October 31, 2024 • 33 mins
Join us for a captivating conversation with Roderick Jefferson, a go-to-market transformational leader, keynote speaker, and best-selling author, as we explore the intricate dance between sales transformation and the buyer's journey. Roderick shares his unique insights, drawing from his early days at AT&T to his pivotal role in establishing Roderick Jefferson and Associates. We dive into the nuances that differentiate sales training from enablement and go-to-market transformation, all while focusing on the buyer's perspective. By aligning organizational departments to enhance business value and prioritize customer needs, Roderick reveals how to be the "translator of dialects" within a company, ensuring everyone speaks the language of customer success.
But it's not just about professional triumphs; we also unpack the delicate art of balancing work and personal well-being. Through the poignant tale of an entrepreneur missing family milestones due to career demands, we underscore the pitfalls of unchecked stress and the need for self-care. From setting technology boundaries to nurturing authentic connections, this episode is a heartfelt reminder of the value of presence in both life and business. Discover how you can redefine success by reinventing your sales approach, reassessing client profiles, and cultivating meaningful relationships that drive growth and harmony in all facets of life.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, welcome back.
This is Julie Baranek.
Oh, you know what I need my mic.
It's over across the room.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I feel like I'm missing something.
Can you hear me?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
better now.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Yeah, does that sound clear on your side?
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Yeah, you do.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Perfect.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
All right, good Welcome back.
This is Julie Baranek, host ofthe 7 Figure Builder Show, and
I'm here today with my friendRoderick Jefferson.
Hey Roderick, hey Julie, howare you?
I am fabulous and I'm excitedto chat with you because you are
the go-to-markettransformational leader, your
keynote speaker and best-sellingauthor, and I am thrilled to
have you on today, so welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Thanks so much.
I am honored to be here andcatch up with you.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Thank you, thank you.
So tell us a bit about what itis that you do with your
business and how you help yourdream people.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Sure.
So there are two parts of thebusiness.
On one side, we work with smallto medium-sized businesses to
really help them drive improvedproductivity and increase
revenue from tools, processes,programs, platforms, from a
coaching and consultingperspective.
The other side of the house isI'm a keynote speaker, as you
said earlier, so I'm out atconferences and associations and
(01:07):
podcasts and things of thatsort, really sharing the
goodness of what's happening outin the real world from two
angles.
Of course, I talk about salesand sales productivity, but then
there's another side, too,where there's a motivational
piece, and I'd love to talk alittle bit about that much later
.
Of course.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Awesome, awesome.
I love that.
And well, you know what?
Why don't we dive in?
Tell us a bit about your storyand what brought you to where?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
you are today.
Sure, my story starts a longtime ago.
I'm older than I look.
Thankfully I can pull that offstill.
I started off in sales way backat AT&T and I was a BDR inside
sales rep and did well, gotpromoted to account executive AE
, did well there, went toPresident's Club.
(01:52):
And what do we do?
We promote folks to salesleader.
And I actually turned it downand they thought I was nuts
because I realized I love theprocess of selling more than I
did taking down big deals,realized I love the process of
selling more than I did takingdown big deals.
So I talked myself into my veryfirst sales training job and I
said what if I could do twothings to my VP of sales?
(02:14):
I said one, what if I could getpeople up to speed and up to
revenue faster?
And secondly, what if I couldgive you a wonderful present of
requiring more funding for folksgoing to sales leadership
conferences as well as, you know, making it to club?
(02:35):
And he said well, you've got anew job.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
I was like okay, and that's the condensed version, of
course.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
And so I went into training and I started sharing
some basic, rudimentarytemplates, things of that sort,
and before I knew it I justawoke a monster inside of me of
really helping other people tohit their goals, as opposed to
being responsible for a quotaand things of that sort.
And so from there it turnedfrom sales training to sales
(03:01):
enablement and I've beenincredibly blessed really to
have a great journey so far.
I've run enablement at Siebel,ebay, hp, oracle, salesforce,
marketo.
A couple of those are going tobe big one day.
I'm counting on the stock totake off.
But the thing is I decidedabout seven years ago to start
my company and I said what if Icould help those smaller
(03:22):
companies that needed my skillset and experience and tenure on
a fractional basis?
That would save them money butat the same time to give them
the leg up on their competitors.
And before you know it,roderick Jefferson and
Associates had been birthed.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
I love that and it's something that all companies
need.
I mean, without sales, we don'thave a company.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Something that so many people struggle with, both
in their comfort level andexpertise and skill basis.
So what are the biggest gapsthat you see, both that you've
learned from yourself and whatyou see with your clients in
sales?
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Well, I think the first thing is that training and
enablement and go-to-markettransformation are very
different For the longest and Ithink everyone's heard about
sales enablement right Nowthat's really focusing on that
direct seller but what I'verealized is it's now about
go-to-market transformation, nolonger just sales.
(04:20):
You've got to look at thingsfrom marketing, product
marketing, hr, engineering andallow a consultant like myself
to be the hub of all that spokesout, or, if you've got a me in
house to make sure that they'rethat hub.
That now is as I call thetranslators of dialects and
languages.
Right, we've got to speak allof those other languages,
(04:44):
translate what they do and thevalue and the why they do it
into sales, speak and then getthe feedback back from sales
into the language that mattersto them.
The second thing I would say isstop thinking about your sales
processes, your forecast, yoursales methodology, your selling
motions.
Change your mindset and focuson the buyer's journey, how they
(05:08):
buy, who buys, why they buy andwhat's your key differentiation
, your competitive advantage andyour business value.
And that's the third piece thatI would say is we're very good
talking about our companies,what we do, our key
differentiation and ourcompetitive advantage.
Newsflash your clients, yourprospects, only care about the
(05:29):
third business value, and Idefine it as so.
Mr and Mrs Customer, what canyou get by only working along
with me in my company?
That will help you eitherincrease productivity and
efficiency or decrease pain,because I don't know any other
reason that people actually buy.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Absolutely.
It all comes down to what's init for me, right.
Absolutely 100% and thatrelevance of what do people need
in that moment and whether youcan solve that pain point for
them.
Otherwise they don't reallycare.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Yeah, it really doesn't matter to them.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Yeah, so I know you've had quite the journey
through the years to get here,but tell us a little bit about
the other part of your business,right, which is the keynote
speaking, and a little bit aboutyour journey.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Sure so.
