Harvard Business

OCTOBER 19, 2023

Selling original or quirky products is often an uphill battle. But research that involved an analysis of quirky products sold by some 7,000 craft entrepreneurs on Etsy suggests that effective storytelling that helps people relate to such offerings can turn them into successes.

Productivity 196

Productivity Analysis Research Sales 196

Epicflow

JULY 5, 2024

In this article, we highlight the top 15 capacity planning tools and offer valuable recommendations to help you select the most suitable one for your business needs. It increases productivity Capacity planning software helps ensure that the right resources are available at the right time and aren’t overloaded.

Tools 253

Tools Software Resources Efficiency 253

Successful Independent Consulting

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

This article was written by ChatGPT using the transcript of the roundtable, but it was lightly edited. For us, ChatGPT isn't just another tech gimmick; it's a virtual assistant that can elevate our creativity, enhance productivity, and revolutionize our communications. Like I did for this article!)

Productivity 195

Productivity Consulting Tools Efficiency 195

Harvard Business

AUGUST 22, 2023

Technology has long been used to boost seller productivity, but sales leaders are telling us that efficiency gains have become slower and more expensive. Sales organizations’ tendency to run most tasks through the sales rep requires an increasing number of complex systems to support.

Sales 172

Sales Efficiency System Productivity 172

Harvard Business

NOVEMBER 8, 2016

Outbound B2B sales are becoming less and less effective. In fact, a recent survey found that connecting with a prospect now takes 18 or more phone calls, callback rates are below 1%, and only 24% of outbound sales emails are ever opened. Why are more and more buyers avoiding salespeople during the buying process?

B2B 190

B2B Sales Media Survey 190

Harvard Business

DECEMBER 11, 2018

Thomas Steenburgh, a marketing professor at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, was inspired by his early career at Xerox to discover why firms with stellar sales and R&D departments still struggle to sell new innovations. The answer, he finds, is that too many companies expect shiny new products to sell themselves.

Productivity 131

Productivity Sales Training Training 131

Harvard Business

DECEMBER 21, 2023

As AI proliferates, companies are using it to offer data-driven recommendations on a wide range of activities, from whom to hire to what product a salesperson should recommend to customers. How much to rely on these data-driven recommendations should hinge on two questions: How high are the decision stakes?

Sales 252

Sales Data Productivity Company 252

Tom Spencer

MARCH 8, 2024

One of the most common problems business leaders face is how to price a product. From entrepreneurs putting a new product on the market to executives at a public company revamping a product line, effective pricing is a key pillar of any successful sales and marketing strategy. Pricing strategy is not one-size-fits-all.

Productivity 158

Productivity Sales Strategy Strategy 158

Harvard Business

MAY 22, 2017

So how can you improve your sales skills, especially if you don’t pitch people often? And what should you do if you lose a sale? “Many of them tell me that sales is something they never want to do in their careers.” ” And yet, he says, “Sales is the most fundamental skill.”

Sales 195

Sales How To Case Study Case Studies 195

Harvard Business

NOVEMBER 20, 2018

I’ve been using the sales funnel for 28 years, my whole career. When I started my career, the most profitable application of force was in sales. Back in the 1990s, sales reps had a lot of information, while customers had relatively little. Sales reps leveraged that information gap to create a lot of trust.

Sales 132

Sales B2C Energy Efficiency 132

Harvard Business

AUGUST 3, 2017

To motivate, manage, and reward B2B salespeople, many companies use sales incentive plans that link large commissions or bonuses to individual results metrics, such as territory quota achievement. The right sales incentive plan creates a double win. This made it easy to measure individual sales results.

Sales 135

Sales Metrics B2B Culture 135

Harvard Business

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

Early user programs are critical to the success of products. This article provides a process that can make a big difference in helping companies do a better job of choosing early users and harvesting valuable information. They can have a significant impact on the success of a new product launch.

