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    • All HBS Web  (108,918)
      • Faculty Publications  (308)

      Cespedes, Frank V. Remove Cespedes, Frank V. →

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      • January 2023 (Revised January 2023)
      • Case

      Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales

      By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Klopfenstein
      This case provides an overview of a sales transformation in the industrial automation division at Belden, a hardware manufacturer. While Belden historically sold products such as cables, wires, and other networking devices, EVP of Industrial Automation Ashish Chand...  View Details
      Keywords: Implementation; Sales Cycle; Digital Transformation; Sales; Product Positioning; Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Supply and Industry; Technology Industry; North America; United States
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      Cespedes, Frank V., and Amy Klopfenstein. "Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales." Harvard Business School Case 823-002, January 2023. (Revised January 2023.)
      • November 15, 2022
      • Article

      Using Simulations to Upskill Employees

      By: Frank V. Cespedes, Trond Aas, Alex Hunt and Huw Newton-Hill
      Reskilling employees tops the agenda in many organizations, according to a LinkedIn report. Korn Ferry estimates an 85-million person talent shortage by 2030, and McKinsey likens the challenge to the shift from agricultural to manufacturing work that occurred in the...  View Details
      Keywords: Employee Engagement; Managing People; Talent Development; Training; Human Capital; Experience and Expertise; Talent and Talent Management; Retention; Personal Development and Career
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      Cespedes, Frank V., Trond Aas, Alex Hunt, and Huw Newton-Hill. "Using Simulations to Upskill Employees." Harvard Business Review (website) (November 15, 2022).
      • October 2022 (Revised December 2022)
      • Case

      Aphro Beverages

      By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amram Migdal
      This case focuses on distribution, sales, and product decisions as Aphro Beverages reaches an inflection point in its growth trajectory. In 2020, Aphro Beverages, based in Accra, Ghana, successfully launched its brand and brought two new alcoholic spirits products to...  View Details
      Keywords: Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Business Ventures; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Food; Geography; Geographic Scope; Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Resource Allocation; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Digital Marketing; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Operations; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Product; Product Design; Product Development; Supply Chain; Sales; Salesforce Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Africa; Ghana
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      Cespedes, Frank V., and Amram Migdal. "Aphro Beverages." Harvard Business School Case 823-044, October 2022. (Revised December 2022.)
      • 2022
      • Chapter

      Coordinating Marketing and Sales in B2B Organizations

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      This Handbook is targeted at academics and graduate students who want an overview of the academic state of the business-to-business marketing domain and at B2B practitioners who want to be aware of the current state of knowledge in their domains. This chapter examines...  View Details
      Keywords: B2B Marketing; Marketing
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      Cespedes, Frank V. "Coordinating Marketing and Sales in B2B Organizations." Chap. 7 in Handbook of Business-to-Business Marketing. 2nd ed. Edited by Gary L. Lilien, J. Andrew Petersen, and Stefan Wuyts, 117–137. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022.
      • August 15, 2022
      • Article

      Preparing Sales for a Changing Economy: Part 2: Getting More from Your Training Spending

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      A previous article discussed changing business development requirements and some implications. This article discusses three areas that are fundamental to getting ROI from training initiatives and how engagement between Sales and L&D professionals, completed by smart...  View Details
      Keywords: Training; Sales
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      Cespedes, Frank V. "Preparing Sales for a Changing Economy: Part 2: Getting More from Your Training Spending." TrainingIndustry.com (August 15, 2022).
      • August 9, 2022
      • Article

      Preparing Sales for a Changing Economy: Part 1

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      Companies spend more per capita on sales training than any other function, but the return on investment is disappointing. One recent estimate indicates “that 85-90% of sales training fails to translate into a lasting improvement in productivity.” A major reason is...  View Details
      Keywords: Return On Investment; Sales; Training
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      Cespedes, Frank V. "Preparing Sales for a Changing Economy: Part 1." TrainingIndustry.com (August 9, 2022).
      • July 8, 2022
      • Article