So that one started back incollege.
I was a radio and televisionbroadcast major and prior to
that I was a high level athlete,so I always had microphones in
front of me, so I got used tospeaking broadly.
And then when I got intocorporate way back, when not
only with the standing deliverin front of room, but then I was
(06:38):
out talking to differentcompanies and sharing those best
practices, and I went wait aminute, I'm giving away skillset
here.
There's an opportunity to startanother part of the business.
And so what I did was reallystarted harvesting inside of my
LinkedIn network, letting folksknow that I was available,
started working on one pagersand all those kinds of things,
(06:59):
and before I knew it I was outthere talking at large
conferences.
You know I was talking to folkslike Zoom and American Express
and Uber.
And then I was blessed enoughto get on stage not the big
stage, the small stage atDreamforce, which still was not
a small stage, and I went here'san opportunity to really help
(07:21):
people.
Again.
It stopped after a while.
It wasn't about the spotlight,it wasn't about being seen and
things of that sort.
It was really.
I think I've got some greattips and tricks as well as
practical application to be ableto share folks.
And then, as I started mybusiness, the third stage
started and it was like whydon't I utilize keynote speaking
(07:43):
to go out and drive moreconsulting?
You could hear what's going onNow you can see practical
application from case studies,things of that sort.
And then people were saying,hey, you know that thing you
talked about around building acharter or we're starting up an
enablement group, but we're notreally sure where to go.
It sounds like you may havedone this once or twice and then
it turned into other excuse meconsulting opportunities.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yeah, and it all comes down to building
relationships in mass right,like with the keynote speaking.
That's the place where you cantalk to so many people and
connect and help so many peopleat once.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Right, and there's a human side to it.
Right, and there's a human sideto it.
It's one to many.
Because after you're donespeaking now I get a chance to
step off the stage and kind oftake a mask off, if you will, of
the presenter and then get out,and that's the thing.
I don't give presentations.
I'm literally up there tryingto have a one to one
conversation with every singleperson in that room.
(08:40):
Does it happen every time?
No, nothing's always.
But for the most part, what Iwant to do is show you how I can
help you and your company andnot just the company, but that
individual as well.
Because what if I can help themget a louder voice in the
company?
What if I can help them get apromotion?
What if I can help get them outof the doghouse?
Sometimes, right?
And all of those things canhappen based upon a given
(09:04):
engagement of to your point,julie what's important to them.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Absolutely, and I mean obviously.
You've been very driven in allthat you've accomplished in your
business and really done a tonthroughout your career.
But how has that had a personalimpact on you and, really, you
know, helped to manage, likewith your balance and everything
else that you have in your life?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Balance has always been an interesting word,
because we talk about work-lifebalance and we both know it's
somewhat of a mysteriousmisnomer these days, right, and
I think there were good, bad andugly to those, and I'll talk
about each of those Personally.
It gave me a chance to see theworld, experience different
cultures, work in differentverticals and industries that I
would have never before.
I grew up and got my teeth cutin SaaS initially, but then it
(09:59):
gave me an opportunity to jumpinto manufacturing, financial
services, med tech and Irealized there's some common
threads, that each one of thosehave the same problems, but they
call it something different.
And of course, each of themthinks oh, this only happens to
me, not exactly, that's not howit works, right.
(10:21):
And then the bad was because Iwas traveling so much, I started
missing out on family eventsand, I have to say it, I missed
my daughter's eighth gradegraduation.
I was in Paris.
It was a good place to be, butnot on that day.
And so you start to say I'mdoing all this work to provide
and protect, but sometimes I'mbeing pulled away more.
And now the ugly.
I had gotten used to, as mostof us do as entrepreneurs and or
(10:46):
executives, you get that levelof red line stress and it just
becomes the norm.
Well, there's nothing normalabout it.
And it just becomes the norm.
Well, there's nothing normalabout it.
And about two and a half yearsago my body shut down and I had
a massive fatal and I mean fatal.
I actually coded, died and wasbrought back.
I had a stroke.
Thankfully I've been able tofight back and get to where I am
(11:08):
today.
Unfortunately, most are not solucky.
So if I can tell folks onething to help save them from
what I went through, find sometime to do things just for you.
I realized my daughter asked me.
She said Dad, what do you dofor hobbies?
And I said what is this hobbything you speak of child?
And then I had to take itseriously.
(11:30):
I didn't have anything that Idid for fun.
I didn't have anything that Idid for fun.
I had a circle of friends thatI probably missed out on more
events than anything because Iwas working nonstop.
And then that third piece wasbecause I was working so hard to
provide and protect.
We had the great vacations, wegot to move around.
We've been blessed to live anamazing life, but as my kids got
(11:52):
older, my children are mucholder life.
But as my kids got older, mychildren are much older 34 and
25.
And as they got into their 20sthey said, dad, we wish we would
have had you here more and lessof you sending pictures and
videos and FaceTime is from verycool places all around the
world which, by the way, theymade sure they told me we still
have not gotten a chance tovisit.
(12:13):
To you, thank you.
They have to earn that right.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Absolutely, yeah, no, and that that's so, so true,
and I mean, we do what we do forour families, but we have to be
present for them, right?
Absolutely.
So, looking back, what wouldyou have done differently?
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Two words, and you just said it be present.
Even when I'm home, I findmyself as most of us.
Everybody's got a vice.
Mine is definitely reels,instagram reels.
That is definitely my vice, andwhat I've realized is, while
I'm indulging and watching otherpeople laugh and have a good
(12:57):
time and enjoy their life, I'mdoing it as a spectator.
So I've decided I'm going to bemore present.
First of all, there's no morephones at the table Right.
There's no multitasking ofwatching TV and being on the
phone.
Pick one or the other becauseyour brain needs some time to
shut down.
(13:17):
I'd say, if you can find a waytwo hours before you go to bed
For me it's like 8 o'clock shutit down and just spend time.
Find some time with you, yoursignificant other, your pets,
your dogs, your goldfish,whatever it may be, but find
some time to just be present andto ask those questions, find
(13:40):
out what's going on in theirlives and share what's happening
with you.
The other thing I'd say, julie,is be open, honest and authentic
, and I know it sounds so simple, but, as I said earlier, we
tend to put on this mask.
I'm the executive, I'm theentrepreneur, I'm the CEO, I'm
the speaker.
When do you ever get to just beyou?
