Managing Sales Force And Designing Channel Networks The Focus Of New Harvard Business School Executive Education Program

MBA Blog / 16th May 2018

Harvard Business School (HBS) Executive Education will launch Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels on the HBS campus in Boston from August 5-8, 2018. This new program will equip executives with tools and frameworks to address the tremendous changes sales leaders are experiencing. With an emphasis on practical applications and tactical execution, the program will guide leaders through the process of designing a channel network and managing a sales force that optimizes sales outcomes.

In this hands-on program, leaders will analyze different routes to market and design a channel network that leads to better sales performance. Guided by expert faculty, participants will learn how to design and lead a go-to-market system, manage a multichannel network, recruit and supervise a sales force, and develop compensation plans for sales teams and distributors.

“The main theme of the program is how to go to market to achieve the best sales outcomes possible,” said Doug J. Chung, MBA Class of 1962 Associate Professor of Business Administration and faculty cochair of Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels. “As sales leaders, we have to use our teams effectively and determine the kinds of channels to go into – whether that’s a digital, indirect, or direct sales force channel – as well as how to manage the sales force within those parameters.”

Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels is intended to help participants draw links between what they have learned in the classroom and in their organizations. The program curriculumincludes a series of case studies focused on serving customers, designing and implementing go-to-market strategies, improving sales force management, and leveraging data and technology.

“This program is about what happens after a company has developed its big-picture Strategy,” said V. Kasturi Rangan, Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing and faculty cochair of Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels. “It’s about how you really get the job done through sales and distribution. Distribution is hard to change, but that doesn’t mean you can’t evolve it to keep up with the changes in the marketplace. Otherwise, you lose your distinctive edge.”

Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels is designed for individuals directly or indirectly responsible for their organization’s go-to-market strategy or sales force activities. It is ideal for middle-management leaders from midsize and large corporations where teams are encouraged to bring together people who view sales from different angles.

As with other HBS Executive Education offerings, Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels will rely on research from leading HBS faculty, collaboration with industry peers, and learnings from real-world case studies from successful, innovative global companies.

Program Details: 
Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels will take place from August 5-8, 2018 on the Harvard Business School campus. Please visit https://www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/sales/ for complete curriculum and to apply.

Faculty:

Doug J. Chung, MBA Class of 1962 Associate Professor of Business Administration and faculty cochair of Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels.

V. Kasturi Rangan, Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing and faculty cochair of Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels.

Donald K. Ngwe, Assistant Professor of Business Administration.