      How to Conduct a Great Performance Review

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      Dissatisfaction with performance appraisals is pervasive, but they remain an essential managerial responsibility. The purpose of performance reviews is two-fold: an accurate and actionable evaluation of performance, and then development of that person’s skills in line...  View Details
      Keywords: Performance Review; Feedback; Employees; Management Skills
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      Cespedes, Frank V. "How to Conduct a Great Performance Review." Harvard Business Review (website) (July 8, 2022).
      • February 15, 2022
      • Article

      How Managers Can Build a Culture of Experimentation

      By: Frank V. Cespedes and Neil Hoyne
      Testing in business presents qualitatively different challenges than those in clinical trials and most scientific research. There are very few opportunities for randomized control experiments in a changing, competitive market. Yet, change and competition make testing a...  View Details
      Keywords: Experimentation; Management; Decision Making
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      Cespedes, Frank V., and Neil Hoyne. "How Managers Can Build a Culture of Experimentation." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (February 15, 2022).
      • December 16, 2021
      • Article

      Avoid a One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Sales Coaching

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      Coaching sales reps is about clarifying relevant behaviors and whether the issue is motivation or ability. Some reps may work hard, but lack certain capabilities while others demonstrate capability but seemingly lack motivation or effort. Good coaching helps to clarify...  View Details
      Keywords: Salesforce Management; Training; Competency and Skills; Motivation and Incentives
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      Cespedes, Frank V. "Avoid a One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Sales Coaching." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (December 16, 2021).
      • August 2021
      • Article

      Improving Sales Hiring

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      Sales hiring presents inherent challenges not found to the same extent in talent management in other functional areas. Moreover, common hiring practices make a tough job needlessly harder. This article suggests practical ways to improve sales hiring: Hire for the Task,...  View Details
      Keywords: Sales; Selection and Staffing
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      Cespedes, Frank V. "Improving Sales Hiring." Top Sales Magazine (August 2021), 20–21.
      • May–June 2021
      • Article

      Getting Up to Speed in Your Sales Efforts

      By: Frank V. Cespedes and Zoran Latinovic
      In a study before the pandemic, Pricewaterhouse Coopers found that companies had made little progress in the previous decade in speeding up their cash-conversion cycle, as the cash crunch generated by the pandemic painfully demonstrated. In most firms, sales velocity...  View Details
      Keywords: Sales Velocity; Opportunity Selection; Deal Size; Win Rate; Sales; Management; Cash Flow
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      Cespedes, Frank V., and Zoran Latinovic. "Getting Up to Speed in Your Sales Efforts." European Business Review (May–June 2021): 68–71.
      • 2021
      • Chapter

      Digital Transformation and the Salesforce: Observations, Warnings, and Recommendations

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      Sales is a crucial test for organizational change, including productive use (or not) of new technologies. Changes in selling always have wider organizational implications, because so many other decisions and resource commitments in firms depend upon demand forecasts...  View Details
      Keywords: Sales; Salesforce Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Transformation
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      Cespedes, Frank V. "Digital Transformation and the Salesforce: Observations, Warnings, and Recommendations." In Managing Digital Transformation: Understanding the Strategic Process, edited by Andreas Hinterhuber, Tiziano Vescovi, and Francesca Checchinato. Routledge, 2021.
      • April 5, 2021
      • Article

      Defining a Post-Pandemic Channel Strategy

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      Companies have experienced a surge of online orders during the pandemic. As the crisis eases, leaders need to decide whether the shift to e-commerce is a permanent “new normal” or a temporary increase. Across sectors, forecasts aimed at answering this question form the...  View Details
      Keywords: Health Pandemics; Marketing Channels; Strategy; Resource Allocation; E-commerce
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      Cespedes, Frank V. "Defining a Post-Pandemic Channel Strategy." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (April 5, 2021).
      • March 2021
      • Teaching Note