Because if you don't,invariably what you do will
(14:04):
overtake who you are and youwill lose yourself in all of
that and you can't work in thebusiness while you're working on
the business, as we all tend todo.
So find a way to split thingsup.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Yeah, and find a way to work on yourself.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Yeah, take some time just for you, because I've
realized that if you don't taketime for you, your body will
make you slow down, and that isnot what anyone wants for
Christmas or birthday.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
No, it is not.
And I love what you mentionedabout no phones at the table.
My husband and I we went out todinner, and we do this often
but we went out to dinner andthere was a family, a big family
, sitting next to us at a tableand you know, it was for
father's day actually and thekids were all.
They had a bunch of kids at thetable.
The kids were all engaged, nophones at the table.
(14:53):
They were all talking like justhaving fun and enjoying each
other's presence and it's sad tosay, but that's a rarity
anymore.
Like, usually kids are sittingat the table with the phones in
front of their face, and so wealways make a point to kind of
be respectfully like say youknow what Great job you know for
your family.
Great job you know for yourfamily.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
I love that and it is so rare.
And it's sad to say that youhave to prioritize that.
It should just be want to talkto someone, right, and on what
level.
We now are so quick to send outan emoji.
I think conversation hasdwindled down to a quick snippet
or an emoji, or God forbid evena quick 30, 10, 15 second reel.
(15:54):
Forbid even a quick 30, 10, 15second reel.
And now we have this InstagramTikTok microwave mentality where
anything above 15 to 30 secondsI just don't have time for that
Guess what we're doing.
The same thing with ourrelationships, and I'll take it
back to a business perspective.
Those one call closes rarelyhappen.
(16:14):
So you have to nurture, youhave to groom, you have to be
authentic and the big one.
You've got to follow up all thetime.
And I get hit quite a bit ondifferent things and folks are
like there may be some thingsI'm really interested in, but if
they don't follow up, I falloff.
We tend to forget no matterwhat you do, you're not the only
(16:35):
person that does it, and ifthere's no competition for what
you do, you don't have abusiness, you just have a really
expensive hobby.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Yeah, absolutely Well that, and it comes down to the
relationship like tying in withthe follow-up.
The more you can nurture thatrelationship and actually care
about the person you're talkingabout and show genuine interest,
the more they're actually goingto engage and respond back oh,
absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
I firmly believe that there has never been a time in
the history of man where leadingwith humanity, authenticity, eq
and, of course, data, has meantmore than it does today.
And you, you notice, data waslast right.
A lot of people put it first.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Yeah, so what do you recommend for people Like do you
have any tips or suggestionsfor people to do that?
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Yeah, I absolutely do .
Excuse me, as you're doing yourpre-call planning, as we all do
for going and prospecting, whenyou're looking at because we
all go to where first LinkedIn,read between the lines what
people say and what's importantto them.
Always make sure you're askingthem questions about them.
(17:48):
You've done your homework.
You know the business, you'velistened to their latest
business reviews.
You've looked at their 10K,their 10Q right, you looked at
them in depth and the company.
You've done the website, allthose things.
You know what it really tellsyou, what matters to you?
And again, how can I help youindividually?
We all talk about trying tocreate these champions In
(18:10):
today's world.
We are not here as whether yoube in corporate or in
consultants anymore to drive.
We're here simply to validatebecause there's so much
information out there.
So take some time and make thatpersonal connection, because
sales are what the relationships, as you said, are the backbone
(18:33):
of business.
If I don't like you, I won'ttrust you.
If I don't trust you, I won'twork with you.
If I don't work with you, Iwon't buy from you.
Remember in that order, andthen always go back to, as I
said earlier, the buyer'sjourney what's important to them
, what do they buy?
How do they buy?
What do they buy?
The other thing is stop talkingabout your products.
(18:53):
No one cares about what youcall them or what your products
are.
Focus on the why.
Why do they need this?
Why will this happen if theydon't work with you and always
talk about from the verybeginning what does success look
like to them and how can youthen work to reverse engineer,
step-by-step, along with them?
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Absolutely, and you hit on a couple of big things
there, but I want to mentionyour buyer's journey.
I think that's something that alot of people miss, and I
remember being in the corporateworld.
When I first got into thecorporate world, I had this
vision that they all knew whatthey were doing, they had a
strategy, they were executingtheir strategy.
Magic happened in the boardroom, and that's just the way it
(19:39):
worked.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Not so much.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
No, and I quickly realized how people are
successful in spite ofthemselves and how many blockers
that businesses have from doingbusiness with their clients.
And I think they miss that oflike.
Let's just be easy to work with, Like.
What do you see in that?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
I've seen in real, I mean honestly a hundred million
million companies that don'thave that lockdown yet, which is
exactly why I started thecompany right as a fractional.
And so what I would say is stepback and reassess who your ICP
is and who they are that you'removing forward to right, because
(20:24):
a lot of companies need to stopfor a moment and just kind of
recalibrate.
I'll say, first of all, Ialways ask the company can you
define, articulate and who haveyou communicated to what your
buyer's journey is right?
What's the connection andpartnership between sales, hr,
marketing and enablement toeither confirm or update here's
(20:49):
a new acronym because we don'thave enough.
We know ICP right Ideal ClientProfile let's look at IEP now,
the Ideal Employee Profile forwhere you're trying to go to,
not where you are today, right.
And then next it's realigningyour sales methodology, your
sales stations, your motions,all your tools, assets,
(21:10):
collateral, all those things ona regularly scheduled basis, ie
re-evaluate these every three tosix months on.
How is it aligning to thebuyer's journey, right?
And then making sure that yourdifferent lines of business and
even if it's three people in thecompany, you all have a
(21:35):
specific reason why and a highlevel of value and figure out.
Are we and you said it earlierare we making it easier for our
prospects and our clients towork with us?
Because, if not, you're actingas though they're working for
you.
Because, if not, you're actingas though they're working for
you Absolutely, and I'm curious.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
You've done so much with your business, but why do
you do what you do Like?
What is your driving factor?
Speaker 2 (21:59):
At the end of the day , I'm a people person, right,
and I may not make your lifebetter, but after we've engaged
maybe it's a bit better.
The second is why I do what Ido is because, as I said earlier
(22:20):
, that kind of $10 to $100million range of companies first
, there's a lot of them.
And secondly, how do they getto that next level?
I've been one of them.
I can speak from practicalapplication of what it takes.
