Filter Results
:
(254)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web (254)
- Faculty Publications (208)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web (254)
- Faculty Publications (208)
- August 2009 (Revised August 2012)
- Case
Cabot Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
By: Frank V. Cespedes and John T. Gourville
Traces the 12-year career of a pharmaceutical salesperson, Bob Marsh, from recruitment to termination. Marsh has had an uneven career with Cabot Pharmaceuticals and eventually is asked to resign. Following his termination, a number of Marsh's former customers complain...
View Details
Keywords:
Customer Relationship Management;
Employees;
Resignation and Termination;
Performance Evaluation;
Salesforce Management;
Alignment;
Pharmaceutical Industry
Cespedes, Frank V., and John T. Gourville. "Cabot Pharmaceuticals, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 510-030, August 2009. (Revised August 2012.)
- August 22, 2017
- Article
Find the Right Metrics for Your Sales Team
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Robert Marsh
This article reports the results of a survey of key performance indicators (KPIs) used by more than 800 sales groups across industries. The most common KPIs are closed deals and salesperson performance against quota, which, on average, firms measure monthly. But a...
View Details
Cespedes, Frank V., and Robert Marsh. "Find the Right Metrics for Your Sales Team." Harvard Business Review (website) (August 22, 2017).
- Web
HBS Entrepreneurship Summit - Alumni
2009), Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Rent the Runway Aditya Julka (MBA 2009), Co-Founder & CEO, Syllable Sylvia Kainz (MBA 1997), Owner, Scala Gosia Karas (MBA 2017), Investment Director, SoftBank Investment Advisers Alex Kayyal (MBA 2011), View Details
- Web
Marketing Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research
the TIMS College of Marketing Award for the Best Article in Management Science and Marketing Science in 1985 for "A Theory of Salesforce Compensation Plans" (with A. K. Basu, V. Srinivasan, and Richard...
View Details
- October 2016
- Case
The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness
By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth
In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held...
View Details
Keywords:
LA Fitness;
Health Clubs;
Fitness;
Gyms;
Chain;
Exercise;
Personal Training;
Retention;
Bally Total Fitness;
24 Hour Fitness;
Planet Fitness;
Buildings and Facilities;
Acquisition;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Business Model;
For-Profit Firms;
Customers;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Customer Satisfaction;
Demographics;
Age;
Gender;
Income;
Residency;
Borrowing and Debt;
Capital;
Capital Structure;
Cash;
Cash Flow;
Cost;
Private Equity;
Financial Condition;
Financial Liquidity;
Financing and Loans;
Investment Return;
Price;
Profit;
Revenue;
Geographic Location;
Geographic Scope;
Multinational Firms and Management;
Business History;
Employees;
Recruitment;
Selection and Staffing;
Human Capital;
Contracts;
Business or Company Management;
Goals and Objectives;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Market Entry and Exit;
Operations;
Service Operations;
Leasing;
Private Ownership;
Problems and Challenges;
Sales;
Salesforce Management;
Situation or Environment;
Opportunities;
Sports;
Strategy;
Business Strategy;
Competition;
Competitive Strategy;
Competitive Advantage;
Corporate Strategy;
Expansion;
Segmentation;
Information Technology;
Mobile Technology;
Technology Platform;
Health Industry;
United States;
California;
Los Angeles
Wells, John R., and Gabriel Ellsworth. "The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness." Harvard Business School Case 717-424, October 2016.
- April 1988 (Revised September 1992)
- Case
Frito-Lay, Inc.: The Backhaul Decision
Prior to the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, companies with private trucking fleets were generally prohibited from selling transportation services to other companies. The deregulation of the trucking industry in 1980 allowed private carriers to offer for-hire transportation...
View Details
Keywords:
Cost Management;
Revenue;
Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms;
Marketing Strategy;
Distribution;
Service Operations;
Sales;
Salesforce Management;
Transportation;
Food and Beverage Industry
Hammond, Janice H. "Frito-Lay, Inc.: The Backhaul Decision." Harvard Business School Case 688-104, April 1988. (Revised September 1992.)
- February 2011 (Revised December 2014)
- Case
RentJuice
By: Thomas Eisenmann and Liz Kind
RentJuice, founded in mid-2008, provided a subscription software service—sold via phone and live online webinars—that allowed real estate professionals like brokers and agents to manage and market rental listings, communicate with clients, and complete transaction...
View Details
Keywords:
Renting or Rental;
Product Launch;
Applications and Software;
Property;
Business Startups;
Salesforce Management;
Product Marketing;
Real Estate Industry;
Information Technology Industry
Eisenmann, Thomas, and Liz Kind. "RentJuice." Harvard Business School Case 811-069, February 2011. (Revised December 2014.)
- June 2017
- Case
Magellan Boatworks
By: John A. Quelch and James T. Kindley
Magellan Boatworks is a midsize manufacturer of customized, power "cruising yachts." In the face of economic and political uncertainty in late 2016, Magellan's VP of sales and marketing, Walt Robinson, wonders whether he should request a budget increase for 2017....
View Details
Quelch, John A., and James T. Kindley. "Magellan Boatworks." Harvard Business School Brief Case 917-547, June 2017.
- January 2021
- Article
Sales Hiring Is Hard to Do (Don't Make It Harder)
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.
