The Channel Futures Podcast Episode No. 25: Salesforce's Tiffani Bova and Her New Book, 'Grow IQ'

In this episode we interview Salesforce Innovation Evangelist Tiffani Bova, whose new book, “Growth IQ: Get smarter about the choices that will make or break your business,” dropped this summer.

If you’ve worked in the channel, you’ve no doubt have seen her speak or read her work. Before joining Salesforce, she was a frequent industry commentator serving as a vice president and distinguished analyst and research fellow at Gartner. In her new book, Bova explores 10 ways to jump-start growth.

Bova’s basic premise is this: Just like individuals need to be mindful to develop their IQ, emotional quotient (EQ) and even their GQ throughout their careers, businesses must be mindful to invest in their Growth IQ, lest they will get stuck at certain plateaus.

To develop a strong Growth IQ, you need strategies for improving your capabilities in these 10 areas:

In each of the chapters of her book, Bova showcases case studies of some household names. Think Starbucks, Well Fargo, Red Bull, PayPal, GoPro and more. Some of the stories are cautionary tales, while others are showcases of truly progressive thinking. But each has implications for channel practitioners. Take customer and product expansion.

“If you’re still trying to acquire new customers and grow your footprint within your customers the way you did two-to-three years ago, you’re really at risk for seeing a slowdown in growth,” Bova says.

A better way, she adds, is not to do what a lot of companies do when they hit a wall, which is to search relentlessly for the one idea that will help them break through.

“Do I spend more marketing dollars, do I hire more salespeople, do I launch more products, do I expand into new markets …?” companies often wonder.

Bova says, “It’s never just one thing.”

Tiffani Bova will give Channel Partners Evolution attendees a primer on building their own Growth IQ, Oct. 10, in Philadelphia. Register now!

Her book, published by Penguin Random House’s Portfolio Group, is available in stores now. Here’s a link to where you can buy it from Amazon.

In addition to Bova, we hear from Dell’s senior director of global channel marketing, Mary Catherine Wilson. A member of the Channel Futures Think Tank, Wilson offers insights on some of the latest trends in channel marketing.

No matter your size or market position, you must think in terms of building a brand and creating competitive differentiation for your organization. Fortunately, the plethora of new and low-cost tools available to channel partners has made this easier than before.

If you’d like to be a guest on an upcoming episode or have a comment, drop me a line at [email protected].

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