Tiffany Koed

I attribute my success to being authentic and believing in myself. I've been fortunate to have amazing mentors like Amy Appleyard, who was VP of Sales at GoTo, and she really taught me to believe in myself and be authentic - that's how she leads, and that's how I try to live my day-to-day in sales. Even though I've been on teams of all men several times in this male-dominated industry, I've always been able to gain the respect of my peers because at the end of the day, if you can win and you're able to learn and work well as a team, you're going to gain the respect of everyone. I think having a little bit of thick skin and not minding that it takes a few minutes for someone to take you seriously opens up pretty endless possibilities. My drive also comes from being a single mom with two sons - I wanted to provide a good life for them and forge my own path where I could control my income, where the more I put in, the more I get out.

The best career advice I've received came from Amy Appleyard, who was VP of Sales at GoTo and one of the most influential women I've interacted with in a corporate environment. She taught me to believe in myself and be authentic. That's how she leads, and that's how I try to live my day-to-day in sales. This advice has been invaluable because it's helped me gain respect in what has often been a male-dominated environment and stay true to who I am while building my career.

I would tell young women entering this industry that even though it may be male-dominated, you can absolutely succeed and gain the respect of your peers. I've been on teams of all men several times, but at the end of the day, if you can win and you're able to learn and work well as a team, you're going to gain the respect of everyone. I've seen a lot of change over the years - I have an amazing female leader now, and some of the strongest sales reps I've ever worked with have been women. A lot of people know that women do really, really well in sales. If you can have a little bit of thick skin and don't mind it taking a few minutes for someone to take you seriously, I think the possibilities are pretty endless. I still probably sell to a good chunk of males over females, but I'm always excited when a woman leader jumps on the other end of the call.

Right now, we're entering into a situation where AI is the new thing, like the internet was, and people are so used to doing things one way. We're not just adding another piece of software to somebody's toolkit - we're providing a digital workforce and changing the entire structure, at times, of the company. We really need buy-in from the executive level down to revolutionize the business, and not everyone's ready to take that step. A lot of companies are waiting for their competitors or their peers to make that leap before they do. So getting people to understand that the time is right, getting them to be open to it, and getting them to trust you - that's the biggest hurdle that we're dealing with day to day. It's about helping organizations see that this isn't just incremental change, but a fundamental transformation of how they operate.

Authenticity is incredibly important to me - it's how I try to live my day-to-day in sales, and it's something I learned from one of my most influential mentors. Family is also a core value for me. Being a single mom with two sons really shaped my career path and motivated me to forge my own path and build the life I want for my family. Fitness and wellness are huge parts of my world too - it's really what keeps me sane and healthy. I'm certified to teach fitness classes, and I'm also working on my dive master certification so that my husband and I can start running dive travel trips as we scale down and our kids move into college. Staying healthy and balanced allows me to show up fully in both my professional and personal life.