I know what step 13 looks likewhen you're in step six and you
may never get to it if you don'tdo step nine.
And I want to do it on afractional basis because, as I
always say, I don't want to livein their business.
I just want to stay there for along weekend and help them
(22:44):
through advisory, throughconsulting, but most importantly
and here's where a lot ofconsultants fall off we're here
to help on the execution phaseas well.
Right, and that's the wholeguided implementation.
Because there's a lot of timeswe'll tell them here's what to
do and how to do and why to do,and they go okay, great.
What are we supposed to do next?
(23:06):
And I say we because there aremyself and two partners.
One, great.
What are we supposed to do next?
And I say we because there aremyself and two partners one
another VP of sales, who didspeaks a different language than
me, and then a trainer whospeaks even different, but all
three of us continually andcontiguously work across that
entire engagement.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Absolutely no, and I think that's that's so powerful.
And what I'm curious what doessuccess look like for you?
Like you've accomplished a ton,but what does that actually
look like for you?
Speaker 2 (23:36):
success is one consistency around the value of
gtm transformation andenablement.
Right now, I think, and I sayin my book, if you ask 10 people
, you'll get 12 differentanswers, totally Right.
Next is understanding thedifference between training and
(23:56):
enablement.
I think you train animals, youenable people.
Thirdly, I walk away from anengagement with, of course, the
recommendation and the casestudy and all that, but also
knowing that they would not bewhere they are on that next
level had we not worked as acontinuous, ongoing partnership.
(24:21):
I'll tell you what it's not.
It's not about oh, this is thebest guy ever and he did this.
I don't care about that,because I had to learn a long
time ago If they're not happy,they'll tell everybody that
listens.
If they're happy, they willtell everybody that listens.
You have an opportunity as abusiness owner out there,
(24:42):
entrepreneurially or fromcorporate, to really craft the
narrative of whether they'retalking about great things or
not.
So, because at one point weowned our own brand Thanks to
social media, we don't anymore.
Right, a couple of bad reviews,a couple of changes and down
ticks there and here are man,they're truly damaging.
(25:07):
So ask those questions beforethey get out and you know what
I've learned and I had to take awhile to get this and you would
think as a sales guy, I knew it.
Discovery is not a one-timeevent, it's an ongoing
occurrence.
Constantly go back and getthose touch points and say, hey,
how are we doing?
Not just, oh, we're at stageone and we're 80% of there.
(25:31):
And if this happens in stagethree, no, no, no, no Along the
way.
Say, hey, remember, we agree,this is what a success looks
like.
Show them the roadmap in stagesand then bring it down closer
to the ground and show themwhere you are now, where you've
been and what the next step isand I didn't say the next phase,
the next step before you evenget to the next phase.
(25:53):
And what you're doing is you'rebuilding credibility.
You're also buildingrelationship as well, because
now again, they're buildingtrust in you and they're more
apt and open to open upcompletely.
And there may be a time whereyou slip up.
It's going to happen, but thereare a lot more forgiving if
you've already built thatrelationship with them versus,
(26:15):
oops, I blew it and now they'relike, oh God, what did I pay for
it?
I just get more shelfware.
No one wants that.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Absolutely no, that's so true.
And the more you can worktogether with that and just
continue to build thatrelationship and that
credibility, the more people doshare that good word about you
and you'll have more clientscoming your way Like it's worth
that investment into thatrelationship to get more word
out there.
And yeah, I agree with you 100%.
(26:44):
And I'm curious if you had theattention of the whole world for
five minutes, what would youtell them?
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Five minutes?
Wow, that is a great question.
I would say that you've got tofind and make balance, otherwise
your body will for one.
Secondly, I would say no oneknows everything and is right
all the time, so keep your mindwide open to learning something.
(27:12):
Third, I would say try andlearn one new thing every day,
and it doesn't always have to beprofessionally.
And then the final piece Iwould say is every day I start
my day after I've done mymorning ritual.
The same way, I write up on myboard the top three things that
(27:33):
I'm going to get done today.
Professionally, that means I'mnot turning off my laptop until
I do those three things.
But here's the catcher there'salways one thing on there.
That's number four.
That is a personal thing, justfor me, so that I don't have to
constantly remind myself to takecare of me.
It has now become a part of mydaily routine.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I love that.
I love that and to add on tothat, I personally have my
personal health and well-beinghas become a much higher focus
point in my life recently andI've, you know, done time
blocking and everything else formy business, but I've now taken
to time blocking for my workoutfor, like, my own personal
(28:19):
health and well-being, so Iwould echo that very much.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
I love that I do the same thing.
I do the time blocks throughoutthe day.
One your brain needs to resetright.
Jumping and constantly changinghats all day confuses the brain
.
We may not think so, but thething is, know yourself, and
what I mean by that is, I knowthat I am best in the morning,
when, if I'm going to exercise,so I just blend it into my day
(28:45):
before I get started with my dayprofessionally, because
otherwise one, I won't make timefor it, my day before I get
started with my dayprofessionally, because
otherwise one, I won't make timefor it, and secondly, I'll be
dead tired.
The other thing is, if you area morning person, do all of your
cerebral work in the morningand get it knocked out and then
use the afternoon for your adminstuff or for your calls or for
(29:05):
your outbound calling.
If you're the opposite,flip-flop it.
You can see a million peoplethat have sold books and courses
, et cetera, on how to beproductive, but nobody tells you
how to be productive your way.
There's no one way to beproductive, and productive the
(29:28):
definition of it can only bedefined by you.
It's kind of like success right, some are super successful
outwardly, others are.
You know what?
I've lost 20 pounds, others are.
I don't beat myself up, andI've learned how to give myself
grace, and that's the otherthing.
Give yourself some grace.
None of us are robots, and weall burn out too easily.
(29:51):
You can extend that by simplytreating yourself the way that
you treat others.
Rarely do we do that, though.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Absolutely.
I love that and for peoplelistening that definitely want
to get ahold of you, where canpeople find you online?
Speaker 2 (30:07):
I always say, if you can't find me on social media,
you're not trying.
You can find me at RoderickJefferson on LinkedIn.
Roderick underscore Junderscore associates on
Instagram, at the voice of Rodon X and threads, or you can
just hit my link tree, which islink tree slash Roderick
(30:29):
Jefferson and Julie.
I'll give you all of those.
