#32 – “What’s Next” in technology transformation, insights from Tiffani Bova.

I'm delighted to welcome a thought leader, sales strategist, growth adviser and change agent to Ultimate Guide to Partnering, Tiffani Bova.

Tiffani is the Global, Customer Growth, Sales and Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce. Her focus is to help drive customer success within their vast customer and partner ecosystem, helping companies re-imagine how they can not only grow bigger but grow better with innovative business models and technology.

Bova has earned accolades from the best leaders in the technology world like HP, IBM, Amazon, Oracle, SAP, Oracle, Cisco, and Microsoft. They praise her for cutting-edge analysis and her skill at inventing bold strategies for growth. "Tiffani is one of the most knowledgeable analysts in the industry when it comes to understanding channel, customer and tech trends." "She's the only one who speaks to the real world we all live in – recognizing our need to preserve the existing revenue stream while simultaneously developing a whole new approach." "Her ability to see clearly several steps ahead and uncover practical solutions to shortcomings and challenges is a true asset."

Prior to working with Salesforce she was a VP, Distinguished Analyst and Research Fellow at Gartner. Bova has also lived in the fast lane of high tech, leading sales organizations, driving growth and creating durable competitive advantages at Sprint, Inacom, Interland (web.com) and Gateway Computers. She learned how to lead sales and marketing teams in hotly competitive markets. She created some of the first cloud based channel programs and completely reinvented "go-to-market" tactics in several hardware and services businesses. And she developed her unique ability to connect with executives and employees at every level.

Tiffany and I have an extensive and rich conversation. In this episode you will learn:

Why she decided to host her own podcast “What’s Next” to share the conversations with thought leaders on business transformation. Listen here: http://whatsnextpodcast.libsyn.com/website.
Partner transformation and the pace of change that she has observed over a span of several years. And that speed of business is the new currency.
Disruption of existing models and why monetization is really tough for smaller organizations.
Why it’s hard for both the vendor and partner to shift.
What is the right pace of change for IT channel partners.
Trends she sees in the marketplace.
Advice she gives organizations looking to transformation.
Why "Customer Experience is the new battleground".
When a business coach or advisor can help your small business through transformation.
Her mentors, career advice, lessons learned and other nuggets from her career journey.

You can listen to the podcast and read the transcript of this episode below.

As with each of my interview and articles, I appreciate your feedback. You can reach me on Linked In or on email at [email protected]. You can also review this podcast by going to iTunes and searching “Ultimate Guide to Partnering” and clicking on the album art and hitting the ratings link. This helps others find the podcast.

I hope you enjoy this episode!

Vince Menzione

Transcript

I'm really excited to have you as a guest on The Ultimate Guide to partnering you and I had the opportunity to interact when you were a gardener and supporting Microsoft at a pivotal time in the business. And I'm a big fan of yours and excited to have you here today so welcome.

Tiffani Bova:                    01:23                  Oh I'm so glad to be here Vantz and I'm so glad to have conversation about you know something I'm passionate about which is channels and partnering.

Vince Menzione:             01:30                  So terrific to have you as well. And ad sales force you have a very interesting title now customer growth and innovation evangelists. I think that's a really cool title by the way. Can you tell our listeners a little bit more about how you see your...