Changes

CF: You talked about your vision and your philosophy. We went deep into the deal-reg topic. Are there any changes that you are implementing or planning to implement that you can talk about?

TF: There’s no change, per se, that’s imminent. But there are a couple of focus areas we’re looking at. We really need to simplify not just our deal reg but even internally. … It’s not a change, but it’s something that I think creating clarity and simplification around internally is going to be a game-changer in terms of the way we partner with our different organizations across the VMware sales team.

CF: What kinds of simplification internally? Can you give some examples?

TF: I think, No. 1, what does good partnering look like? How do we keep that very simple for a sales organization? There’s also early engagement with partners, not bringing them in at the last minute, and educating [field teams] on our partner programs so they understand the impact of our partners. … I’m not convinced that that exists today, educating them on our programs.

CF: What did you mean by the behavior? Are you talking again about that internal sales team versus the partner?

TF: Exactly. When is the right time to engage the partner? Are there benefits to engaging early? What are the consequences to engaging early or not engaging early, and making that real and meaningful for not just our partners, but who all live it every day? Ensuring our sales teams are also vested in that outcome, and understanding the value in it. … It’s my passion.

I feel really strongly about it. I think I’ve been quite successful at it.