      Performance Improvement Consulting and Hi-R-Me: Making Sales Calls

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 819-043. This case study focuses on concepts, tools, and behaviors relevant to making sales calls along a typical progression with a prospect: from an initial phone call thru more in-depth discovery to a go/no-go meeting. The teaching...  View Details
      Keywords: Sales Calls; Sales; Competency and Skills
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      Cespedes, Frank V. "Performance Improvement Consulting and Hi-R-Me: Making Sales Calls." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 821-079, March 2021.
      • Article

      Selling After the Crisis

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      Like perishable goods in grocery stores, sales models have a sell-by date. As product standards evolve and new entrants emerge, buyers have more choices and demand more in terms of quality and performance across vendors. Firms that fail to adjust to changing customer...  View Details
      Keywords: Sales Model; Sales; Management; Customer Relationship Management; Health Pandemics
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      Cespedes, Frank V. "Selling After the Crisis." Harvard Business Review 99, no. 2 (March–April 2021): 52–57.
      • Article

      New Sales Realities

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      Business leaders need to understand that it’s the fit of People, Process, Pricing, and Partners that drives sales effectiveness. As firms confront new buying processes, required sales competencies affect hiring, training, and development (People). Without a coherent...  View Details
      Keywords: Sales; Performance Effectiveness
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      Cespedes, Frank V. "New Sales Realities." International Journal of Sales Transformation 7.1 (April 2021): 26–27.
      • Article

      How Real Sales Learning Happens: In the Flow of Work

      By: Yuchun Lee, Mark Magnacca and Frank V. Cespedes
      Most learning in sales is through peer learning in task-specific contexts, and the effects are cumulative because modeling behavior is a big driver of how salespeople develop. This is very different from the experience in most training seminars, especially if the...  View Details
      Keywords: Sales; Learning; Training; Performance
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      Lee, Yuchun, Mark Magnacca, and Frank V. Cespedes. "How Real Sales Learning Happens: In the Flow of Work." Learning Solutions (February 15, 2021).
      • February 2021
      • Case

      Yellow Digital Retailers: Providing Solar Electricity to Transform Rural Africa

      By: Lynda M. Applegate, Frank V. Cespedes and Michael Norris
      In 2020, Mike Heyink and Maya Stewart, co-founders of the Pay-as-you-Go Solar company Yellow were considering how to grow their startup. They had achieved some success in their first market, Malawi, and had recently entered Uganda, where business was slower. What did...  View Details
      Keywords: Solar Energy; Business Model; Business Startups; Developing Countries and Economies; Alternative Energy; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Green Technology; Salesforce Management; Diversification; Expansion; Energy Industry; Africa; South Africa; Malawi; Uganda
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      Applegate, Lynda M., Frank V. Cespedes, and Michael Norris. "Yellow Digital Retailers: Providing Solar Electricity to Transform Rural Africa." Harvard Business School Case 821-041, February 2021.
      • 2021
      • Book

      Sales Management That Works: How to Sell in a World That Never Stops Changing

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      Selling is changing, but the impact on sales of megatrends like ecommerce, big data, and AI is often misunderstood and not supported by empirical data. Managers who fail to separate fact from hype will make decisions based on bad assumptions and, in a competitive...  View Details
      Keywords: Sales; Strategy; Salesforce Management; Change; Adaptation
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      Cespedes, Frank V. Sales Management That Works: How to Sell in a World That Never Stops Changing. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2021.
      • January 2021
      • Article

      Sales Hiring Is Hard to Do (Don't Make It Harder)

      By: Frank V. Cespedes
      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
      Keywords: Salesforce Management; Selection and Staffing; Human Resources
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      Cespedes, Frank V. "Sales Hiring Is Hard to Do (Don't Make It Harder)." Top Sales Magazine (January 2021), 38–39.
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