Hopefully you'll throw it intothe show notes and make it easy
for people.
There it is See, making peopleeasier for people.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Exactly, exactly, yes , we'll have everything in the
show notes and people can comefind you and thank you for being
on today, roderick.
This was truly amazing.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Thank you so much.
I was absolutely honored, Julie.
Great to catch up with youagain.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Thank you you as well , and if you found value in this
episode, please do share it.
That's how people find us.
And you can find me atsevenfigurebuildercom and I will
see you in the next episode.
Well, welcome back.
This is Julie Baranek.
Oh, you know what I need my mic.
It's over across the room.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I feel like I'm missing something.
Can you hear me?
Speaker 1 (00:08):
better now.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Yeah, does that sound clear on your side?
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Yeah, you do.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Perfect.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
All right, good Welcome back.
This is Julie Baranek, host ofthe 7 Figure Builder Show, and
I'm here today with my friendRoderick Jefferson.
Hey Roderick, hey Julie, howare you?
I am fabulous and I'm excitedto chat with you because you are
the go-to-markettransformational leader, your
keynote speaker and best-sellingauthor, and I am thrilled to
have you on today, so welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Thanks so much.
I am honored to be here andcatch up with you.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Thank you, thank you.
So tell us a bit about what itis that you do with your
business and how you help yourdream people.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Sure.
So there are two parts of thebusiness.
On one side, we work with smallto medium-sized businesses to
really help them drive improvedproductivity and increase
revenue from tools, processes,programs, platforms, from a
coaching and consultingperspective.
The other side of the house isI'm a keynote speaker, as you
said earlier, so I'm out atconferences and associations and
(01:07):
podcasts and things of thatsort, really sharing the
goodness of what's happening outin the real world from two
angles.
Of course, I talk about salesand sales productivity, but then
there's another side, too,where there's a motivational
piece, and I'd love to talk alittle bit about that much later
.
Of course.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Awesome, awesome.
I love that.
And well, you know what?
Why don't we dive in?
Tell us a bit about your storyand what brought you to where?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
you are today.
Sure, my story starts a longtime ago.
I'm older than I look.
Thankfully I can pull that offstill.
I started off in sales way backat AT&T and I was a BDR inside
sales rep and did well, gotpromoted to account executive AE
, did well there, went toPresident's Club.
(01:52):
And what do we do?
We promote folks to salesleader.
And I actually turned it downand they thought I was nuts
because I realized I love theprocess of selling more than I
did taking down big deals,realized I love the process of
selling more than I did takingdown big deals.
So I talked myself into my veryfirst sales training job and I
said what if I could do twothings to my VP of sales?
(02:14):
I said one, what if I could getpeople up to speed and up to
revenue faster?
And secondly, what if I couldgive you a wonderful present of
requiring more funding for folksgoing to sales leadership
conferences as well as, you know, making it to club?
(02:35):
And he said well, you've got anew job.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
I was like okay, and that's the condensed version, of
course.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
And so I went into training and I started sharing
some basic, rudimentarytemplates, things of that sort,
and before I knew it I justawoke a monster inside of me of
really helping other people tohit their goals, as opposed to
being responsible for a quotaand things of that sort.
And so from there it turnedfrom sales training to sales
(03:01):
enablement and I've beenincredibly blessed really to
have a great journey so far.
I've run enablement at Siebel,ebay, hp, oracle, salesforce,
marketo.
A couple of those are going tobe big one day.
I'm counting on the stock totake off.
But the thing is I decidedabout seven years ago to start
my company and I said what if Icould help those smaller
(03:22):
companies that needed my skillset and experience and tenure on
a fractional basis?
That would save them money butat the same time to give them
the leg up on their competitors.
And before you know it,roderick Jefferson and
Associates had been birthed.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
I love that and it's something that all companies
need.
I mean, without sales, we don'thave a company.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Something that so many people struggle with, both
in their comfort level andexpertise and skill basis.
So what are the biggest gapsthat you see, both that you've
learned from yourself and whatyou see with your clients in
sales?
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Well, I think the first thing is that training and
enablement and go-to-markettransformation are very
different For the longest and Ithink everyone's heard about
sales enablement right Nowthat's really focusing on that
direct seller but what I'verealized is it's now about
go-to-market transformation, nolonger just sales.
(04:20):
You've got to look at thingsfrom marketing, product
marketing, hr, engineering andallow a consultant like myself
to be the hub of all that spokesout, or, if you've got a me in
house to make sure that they'rethat hub.
That now is as I call thetranslators of dialects and
languages.
Right, we've got to speak allof those other languages,
(04:44):
translate what they do and thevalue and the why they do it
into sales, speak and then getthe feedback back from sales
into the language that mattersto them.
The second thing I would say isstop thinking about your sales
processes, your forecast, yoursales methodology, your selling
motions.
Change your mindset and focuson the buyer's journey, how they
(05:08):
buy, who buys, why they buy andwhat's your key differentiation
, your competitive advantage andyour business value.
And that's the third piece thatI would say is we're very good
talking about our companies,what we do, our key
differentiation and ourcompetitive advantage.
Newsflash your clients, yourprospects, only care about the
(05:29):
third business value, and Idefine it as so.
Mr and Mrs Customer, what canyou get by only working along
with me in my company?
That will help you eitherincrease productivity and
efficiency or decrease pain,because I don't know any other
reason that people actually buy.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Absolutely.
It all comes down to what's init for me, right.
Absolutely 100% and thatrelevance of what do people need
in that moment and whether youcan solve that pain point for
them.
Otherwise they don't reallycare.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Yeah, it really doesn't matter to them.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Yeah, so I know you've had quite the journey
through the years to get here,but tell us a little bit about
the other part of your business,right, which is the keynote
speaking, and a little bit aboutyour journey.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
Sure so.
So that one started back incollege.
I was a radio and televisionbroadcast major and prior to
that I was a high level athlete,so I always had microphones in
front of me, so I got used tospeaking broadly.
And then when I got intocorporate way back, when not
only with the standing deliverin front of room, but then I was
(06:38):
out talking to differentcompanies and sharing those best
practices, and I went wait aminute, I'm giving away skillset
here.
There's an opportunity to startanother part of the business.
And so what I did was reallystarted harvesting inside of my
LinkedIn network, letting folksknow that I was available,
started working on one pagersand all those kinds of things,
(06:59):
and before I knew it I was outthere talking at large
conferences.
