About

We all accept what we’ve been told about the generic marketing and sales cycle, but should we? Why are stories and experiences just as important, if not more important, to sell than your product? How do you stand out in today’s saturated world, and how much do the experiences of your employees impact your customers? Today, we’ll find out all of this and more with our special guest, Tim Minahan. Tim Minahan is the Executive Vice President, Business Strategy And Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Citrix where he has a proactive role in helping to drive focused strategic initiatives and the company’s overall business strategy. In addition, he leads global marketing strategy and operations for the company’s vision of securely delivering the world’s most important apps and data to enable people and businesses to work better. A technology industry veteran who specializes in defining new markets and positioning companies to own them, Minahan has served in a broad range of business leadership roles at leading enterprise software, cloud, and services firms. He most recently spearheaded SAP’s successful transition to the cloud as CMO of the company’s Cloud and Line of Business unit. Minahan joined SAP when the company acquired Ariba, where he was SVP of Business Network Strategy and global CMO. At Ariba, Minahan led the commercial strategy for the Ariba Network, the world’s largest and most global business network, and oversaw the design and execution of go-to-market programs and marketing initiatives to fuel its growth as a leading cloud company. Previously, Minahan was senior vice president of marketing at Procuri Inc., where he helped drive the company’s strategic direction and emergence as one of the fastest growing Software as a Service (SaaS) application providers. He also served as chief services and research officer at Aberdeen Group, a leading independent market research firm, and held several leadership roles at Reed Business Information. Minahan is on the board of Made in a Free World, a non-profit technology company that is using the power of networks and big data to detect and mitigate forced labor from global supply chains. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston College and completed the CMO Program at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management. Find out more about Tim Minahan and learn his tricks for telling engaging and useful stories on today’s podcast episode, “Why You Should Sell a Story and an Experience, Not Just a Product With Tim Minahan of Citrix.” Why is the current model of business not working? How great is the shortage of mid and high-level talent going to be in 2020? Why don’t centralized work hubs work? Tim explains why you need to be able to develop the talent you have with new skills, even though the majority of talent you do have is largely disengaged at work. Why are employees so frustrated at work? Why are we using so many applications, yet utilizing only 10-15% of their functionality? Experience, balance, and choice—how does a company provide a superior experience for employees and customers, balance it with an increasing need for security, and do all of this without limiting employee choice of cloud, device, etc.? What stories make their way back to Tim, verifying their function? What stories are most compelling, and why must it reach beyond the generic—faster / better / cheaper / simpler? The CIO & CHRO must engage in a true partnership in order to create a solution via the convergence of three things: digital workspace, physical workplace, and culture. What tools do employees use? Is there openness and collaboration but still room for privacy and mindfulness? How does Tim leverage customer stories in order to illustrate his story? Tim brings to life what he does through a story about Red Bull’s Formula One racing and their use of Citrix.