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Case | HBS Case Collection | May 1996 (Revised March 1998)

SaleSoft, Inc. (A)

by Das Narayandas

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Abstract

SaleSoft, a start-up firm, markets Comprehensive Sales Automation Solutions (CSAS) that automate a firm's sales, marketing, and service functions. Even though the product has received very favorable responses from prospects, product complexity and a long buying cycle have made it difficult for the firm to convert interest into sales orders. SaleSoft now has an opportunity to sell a part of the total CSAS solution as a stand-alone product. This "Trojan Horse" (TH) product offers an easy way for the firm to enter new customer accounts, gain quick sales, and generate much needed revenues. However, it could potentially distract the firm from its primary objective and cannibalize CSAS sales. SaleSoft needs to decide whether to continue selling CSAS or launch TH. And, the firm needs to develop a detailed marketing strategy to implement this decision.

Keywords: Business Startups; Decisions; Revenue; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Sales; Opportunities; Information Technology; Technology Industry;

Format: Print 22 pages EducatorsPurchase

Citation:

Narayandas, Das. "SaleSoft, Inc. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 596-112, May 1996. (Revised March 1998.)

About the Author

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Das Narayandas
Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration
Senior Associate Dean for HBS Publishing; Senior Associate Dean for External Relations
Marketing

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More from the Author

  • Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2018

    Executive Education in the Digital Vortex: The Disruption of the Supply Landscape

    Mihnea Moldoveanu and Das Narayandas

    Even as the demand for managerial skills continues to grow, executive education worldwide has entered a period of disruption caused by the digitalization of content, connectivity, and communication. The current offerings of many executive education program providers fall short of creating new skills in executives and developing fresh capabilities for organizations. Based on a study of all the programs offered by the business schools, consultancies, corporate universities, and online education providers, we analyze the advantages, and the constraints, of the existing programs. We also map the vehicles for skill development—such as case discussions, lectures, simulations, coaching sessions, live projects, etc.—in terms of their potential to develop executives for the future. We then examine the impact of the forces of digital disruption—the disaggregation and disintermediation of activity chains and the decoupling of the sources of value in education programs—on the future of executive education.

    Keywords: Executive Education; Online Technology; Disruption; Competency and Skills; Leadership Development;

    Citation:

    Moldoveanu, Mihnea, and Das Narayandas. "Executive Education in the Digital Vortex: The Disruption of the Supply Landscape." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-097, March 2018.  View Details
    CiteView Details Read Now Related
  • Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2018

    SAP: Branding in the Digital Age

    Das Narayandas and Amram Migdal

    Citation:

    Narayandas, Das, and Amram Migdal. "SAP: Branding in the Digital Age." Harvard Business School Case 518-058, January 2018.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducators Related
  • Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2017 (Revised January 2018)

    Paytm: Building a Payments Network

    Sunil Gupta, Das Narayandas and Rachna Tahilyani

    By January 2017, Paytm, a mobile payments company that started in 2010, became India’s largest mobile payments platform with over 142 million users and $5 billion valuation. Could Paytm become a $100 billion company its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma envisioned it be?

    Keywords: mobile payments; ecommerce; mobile app; india; Entrepreneurship; Expansion; Service Operations; Mobile Technology; Service Industry; India;

    Citation:

    Gupta, Sunil, Das Narayandas, and Rachna Tahilyani. "Paytm: Building a Payments Network." Harvard Business School Case 517-091, January 2017. (Revised January 2018.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related
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