You know I was talking to folkslike Zoom and American Express
and Uber.
And then I was blessed enoughto get on stage not the big
stage, the small stage atDreamforce, which still was not
a small stage, and I went here'san opportunity to really help
(07:21):
people.
Again.
It stopped after a while.
It wasn't about the spotlight,it wasn't about being seen and
things of that sort.
It was really.
I think I've got some greattips and tricks as well as
practical application to be ableto share folks.
And then, as I started mybusiness, the third stage
started and it was like whydon't I utilize keynote speaking
(07:43):
to go out and drive moreconsulting?
You could hear what's going onNow you can see practical
application from case studies,things of that sort.
And then people were saying,hey, you know that thing you
talked about around building acharter or we're starting up an
enablement group, but we're notreally sure where to go.
It sounds like you may havedone this once or twice and then
it turned into other excuse meconsulting opportunities.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yeah, and it all comes down to building
relationships in mass right,like with the keynote speaking.
That's the place where you cantalk to so many people and
connect and help so many peopleat once.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Right, and there's a human side to it.
Right, and there's a human sideto it.
It's one to many.
Because after you're donespeaking now I get a chance to
step off the stage and kind oftake a mask off, if you will, of
the presenter and then get out,and that's the thing.
I don't give presentations.
I'm literally up there tryingto have a one to one
conversation with every singleperson in that room.
(08:40):
Does it happen every time?
No, nothing's always.
But for the most part, what Iwant to do is show you how I can
help you and your company andnot just the company, but that
individual as well.
Because what if I can help themget a louder voice in the
company?
What if I can help them get apromotion?
What if I can help get them outof the doghouse?
Sometimes, right?
And all of those things canhappen based upon a given
(09:04):
engagement of to your point,julie what's important to them.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Absolutely, and I mean obviously.
You've been very driven in allthat you've accomplished in your
business and really done a tonthroughout your career.
But how has that had a personalimpact on you and, really, you
know, helped to manage, likewith your balance and everything
else that you have in your life?
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Balance has always been an interesting word,
because we talk about work-lifebalance and we both know it's
somewhat of a mysteriousmisnomer these days, right, and
I think there were good, bad andugly to those, and I'll talk
about each of those Personally.
It gave me a chance to see theworld, experience different
cultures, work in differentverticals and industries that I
would have never before.
I grew up and got my teeth cutin SaaS initially, but then it
(09:59):
gave me an opportunity to jumpinto manufacturing, financial
services, med tech and Irealized there's some common
threads, that each one of thosehave the same problems, but they
call it something different.
And of course, each of themthinks oh, this only happens to
me, not exactly, that's not howit works, right.
(10:21):
And then the bad was because Iwas traveling so much, I started
missing out on family eventsand, I have to say it, I missed
my daughter's eighth gradegraduation.
I was in Paris.
It was a good place to be, butnot on that day.
And so you start to say I'mdoing all this work to provide
and protect, but sometimes I'mbeing pulled away more.
And now the ugly.
I had gotten used to, as mostof us do as entrepreneurs and or
(10:46):
executives, you get that levelof red line stress and it just
becomes the norm.
Well, there's nothing normalabout it.
And it just becomes the norm.
Well, there's nothing normalabout it.
And about two and a half yearsago my body shut down and I had
a massive fatal and I mean fatal.
I actually coded, died and wasbrought back.
I had a stroke.
Thankfully I've been able tofight back and get to where I am
(11:08):
today.
Unfortunately, most are not solucky.
So if I can tell folks onething to help save them from
what I went through, find sometime to do things just for you.
I realized my daughter asked me.
She said Dad, what do you dofor hobbies?
And I said what is this hobbything you speak of child?
And then I had to take itseriously.
(11:30):
I didn't have anything that Idid for fun.
I didn't have anything that Idid for fun.
I had a circle of friends thatI probably missed out on more
events than anything because Iwas working nonstop.
And then that third piece wasbecause I was working so hard to
provide and protect.
We had the great vacations, wegot to move around.
We've been blessed to live anamazing life, but as my kids got
(11:52):
older, my children are mucholder life.
But as my kids got older, mychildren are much older 34 and
25.
And as they got into their 20sthey said, dad, we wish we would
have had you here more and lessof you sending pictures and
videos and FaceTime is from verycool places all around the
world which, by the way, theymade sure they told me we still
have not gotten a chance tovisit.
(12:13):
To you, thank you.
They have to earn that right.
Speaker 1 (12:22):
Absolutely, yeah, no, and that that's so, so true,
and I mean, we do what we do forour families, but we have to be
present for them, right?
Absolutely.
So, looking back, what wouldyou have done differently?
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Two words, and you just said it be present.
Even when I'm home, I findmyself as most of us.
Everybody's got a vice.
Mine is definitely reels,instagram reels.
That is definitely my vice, andwhat I've realized is, while
I'm indulging and watching otherpeople laugh and have a good
(12:57):
time and enjoy their life, I'mdoing it as a spectator.
So I've decided I'm going to bemore present.
First of all, there's no morephones at the table Right.
There's no multitasking ofwatching TV and being on the
phone.
Pick one or the other becauseyour brain needs some time to
shut down.
(13:17):
I'd say, if you can find a waytwo hours before you go to bed
For me it's like 8 o'clock shutit down and just spend time.
Find some time with you, yoursignificant other, your pets,
your dogs, your goldfish,whatever it may be, but find
some time to just be present andto ask those questions, find
(13:40):
out what's going on in theirlives and share what's happening
with you.
The other thing I'd say, julie,is be open, honest and authentic
, and I know it sounds so simple, but, as I said earlier, we
tend to put on this mask.
I'm the executive, I'm theentrepreneur, I'm the CEO, I'm
the speaker.
When do you ever get to just beyou?
Because if you don't,invariably what you do will
(14:04):
overtake who you are and youwill lose yourself in all of
that and you can't work in thebusiness while you're working on
the business, as we all tend todo.
So find a way to split thingsup.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Yeah, and find a way to work on yourself.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Yeah, take some time just for you, because I've
realized that if you don't taketime for you, your body will
make you slow down, and that isnot what anyone wants for
Christmas or birthday.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
No, it is not.
And I love what you mentionedabout no phones at the table.
My husband and I we went out todinner, and we do this often
but we went out to dinner andthere was a family, a big family
, sitting next to us at a tableand you know, it was for
father's day actually and thekids were all.