B2B 246

B2B Productivity Company Sales 246

Harvard Business

OCTOBER 31, 2022

The right process can help you boost revenue, expand margins, and successfully launch new products — even in challenging economic times.

Sales 182

Sales Productivity Financial Marketing 182

Harvard Business

JULY 25, 2018

Productive: “Achieving or producing a significant amount of result.” ” As a time management coach, I’m keenly aware that you could answer the question “Am I productive enough?” I’m also familiar with the fact that individuals fall on a productivity spectrum.

Productivity 132

Productivity Time Management Tools Meeting 132

Harvard Business

JULY 30, 2018

If you ever had a thought about a product or a vacation, and it seemed to suddenly pop up on your search page or in your email inbox, I can assure you it was based on AI (a classification algorithm) monitoring your online activity. If you’ve ever ordered an Uber, AI (a location algorithm) was used to have a car in your vicinity quickly.

Sales 128

Sales Data Company Examples 128

Harvard Business

APRIL 20, 2018

Is there someone on your team who seems unusually productive? Super-productive people are in every industry. The most productive software developers write nine times more usable code per day than the average developer, according to research by Michael Mankins. The most productive people are great problem-solvers.

Productivity 138

Productivity Study Software Analysis 138

Harvard Business

OCTOBER 1, 2024

They found that only 15% of CEOs and sales teams have a customer-centric strategy. Most run their company or customer relationships based on a product-focused mindset, which puts the onus on finding a market to sell one’s products to, rather than orchestrating growth together with customers.

Company 227

Company Sales Productivity Data 227

Harvard Business

JANUARY 9, 2025

Online platforms from Amazon to Goodreads to IMDb tap into the so-called wisdom of the crowd to rate products and experiences. But recent research suggests that more experienced buyers tend to select better products and therefore expect higher quality, which leads them to rate more stringently.

Research 193

Research Productivity Data Sales 193

Harvard Business

JUNE 14, 2024

Delayed and ineffective commercial integration can turn a good deal into a loser, because sales growth ultimately determines whether a merger achieves its value-creation goals. But compared to other areas of post-merger activity, the commercial engine starts late, operates uncertainly, and often runs out of gas before reaching its goals.

How To 241

How To Engineering Sales Operations 241

Harvard Business

JULY 24, 2023

In the authors’ experience leading and coaching sales teams, they see evidence that a brief, well-pointed sales retrospective, where you unpack the reasons behind a win or a loss, can significantly improve a team’s future win rate. But very few take the time to assess why they won the business.

Sales 134

Sales Finance Marketing Productivity 134

Harvard Business

NOVEMBER 23, 2018

In the 2001 recession, total sales for the S&P 500 declined by 9% from its pre-recession peak to its trough 18 months later—almost a year after the recession officially ended. We’ll focus here on what the sales organization should be doing now to prepare for the next recession, with an eye toward using new digital tools.

Sales 130

Sales B2B Tools Software 130

Clarity Consultants

FEBRUARY 9, 2025

This article provides a comprehensive framework for measuring the long-term impact of L&D initiatives and tracking the ROI of learning programs over extended periods, complete with real-world success stories and actionable metrics. Are you aiming to increase sales, improve customer satisfaction, or boost employee retention?

Metrics 147

Metrics ROI Training Training 147

Harvard Business

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

In this model, consumers buy products during their engagement with the content provider. Managing the platform to generate sales, therefore, is about enabling the right content to reach the right viewers. Savvy content-based platforms are leveraging AI to this trend and carefully curate their influencer relationships.

Retail 244

Retail Trends Sales Productivity 244

Harvard Business

NOVEMBER 8, 2018

At the same time, the software company has wasted time and resources on duplicate, uncoordinated, and ineffective marketing and sales outreach. Companies need an orchestrator to ensure marketing and sales outreach is well-coordinated and aligned with customer buying needs. The buying process is no longer linear or consistent.

