More from these Authors

• Article | Harvard Business Review (website)

  Why ‘Tell Them Something They Don't Know’ Is Bad Advice in B2B Sales

  Frank V. Cespedes and Tracy DeCicco

  Common advice in sales is to provide insights to customers during sales calls. But this advice generally stays at the level of “tell people something they don’t already know” and results in sales conversations littered with many irrelevant factoids. This article provides examples of how salespeople develop and deliver resonant insights in customer conversations and why the framing of insights depends upon to whom they are talking and when in the sales cycle.

  Keywords: Sales; Interpersonal Communication; Communication Strategy;

  Citation:

  Cespedes, Frank V., and Tracy DeCicco. "Why ‘Tell Them Something They Don't Know’ Is Bad Advice in B2B Sales." Harvard Business Review (website) (August 19, 2019).  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2005 (Revised August 2019)

  Cisco Systems: Managing the Go-to-Market Evolution

  V. Kasturi Rangan

  With the collapse of the dot-com market and related shrinkage in the high-tech industry, Cisco took a dip in its sales and profits in 2001. Coming back from the recession, Cisco had to manage and evolve its go-to-market strategy and design in keeping with its new business strategy. Describes those changes and poses new channel management challenges in light of Cisco's entry into new markets and technologies.

  Keywords: Change Management; Design; Business Cycles; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Business Strategy;

  Citation:

  Rangan, V. Kasturi. "Cisco Systems: Managing the Go-to-Market Evolution." Harvard Business School Case 505-006, March 2005. (Revised August 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2011 (Revised August 2019)

  Hindustan Unilever's 'Pureit' Water Purifier

  V. Kasturi Rangan and Mona Sinha

  The case asks students to formulate a strategy to respond to various competitive threats to its Pureit Water purifier, launched in 2008, targeted at millions of low-income Indian consumers who did not have access to safe drinking water. The case describes in detail the product development and launch process that required HUL, the $3.5 billion Indian subsidiary, to innovate on many different fronts. It details competitive actions since the launch to set the stage for what the company should do next.

  Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Development; Social Enterprise; Competitive Strategy; India;

  Citation:

  Rangan, V. Kasturi, and Mona Sinha. "Hindustan Unilever's 'Pureit' Water Purifier." Harvard Business School Case 511-067, February 2011. (Revised August 2019.)  View Details

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