014
- News
The Strategic Way To Hire a Sales Team
- September 1996 (Revised April 1998)
- Case
Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution
By: Robert S. Kaplan
The general manager of a local gasoline/distillate sales and distribution business unit must communicate a new strategy to the unit's 300 employees. An initial strategic planning exercise identified a high-priority list of opportunities that blended the parent...
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Keywords:
Balanced Scorecard;
Adoption;
Strategic Planning;
Customization and Personalization;
Management Practices and Processes;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Measurement and Metrics;
Motivation and Incentives;
Performance Evaluation;
Energy Industry;
Mining Industry;
United States
Kaplan, Robert S. "Mobil USM&R (B): New England Sales and Distribution." Harvard Business School Case 197-026, September 1996. (Revised April 1998.)
- January 2018
- Case
Ak Gıda: IPO or Strategic Sale
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Eren Kuzucu
In 2015, Yıldiz Holding, one of the world’s largest producer of confections, biscuits and crackers, was at the end of its divestiture process from Ak Gida, one of the leading dairy companies in Turkey. The company had adopted a dual track process, pursuing an initial...
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Keywords:
Valuation;
Private Sector;
For-Profit Firms;
Business Model;
Business Strategy;
Competitive Advantage;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Value Creation;
Decision Making;
Growth Management;
Mergers and Acquisitions;
Initial Public Offering;
Business Conglomerates;
Business Exit or Shutdown;
Family Business;
Joint Ventures;
Food and Beverage Industry;
Turkey
Srinivasan, Suraj, and Eren Kuzucu. "Ak Gıda: IPO or Strategic Sale." Harvard Business School Case 118-036, January 2018.
- 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...
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- January 2016 (Revised July 2018)
- Case
Cyberdyne: A Leap to the Future
By: Doug J. Chung and Mayuka Yamazaki
Cyberdyne Inc. was a Japanese technology venture that wanted to commercialize a hybrid assistive limb (HAL). HAL was a robotic exoskeleton system for people who had difficulty walking due to nervous system disabilities resulting from stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI),...
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Keywords:
Go-to-market Strategy;
Pricing;
Sales Channel;
Technological Innovation;
Marketing;
Sales;
Distribution;
Strategy;
Medical Devices and Supplies Industry
Chung, Doug J., and Mayuka Yamazaki. "Cyberdyne: A Leap to the Future." Harvard Business School Case 516-072, January 2016. (Revised July 2018.)
- May 1988
- Case
Capital Cities/ABC, Inc: Spot Sales
Cespedes, Frank V. "Capital Cities/ABC, Inc: Spot Sales." Harvard Business School Case 588-071, May 1988.
- April 2019 (Revised January 2022)
- Case
Clear Link Technologies, LLC: Driving Sales with Peer Effects
By: Christopher Stanton, Richard Saouma and Olivia Hull
The importance of a good peer or coworker is widely discussed, but understanding the glue that makes coworkers valuable is less understood. This case sheds light on the importance of peers and the practices and environments that make a group greater than the sum of its...
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Keywords:
Talent and Talent Management;
Interactive Communication;
Experience and Expertise;
Decision Making;
Training;
Design;
Compensation and Benefits;
Knowledge Acquisition;
Knowledge Sharing;
Human Capital;
Working Conditions;
Measurement and Metrics;
Outcome or Result;
Performance;
Performance Improvement;
Research;
Sales;
Salesforce Management;
Motivation and Incentives;
Telecommunications Industry;
Utah;
United States
Stanton, Christopher, Richard Saouma, and Olivia Hull. "Clear Link Technologies, LLC: Driving Sales with Peer Effects." Harvard Business School Case 819-072, April 2019. (Revised January 2022.)
- 22 Mar 2017
- Research & Ideas
What's the Ideal Frequency for a Sales Quota?
decrease in sales of high-margin items. Ultimately, the Swedish firm decided that the benefits of a daily quota outweighed the costs. At the end of the study, the retailer switched its quota plan from monthly to daily across the company...
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Keywords:
by Carmen Nobel
- October 2013 (Revised November 2013)
- Case
Blackstone and the Sale of Citigroup's Loan Portfolio
By: Victoria Ivashina and David Scharfstein
The credit boom that preceded the 2007-2009 financial crisis led to several lending practices that exposed banks to large risks. In particular, when the financial crisis unraveled, there were several billion dollars' worth of leveraged buyout (LBO) loans that were...
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Keywords:
Restructuring;
Private Equity;
Insolvency and Bankruptcy;
Credit Derivatives and Swaps;
Financial Markets;
Investment;
Banking Industry;
Financial Services Industry
Ivashina, Victoria, and David Scharfstein. "Blackstone and the Sale of Citigroup's Loan Portfolio." Harvard Business School Case 214-037, October 2013. (Revised November 2013.)
- November 2015 (Revised October 2017)
- Case
Nestle's Creating Shared Value Strategy
By: Michael E. Porter, Mark R. Kramer, Kerry Herman and Sarah McAra
This case considers Nestlé’s creating shared value (CSV) strategy, which focused on the three categories of nutrition, water, and rural development. In the packaged food and beverage industry, pressure had mounted since the 1990s to improve supply chain sustainability...
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Keywords:
Shared Value;
Health And Wellness;
Nutrition;
Health;
Labor;
Environmental Sustainability;
Strategy;
Operations;
Food and Beverage Industry;
Switzerland;
Europe;
Africa;
Latin America;
North America;
Asia
Porter, Michael E., Mark R. Kramer, Kerry Herman, and Sarah McAra. "Nestlé's Creating Shared Value Strategy." Harvard Business School Case 716-422, November 2015. (Revised October 2017.)
- August 28, 2019
- Article
How to Make Your Sales Forecasts More Accurate
By: Lou Shipley
Companies need consistently accurate sales forecasts — but unfortunately they are rare. That’s because many companies fail to align their sales and marketing departments, and that alignment is a prerequisite for forecast accuracy. Companies can achieve better alignment...
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Shipley, Lou. "How to Make Your Sales Forecasts More Accurate." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (August 28, 2019).
- December 1994 (Revised December 1994)
- Case
Physician Sales and Service, Inc. (A): June 1992
A medical products distribution company faces strategic opportunities and challenges in a rapidly changing market. Physician Sales and Service (PSS), founded by Patrick Kelly in 1983, operates in 20 states in the United States and intends to expand to 50 states by...
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Keywords:
Entrepreneurship;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Medical Devices and Supplies Industry;
Distribution Industry
Bhide, Amar, and Jay Dial. "Physician Sales and Service, Inc. (A): June 1992." Harvard Business School Case 395-066, December 1994. (Revised December 1994.)
- 15 Nov 2018
- Working Paper Summaries