They had a bunch of kids at thetable.
The kids were all engaged, nophones at the table.
(14:53):
They were all talking like justhaving fun and enjoying each
other's presence and it's sad tosay, but that's a rarity
anymore.
Like, usually kids are sittingat the table with the phones in
front of their face, and so wealways make a point to kind of
be respectfully like say youknow what Great job you know for
your family.
Great job you know for yourfamily.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
I love that and it is so rare.
And it's sad to say that youhave to prioritize that.
It should just be want to talkto someone, right, and on what
level.
We now are so quick to send outan emoji.
I think conversation hasdwindled down to a quick snippet
or an emoji, or God forbid evena quick 30, 10, 15 second reel.
(15:54):
Forbid even a quick 30, 10, 15second reel.
And now we have this InstagramTikTok microwave mentality where
anything above 15 to 30 secondsI just don't have time for that
Guess what we're doing.
The same thing with ourrelationships, and I'll take it
back to a business perspective.
Those one call closes rarelyhappen.
(16:14):
So you have to nurture, youhave to groom, you have to be
authentic and the big one.
You've got to follow up all thetime.
And I get hit quite a bit ondifferent things and folks are
like there may be some thingsI'm really interested in, but if
they don't follow up, I falloff.
We tend to forget no matterwhat you do, you're not the only
(16:35):
person that does it, and ifthere's no competition for what
you do, you don't have abusiness, you just have a really
expensive hobby.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Yeah, absolutely Well that, and it comes down to the
relationship like tying in withthe follow-up.
The more you can nurture thatrelationship and actually care
about the person you're talkingabout and show genuine interest,
the more they're actually goingto engage and respond back oh,
absolutely.
Speaker 2 (16:59):
I firmly believe that there has never been a time in
the history of man where leadingwith humanity, authenticity, eq
and, of course, data, has meantmore than it does today.
And you, you notice, data waslast right.
A lot of people put it first.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Yeah, so what do you recommend for people Like do you
have any tips or suggestionsfor people to do that?
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Yeah, I absolutely do .
Excuse me, as you're doing yourpre-call planning, as we all do
for going and prospecting, whenyou're looking at because we
all go to where first LinkedIn,read between the lines what
people say and what's importantto them.
Always make sure you're askingthem questions about them.
(17:48):
You've done your homework.
You know the business, you'velistened to their latest
business reviews.
You've looked at their 10K,their 10Q right, you looked at
them in depth and the company.
You've done the website, allthose things.
You know what it really tellsyou, what matters to you?
And again, how can I help youindividually?
We all talk about trying tocreate these champions In
(18:10):
today's world.
We are not here as whether yoube in corporate or in
consultants anymore to drive.
We're here simply to validatebecause there's so much
information out there.
So take some time and make thatpersonal connection, because
sales are what the relationships, as you said, are the backbone
(18:33):
of business.
If I don't like you, I won'ttrust you.
If I don't trust you, I won'twork with you.
If I don't work with you, Iwon't buy from you.
Remember in that order, andthen always go back to, as I
said earlier, the buyer'sjourney what's important to them
, what do they buy?
How do they buy?
What do they buy?
The other thing is stop talkingabout your products.
(18:53):
No one cares about what youcall them or what your products
are.
Focus on the why.
Why do they need this?
Why will this happen if theydon't work with you and always
talk about from the verybeginning what does success look
like to them and how can youthen work to reverse engineer,
step-by-step, along with them?
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Absolutely, and you hit on a couple of big things
there, but I want to mentionyour buyer's journey.
I think that's something that alot of people miss, and I
remember being in the corporateworld.
When I first got into thecorporate world, I had this
vision that they all knew whatthey were doing, they had a
strategy, they were executingtheir strategy.
Magic happened in the boardroom, and that's just the way it
(19:39):
worked.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Not so much.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
No, and I quickly realized how people are
successful in spite ofthemselves and how many blockers
that businesses have from doingbusiness with their clients.
And I think they miss that oflike.
Let's just be easy to work with, Like.
What do you see in that?
Speaker 2 (20:01):
I've seen in real, I mean honestly a hundred million
million companies that don'thave that lockdown yet, which is
exactly why I started thecompany right as a fractional.
And so what I would say is stepback and reassess who your ICP
is and who they are that you'removing forward to right, because
(20:24):
a lot of companies need to stopfor a moment and just kind of
recalibrate.
I'll say, first of all, Ialways ask the company can you
define, articulate and who haveyou communicated to what your
buyer's journey is right?
What's the connection andpartnership between sales, hr,
marketing and enablement toeither confirm or update here's
(20:49):
a new acronym because we don'thave enough.
We know ICP right Ideal ClientProfile let's look at IEP now,
the Ideal Employee Profile forwhere you're trying to go to,
not where you are today, right.
And then next it's realigningyour sales methodology, your
sales stations, your motions,all your tools, assets,
(21:10):
collateral, all those things ona regularly scheduled basis, ie
re-evaluate these every three tosix months on.
How is it aligning to thebuyer's journey, right?
And then making sure that yourdifferent lines of business and
even if it's three people in thecompany, you all have a
(21:35):
specific reason why and a highlevel of value and figure out.
Are we and you said it earlierare we making it easier for our
prospects and our clients towork with us?
Because, if not, you're actingas though they're working for
you.
Because, if not, you're actingas though they're working for
you Absolutely, and I'm curious.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
You've done so much with your business, but why do
you do what you do Like?
What is your driving factor?
Speaker 2 (21:59):
At the end of the day , I'm a people person, right,
and I may not make your lifebetter, but after we've engaged
maybe it's a bit better.
The second is why I do what Ido is because, as I said earlier
(22:20):
, that kind of $10 to $100million range of companies first
, there's a lot of them.
And secondly, how do they getto that next level?
I've been one of them.
I can speak from practicalapplication of what it takes.
I know what step 13 looks likewhen you're in step six and you
may never get to it if you don'tdo step nine.
And I want to do it on afractional basis because, as I
always say, I don't want to livein their business.
I just want to stay there for along weekend and help them
(22:44):
through advisory, throughconsulting, but most importantly
and here's where a lot ofconsultants fall off we're here
to help on the execution phaseas well.
Right, and that's the wholeguided implementation.
Because there's a lot of timeswe'll tell them here's what to
do and how to do and why to do,and they go okay, great.