Sales 128

Sales Marketing Software Data 128

Consulting Success

DECEMBER 18, 2017

Transform your failures into success in no time by implementing sales systems that will work for you. Description: Bob Burg is a sought-after speaker at company leadership and sales conferences around the world. Without a passion for journalism, he knew he needed to make a career change and graduated into sales.

System 133

System Sales Consulting Methodologies 133

Harvard Business

JUNE 22, 2018

Across the technology industry, subscription sales models are growing in popularity. The trend is having a big impact on sales forces. For example, an enterprise software company recently transitioned from selling custom software as a one-time product to selling monthly SaaS (software as a service) subscriptions.

Sales 123

Sales Guidelines Efficiency Software 123

Harvard Business

FEBRUARY 22, 2023

Connecting existing systems that track applicants, onboard employees, and monitor performance can help improve your team’s productivity and performance.

Agile 174

Agile Talent Sales System 174

Harvard Business

FEBRUARY 13, 2025

LLMs can help you understand your clients’ challenges, how they’re measuring them, and how your products can solve them.

Sales 160

Sales Productivity Marketing 160

Harvard Business

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018

That’s when consumers feel so invested in a product that it becomes an extension of themselves. Companies that encourage psychological ownership can entice customers to buy more products, at higher prices, and even to willingly promote those products among their friends. Sales turned around, rising 2.5

Productivity 122

Productivity Film Tourism Sales 122

Tom Spencer

SEPTEMBER 13, 2024

In today’s competitive business landscape, traditional sales and marketing-driven approaches are increasingly giving way to a new paradigm: Product Led Growth (PLG). In this article, we’ll explore the fundamentals of PLG, its benefits, and how businesses can successfully implement this strategy to drive sustainable growth.

Productivity 78

Productivity Marketing Sales Methodologies 78

Consulting Matters

AUGUST 26, 2021

This article is your first step. Your heart won't be in it, and your clients will know that you are trying to land them for the sale and not out of a heart of service. Related Articles: Consulting vs. Leading. Related Article : Consulting vs. Coaching. So, let's make this happen for you! Why consulting or coaching?

Consulting 317

Consulting B2C B2B ROI 317

Successful Independent Consulting

FEBRUARY 22, 2017

Their branding helps drive sales by keeping their products or services fresh in the consumer’s mind. Occasionally I read an article about these types of projects, and I want to comment online but stop myself. Everyone in business recognizes strong brands and understands their importance. These brands represent certain values.

Consulting 296

Consulting Advertising Survey Examples 296

Tom Spencer

OCTOBER 25, 2024

This article examines how AI is affecting small businesses and discusses the hurdles that need to be overcome to fully embrace this transformative technology. This has the potential to lower operating expenses, boost sales volumes, and thereby increase overall profitability. Zuhair Imaduddin is a Senior Product Manager at Wells Fargo.

Small Business 78

Small Business Data Efficiency Tools 78

Epicflow

OCTOBER 9, 2024

And we are going to get that value from the product or service that is delivered at the project’s completion. If we are undertaking the project scope because of the value (contract price, sales revenue, market visibility, productivity improvement, mortality reduction, etc.) References Books: Devaux, Stephen A.,

Resources 130

Resources Metrics Data Cash Flow 130

Chad Barr

MARCH 12, 2025

Leveraging ChatGPT Canvas can significantly boost your productivity and content quality. Unlike traditional static responses, the Canvas provides a dedicated space where content can be refined, making it ideal for writing articles, reports, newsletters, scripts, and much more. A stronger opening paragraph? A more structured layout?

Efficiency 52

Efficiency Tools Productivity Media 52

Harvard Business

OCTOBER 12, 2020

They’re still valuable — even in a recession.

Productivity 172

Productivity Sales Marketing 172

Management Consulted

NOVEMBER 20, 2013

In our Consulting Interview Bible, we go into the differences in great detail – but that’s not the point of this article. We know we could do an entire article on each one, and very well might in the near future (comment below if you’d like to see more on this)! Today, we focus on 6 types of case interviews.

Case Interview 236

Case Interview Interviews Study Cover Letters 236