- Article
How a Fast-Growing Startup Built Its Sales Team for Long-Term Success
By: Frank V. Cespedes and David Mattson
It’s common for leaders of sales teams to focus almost exclusively on short-term tactics and current operations while failing to think and act in a way that supports the longer-term needs of their businesses—and it’s hard to fault them. The biggest problem with a...
View Details
Cespedes, Frank V., and David Mattson. "How a Fast-Growing Startup Built Its Sales Team for Long-Term Success." Harvard Business Review (website) (December 4, 2017).
- October 2000 (Revised July 2001)
- Case
Avon Products (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Greg Rogers
The general manager of Avon Mexico, Fernando Lezama, must decide whether to promote a woman to the position of vice president of sales. If appointed, the candidate would be the first female in all of Latin America to hold an executive position and one of the first...
View Details
Keywords:
Business or Company Management;
Leading Change;
Salesforce Management;
Organizational Culture;
Job Design and Levels;
Gender;
Management Teams;
Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues;
Mexico
Paine, Lynn S., and Greg Rogers. "Avon Products (A)." Harvard Business School Case 301-059, October 2000. (Revised July 2001.)
- 31 Oct 2011
- Research & Ideas
The Most Powerful Workplace Motivator
Any parent can tell you that a surefire way to turn joy into rage is to offer your child a big candy bar—and then turn around and offer an even bigger one to his sister. Suddenly, a special treat turns into a great injustice. "Hey! How come she got more? That's not...
View Details
Keywords:
by Carmen Nobel
- 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.)
- July 1990 (Revised October 1999)
- Case
Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A)
By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston
In 1989, the performance measurement systems and compensation policies of Nordstrom Department Stores unexpectedly came under attack by employees, unions, and government regulators. The case describes the "sales-per-hour" monitoring and compensation system that many...
View Details
Keywords:
Performance Consistency;
Performance Evaluation;
Compensation and Benefits;
Motivation and Incentives;
Labor Unions;
Salesforce Management;
Retention;
Growth and Development;
Industrial Products Industry;
Utilities Industry
Simons, Robert L., and Hilary Weston. "Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A)." Harvard Business School Case 191-002, July 1990. (Revised October 1999.)
- 2015
- Case
Fine Harvest Restaurant Group (cases A and B)
By: Clara (Xiaoling) Chen, Kenneth A. Merchant, Tatiana Sandino and Wim A. Van der Stede
The Fine Harvest Restaurant Group cases A and B examine a company's design of a new system to evaluate the performance (and determine the bonuses) for its restaurant managers. Fine Harvest had traditionally evaluated restaurant managers based on store margins and had...
View Details
- November 1999 (Revised July 2003)
- Case
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen
Pre-Paid Legal Services' business model reveals two key issues--managing the sales force and sales growth and managing claims. Students analyze the economics of the business and consider how to measure firm performance, how to evaluate and reward the sales force, and...
View Details
Keywords:
Financial Management;
Financial Strategy;
Salesforce Management;
Marketing Strategy;
Accrual Accounting;
Business Cycles;
Forecasting and Prediction;
Insurance;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Insurance Industry
Healy, Paul M., and Jacob Cohen. "Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 100-037, November 1999. (Revised July 2003.)
- May 2017
- Case
Promontory, Inc.
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Handlin
Promontory, Inc. is a small, privately owned firm in the promotional products (specialty advertising) industry. After starting the firm two years ago with the intention of pursuing a high-quality/high-price strategy, the CEO is seeking methods of increasing sales...
View Details
Keywords:
Salesforce Management;
Marketing Strategy;
Customization and Personalization;
Business Model;
Sales;
Advertising Industry
Cespedes, Frank V., and Amy Handlin. "Promontory, Inc." Harvard Business School Brief Case 917-535, May 2017.
- August 2012
- Case
Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH
By: John J. Gabarro and Colleen Kaftan
Jess Westerly is the assistant product owner of CRM applications for computer and office supply wholesalers and retailers at Kauflauf, a fast-growing provider of subscription enterprise software headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. Only months into her job, outsider...
View Details
Keywords:
Applications and Software;
Organizational Culture;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Change Management;
Leading Change;
Behavior;
Salesforce Management;
Social and Collaborative Networks;
Planning;
Web Services Industry;
Germany
Gabarro, John J., and Colleen Kaftan. "Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH." Harvard Business School Brief Case 913-527, August 2012.
- July 2019 (Revised March 2020)
- Case
At-Bay Cyber Insurance
By: Marco Di Maggio and David Lane
At-Bay was a cyber insurance startup that offered companies coverage against a wide array of cyber risks—exposure to which the firm was able to quickly assess and price on the basis of technical expertise that traditional insurance carriers lacked. In mid-2019, At-Bay...
View Details
Keywords:
Business Startups;
Insurance;
Disruptive Innovation;
Risk Management;
Product Marketing;
Distribution Channels;
Information Technology;
Salesforce Management;
Insurance Industry
Di Maggio, Marco, and David Lane. "At-Bay Cyber Insurance." Harvard Business School Case 220-005, July 2019. (Revised March 2020.)
- 25 Oct 2016
- First Look
October 25, 2016
2016 University of Chicago Press Innovation Equity: Assessing and Managing the Monetary Value of New Products and Services By: Ofek, Elie, Eitan Muller, and Barak Libai Abstract—This book bridges the gap between what academics know, and...
View Details
Keywords:
Sean Silverthorne