What are we supposed to do next?
(23:06):
And I say we because there aremyself and two partners.
One, great.
What are we supposed to do next?
And I say we because there aremyself and two partners one
another VP of sales, who didspeaks a different language than
me, and then a trainer whospeaks even different, but all
three of us continually andcontiguously work across that
entire engagement.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Absolutely no, and I think that's that's so powerful.
And what I'm curious what doessuccess look like for you?
Like you've accomplished a ton,but what does that actually
look like for you?
Speaker 2 (23:36):
success is one consistency around the value of
gtm transformation andenablement.
Right now, I think, and I sayin my book, if you ask 10 people
, you'll get 12 differentanswers, totally Right.
Next is understanding thedifference between training and
(23:56):
enablement.
I think you train animals, youenable people.
Thirdly, I walk away from anengagement with, of course, the
recommendation and the casestudy and all that, but also
knowing that they would not bewhere they are on that next
level had we not worked as acontinuous, ongoing partnership.
(24:21):
I'll tell you what it's not.
It's not about oh, this is thebest guy ever and he did this.
I don't care about that,because I had to learn a long
time ago If they're not happy,they'll tell everybody that
listens.
If they're happy, they willtell everybody that listens.
You have an opportunity as abusiness owner out there,
(24:42):
entrepreneurially or fromcorporate, to really craft the
narrative of whether they'retalking about great things or
not.
So, because at one point weowned our own brand Thanks to
social media, we don't anymore.
Right, a couple of bad reviews,a couple of changes and down
ticks there and here are man,they're truly damaging.
(25:07):
So ask those questions beforethey get out and you know what
I've learned and I had to take awhile to get this and you would
think as a sales guy, I knew it.
Discovery is not a one-timeevent, it's an ongoing
occurrence.
Constantly go back and getthose touch points and say, hey,
how are we doing?
Not just, oh, we're at stageone and we're 80% of there.
(25:31):
And if this happens in stagethree, no, no, no, no Along the
way.
Say, hey, remember, we agree,this is what a success looks
like.
Show them the roadmap in stagesand then bring it down closer
to the ground and show themwhere you are now, where you've
been and what the next step isand I didn't say the next phase,
the next step before you evenget to the next phase.
(25:53):
And what you're doing is you'rebuilding credibility.
You're also buildingrelationship as well, because
now again, they're buildingtrust in you and they're more
apt and open to open upcompletely.
And there may be a time whereyou slip up.
It's going to happen, but thereare a lot more forgiving if
you've already built thatrelationship with them versus,
(26:15):
oops, I blew it and now they'relike, oh God, what did I pay for
it?
I just get more shelfware.
No one wants that.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
Absolutely no, that's so true.
And the more you can worktogether with that and just
continue to build thatrelationship and that
credibility, the more people doshare that good word about you
and you'll have more clientscoming your way Like it's worth
that investment into thatrelationship to get more word
out there.
And yeah, I agree with you 100%.
(26:44):
And I'm curious if you had theattention of the whole world for
five minutes, what would youtell them?
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Five minutes?
Wow, that is a great question.
I would say that you've got tofind and make balance, otherwise
your body will for one.
Secondly, I would say no oneknows everything and is right
all the time, so keep your mindwide open to learning something.
(27:12):
Third, I would say try andlearn one new thing every day,
and it doesn't always have to beprofessionally.
And then the final piece Iwould say is every day I start
my day after I've done mymorning ritual.
The same way, I write up on myboard the top three things that
(27:33):
I'm going to get done today.
Professionally, that means I'mnot turning off my laptop until
I do those three things.
But here's the catcher there'salways one thing on there.
That's number four.
That is a personal thing, justfor me, so that I don't have to
constantly remind myself to takecare of me.
It has now become a part of mydaily routine.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I love that.
I love that and to add on tothat, I personally have my
personal health and well-beinghas become a much higher focus
point in my life recently andI've, you know, done time
blocking and everything else formy business, but I've now taken
to time blocking for my workoutfor, like, my own personal
(28:19):
health and well-being, so Iwould echo that very much.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
I love that I do the same thing.
I do the time blocks throughoutthe day.
One your brain needs to resetright.
Jumping and constantly changinghats all day confuses the brain
.
We may not think so, but thething is, know yourself, and
what I mean by that is, I knowthat I am best in the morning,
when, if I'm going to exercise,so I just blend it into my day
(28:45):
before I get started with my dayprofessionally, because
otherwise one, I won't make timefor it, my day before I get
started with my dayprofessionally, because
otherwise one, I won't make timefor it, and secondly, I'll be
dead tired.
The other thing is, if you area morning person, do all of your
cerebral work in the morningand get it knocked out and then
use the afternoon for your adminstuff or for your calls or for
(29:05):
your outbound calling.
If you're the opposite,flip-flop it.
You can see a million peoplethat have sold books and courses
, et cetera, on how to beproductive, but nobody tells you
how to be productive your way.
There's no one way to beproductive, and productive the
(29:28):
definition of it can only bedefined by you.
It's kind of like success right, some are super successful
outwardly, others are.
You know what?
I've lost 20 pounds, others are.
I don't beat myself up, andI've learned how to give myself
grace, and that's the otherthing.
Give yourself some grace.
None of us are robots, and weall burn out too easily.
(29:51):
You can extend that by simplytreating yourself the way that
you treat others.
Rarely do we do that, though.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Absolutely.
I love that and for peoplelistening that definitely want
to get ahold of you, where canpeople find you online?
Speaker 2 (30:07):
I always say, if you can't find me on social media,
you're not trying.
You can find me at RoderickJefferson on LinkedIn.
Roderick underscore Junderscore associates on
Instagram, at the voice of Rodon X and threads, or you can
just hit my link tree, which islink tree slash Roderick
(30:29):
Jefferson and Julie.
I'll give you all of those.
Hopefully you'll throw it intothe show notes and make it easy
for people.
There it is See, making peopleeasier for people.
Speaker 1 (30:39):
Exactly, exactly, yes , we'll have everything in the
show notes and people can comefind you and thank you for being
on today, roderick.
This was truly amazing.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Thank you so much.
I was absolutely honored, Julie.
Great to catch up with youagain.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
Thank you you as well , and if you found value in this
episode, please do share it.
That's how people find us.
And you can find me atsevenfigurebuildercom and I will
see you in the next episode.
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