Roderick Jefferson - sales enablement

Successful Sales Enablement And Succession Planning, with Roderick Jefferson, Episode #9

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My guest for this episode of #SellingWithSocial is Roderick Jefferson. He’s the Vice President of Marketo’s Sales & Partner Enablement organization and leads the planning, direction, and execution of sales enablement with a scope that spans sales business planning and strategy, training, events, communications, and sales productivity tools. Roderick is an acknowledged thought leader in the sales enablement space and with 20 years of leadership experience, he has built sales enablement organizations covering the Enterprise and SMB space. In this conversation, we talk about the vital role sales enablement plays in sales organizations, how today’s businesses need to seriously consider what approaches to succession planning and team member placement work in the modern era, and how personal growth leads to career success. It’s a great conversation with an amazing leader.

#SalesEnablement & #SuccessionPlanning w Roderick Jefferson @TheVoiceOfRod #salesLeadership Click To Tweet

Roderick Jefferson

Sales enablement is about fueling company and individual sales success.

If you were to ask 100 different people in a sales organization, “What IS sales enablement?” you’d probably get 100 different answers, and that’s just one of the reasons I wanted to have my friend, Roderick Jefferson on this episode of the podcast. Roderick is a sales enablement expert who knows how to equip sales leaders and teams for success. His forte is in empowering sales leaders and teams and removing obstacles out of their way so that they can focus on driving revenue making everyone more successful. Roderick and I had a fun time talking about why sales enablement is such a vital role for companies to understand and he shared many helpful tips that company execs, sales leaders, and individual salespeople can apply immediately, so you won’t want to miss this conversation.

Why the best asset a sales organization has is its people.

It’s always fun to have a new software package or CRM that enables you to do your job as a salesperson better or quicker. But as helpful as those things are they are not the most important resources a company has. Roderick says that the people are the greatest asset the company can ever have and that leaders need to learn how to position them for greater success. Sometimes that will mean shifting individuals to new or different positions that match their skills better. You’ll hear his advice about how leaders can make simple adjustments that will increase the productivity of the entire company and improve the culture at the same time, on this episode of #SellingWithSocial.

The best asset a #sales organization has R its people @TheVoiceOfRod #SellingWithSocial #Leadership Click To Tweet

Sales leadership is an action, not a title.

Over the course of his long and successful career, Roderick has learned that sales leadership is not a role, it’s the actions a person takes. For him that means that he’s not going to be seen as a leader just because he has a title, he has to demonstrate his leadership in a variety of ways that build trust, foster open communication, and create a culture that is both eager and empowered to work together to achieve common goals. If you want to hear how you can raise your sales leadership to higher levels Roderick is the guy to learn from, and on this episode, he shares a great deal of insight you can use.

An example of why it’s true that your net worth is determined by your network.

In this conversation with Roderick, the two of us chat about why salespeople should actively pursue mentors and sponsors. One of the reasons we covered is that the relationships you build with seasoned sales leaders today are often a benefit to you years down the road. You’ll enjoy hearing a story I shared with Roderick about how a previous mentor enabled me to close a deal for $45 million contract, 15 years after he had mentored me. If you’ve felt for a while that you need a mentor but have never taken action, this conversation will give you the tools you need to identify and connect with that person, so be sure you listen.

How 2 find a #sales #mentor? @TheVoiceOfRod #sales #SalesLeadership #SellingWithSocial #SocialSelling Click To Tweet

Outline of This Episode

  • [1:21] Mario’s introduction of sales thought leader Roderick Jefferson.
  • [7:09] What is sales enablement and why is it different than operations?
  • [9:15] Why credibility is vital for sales enablement team members to have.
  • [13:20] Roderick’s thoughts about what’s coming for sales in 2017.
  • [15:31] How sales enablement professionals can make salespeople more productive faster.
  • [20:00] Why companies have to build succession plans and career paths for their teams.
  • [31:31] The approach Roderick has taken to his personal and career growth.
  • [36:54] How to find mentors.
  • [42:12] How Roderick is focusing on leadership growth this year.
  • [45:36] One piece of advice for sales leaders and salespeople.

Resources Mentioned

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Tweets You Can Use To Share This Great Content

#SalesEnablement fuels company #sales #success @TheVoiceOfRod #Sales #SellingWithSocial Click To Tweet #SalesLeadership is an action, not a title! @TheVoiceOfRod #sales #SocialSelling #BizSales #SalesTips Click To Tweet

 

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