Harvard Case Study- Frank Cespedes

SellinG afTer The criSiS:

Sales Management

ThaT WorKS!

WITH Frank Cespedes

GVSU Seidman School of BUSineSS Grand rapidS, mi

User pay: $250 per Key exec or Guest

Day Chair: Pete Ruppert

INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM: For most companies, the pandemic has placed renewed emphasis on business development. But most predictions about post-Covid “new normals” are unsupported by data, and the impact on sales activities of new buying processes, e-commerce, and online technologies is often misunderstood. The result is a misalignment of strategy and sales, poor resource allocations, and missed opportunities for profitable growth. In this program, Frank Cespedes will help you separate signal from noise in thinking about the impact of changing selling requirements on your business. Through a combination of case-study discussion, presentations, and workshop, you will be exposed to insights on how to:

• Hire, deploy, and incentivize the right talent

• Improve ROI from sales training initiatives

• Create and maintain a relevant sales model and performance management practices

• Build/manage a multichannel approach in response to omni-channel buying processes

MEET

THE

SPEAKER:

Frank teaches at Harvard Business School, ran a professional services firm that worked with companies worldwide, and has been a Board member of corporations, start-up ventures, PE and VC companies. At Harvard, he teaches in the Owner-President Management program (OPM) for CEOs, heads the executive program on Linking Strategy and Sales, and developed the MBA course on Entrepreneurial Sales & Marketing. He has written for numerous publications and is the author of six books.

YPO WEST MICHIGAN MEMBERS,

Join us for an “Only in YPO” event and participate in a real Harvard Business School Case Study class on November 17th with Frank Cespedes of Harvard Business School.  The case study, pioneered many years ago by HBS has become the gold standard for graduate business school education.  Now, used by other business schools around the world, the case study allows participants to step inside of real life business situations and act as CEO of the organization being studied.  Understand the challenges, the opportunities and the unique dynamics of these important strategic business decisions that need to be made.

It’s up to you!  Come prepared with your thoughts and strategies, be ready defend your suggestions, and to possibly be “cold called” by Professor Cespedes.   Experience the reallife, fast paced classroom just like today’s HBS students.  The best ideas win!

Peter Ruppert Program Daychair

a s preparation for the Ypo program, please read and prepare the attached case study: iguanafix (case no. 817-056)

This case is an opportunity to consider the choice and role of go-to-market approaches in scaling a business, the business-development requirements relevant to B2B versus B2C buyers, and the dynamics of new platform and subscription business models. IguanaFix is a home-improvement venture in Latin America. The co-founders are debating how to allocate go-to-market staff and spending, while facing specific decisions concerning product and customer opportunities, a market-entry possibility, funding, and an acquisition offer.

please come to the Ypo session with your point-of-view about the following questions:

1. How should IguanaFix allocate investment and staff efforts across its B2B and B2C segments? How aggressively should Iguana Fix seek to accelerate growth in each segment? Why? If forced to cut investments in one of these segments for a quarter or longer, which would you cut? Why?

2. What are the requirements for effective marketing to IguanaFix’s consumer customers? Please be specific: which marketing vehicles and why? What are the implications for the venture in product development and technology build-out?

3. What are the requirements for marketing to IguanaFix’s B2B customers and partners? Again, please be specific: where and how do you spend money and time to do these activities effectively? What are the implications for product development and technology?

4. Are there linkages between the B2B and B2C segments? How does the presence or absence of linkages affect your recommendations about the decisions facing the founders?

5. Please come to the program with a decision and point-of-view about each of the following:

• Should the founders accept the $25 million investment offer from the VC that wants Iguana Fix to focus on B2C? Assume this offer implies a $75 million post-money valuation.

• How aggressively should IguanaFix pursue potential partners like the Insurance company and the auto services channel, or services such as fast-food store maintenance?

• Should management take over Casa Facil’s service operation in Colombia?

• How should management handle the acquisition offer from a large retailer? At what valuation would you be a seller? Assume this is a cash offer at an amount equal to the VC’s $75 million valuation of IguanaFix.