Make It Happen Mondays - B2B Sales Talk with John Barrows

John Barrows
  • 4.6 (200)
  • Business
  • Updated Weekly

John Barrows helps sales leaders decide whether to replace or rebuild their teams for the AI era, drawing on 25+ years working with Salesforce, LinkedIn, Google, and Amazon. He advises CROs and VPs of Sales on AI readiness, team structure, and go-to-market strategy. He trains sales teams on the fundamentals that drive consistent performance, with or without AI.

  1. 2d ago

    Why AI Role-Play Is the Missing Piece in Sales Training with Neha Gupta

    AI role-play is not another tool to dump on your sales team. In this episode, John sits down with Neha Gupta, Founder and CEO of Breakthrough AI, to talk about why traditional role-play fails, why managers are often asked to coach without the tools or time to do it, and how AI can help reps practice hard conversations before the pressure hits. Neha breaks down what makes AI role-play feel realistic, why audio can be more effective than distracting avatars, and why adoption depends on structure, leadership energy, and deliberate practice. If you are in sales, leadership, enablement, RevOps, or any role responsible for improving rep performance, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about AI coaching, realistic role-play, feedback loops, remote sales teams, and the communication skills that still separate good reps from average ones. Want to help your team practice before the pressure hits? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen. What You’ll Learn Why traditional role-play feels awkward, subjective, and hard to scaleHow AI role-play can help reps build realistic muscle memory before live conversationsWhy sales managers are often expected to coach without enough tools, time, or trainingHow leadership energy and structure can make AI training adoption actually workWhy remote teams lost some of the bullpen learning that used to happen naturallyWhy communication skills need deliberate practice before the pressure moment hits Neha Gupta is the Founder and CEO of Breakthrough AI, a practice-first AI coaching platform helping teams master the high-stakes conversations that shape performance, client relationships, and career growth. With more than twenty years of experience across client management, strategic marketing and sales, growth strategy, brand marketing, product marketing, and business development, Neha is focused on helping teams spot communication blind spots, strengthen feedback processes, and build stronger practice loops. Visit https://joinbreakthrough.ai/ to see Breakthrough AI in action, including a demo comparing weak versus strong responses to price objections. Connect with Neha Gupta: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nehagupta/ John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today’s AI-driven sales environment. Connect with John Barrows: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows Check out John's Membership: https://learn.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-packages?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

  2. Aug 10

    Why Charisma Is a Sales Skill You Can Actually Learn with Olivia Fox Cabane

    Charisma is not just something you either have or do not have. It is a skill buyers can feel before the pitch even starts. In this episode, John sits down with Olivia Fox Cabane, bestselling author of The Charisma Myth, to talk about the science of charisma, presence, body language, curiosity, manipulation, and why real connection still matters in sales. If you are in sales, leadership, or any role where trust matters, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about how you show up in front of buyers. You will learn why preparation makes curiosity stronger, why presence can change the quality of a conversation, and why trying to impress people often gets in the way of real connection. Want to build stronger sales conversations before the market gets even more transactional? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen. What You’ll Learn Why charisma is a behavior that can be learnedHow presence, power, and warmth shape trustWhy preparation can make salespeople more curiousWhy trying to impress people often backfiresHow body language starts with mindsetWhy sales should help people solve problems, not convince them into decisions Olivia Fox Cabane is a leading authority on the science of charisma and the bestselling author of The Charisma Myth and The Net and the Butterfly, which have been translated into more than thirty languages. She previously served as Director of Innovative Leadership for Stanford's StartX accelerator and has taught on charisma, leadership, and innovation at Harvard and MIT. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, and The Wall Street Journal, and she is a cofounder of the KindEarth.Tech Foundation. Visit charismamyth.com for free sample chapters, videos, and downloadable exercises. Connect with Olivia Fox Cabane: Website: https://charismamyth.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliviafoxcabane/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ofc/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@oliviafoxcabaneofficial John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today’s AI-driven sales environment. Connect with John Barrows: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows Check out John's Membership: https://learn.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-packages?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

  3. Aug 3

    Why Sales Reps Need Business Acumen Now with Kevin Cope

    Sales reps who cannot speak the language of business are going to get exposed fast. In this episode, John sits down with Kevin Cope, founder of Acumen Learning and co-author of Business Acumen for Sales Success and See the Big Picture, to talk about why business acumen is now one of the most important skills in sales. Kevin shares lessons from his time at the Covey Leadership Center, the start of Acumen Learning, and 25 years helping companies close the gap between functional expertise and real business understanding. If you are in sales, leadership, RevOps, enablement, or any role where you need to speak with executives, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about cash, profit, assets, growth, people, discounting, cashflow, AI, and how to connect your solution to the business results buyers actually care about. Want to build stronger business acumen and sell with more executive relevance? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen. What You'll Learn Why business acumen is one of the first skills sales reps need to buildWhy round-number discounts can signal weak negotiation and weak business understandingHow a small discount can create a much larger hit to profitabilityWhy cash, profit, assets, growth, and people give reps a clearer business lensHow salespeople affect cashflow before and after a deal closesWhy AI research only matters if reps can translate it into business relevanceHow curiosity helps reps use AI as a learning tool instead of a shortcut Kevin Cope is the founder of Acumen Learning and co-author of Business Acumen for Sales Success and the bestselling See the Big Picture. He built his career at the Covey Leadership Center, joining just before the release of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and later served as president of international for the combined organization following its 1997 merger with Franklin Quest to form Franklin Covey. Through Acumen Learning, Kevin helps organizations close the business acumen gap and connect everyday decisions to cash, profit, assets, growth, and people. Connect with Kevin Cope on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinrcope/) and grab his book, Seeing the Big Picture: Business Acumen to Build Your Credibility, Career, and Company, at https://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Big-Picture-Business-Credibility-ebook/dp/B07DPWFK7T?ref_=ast_author_mpb, to build the business acumen that earns you a seat at the table. Learn more about Acumen: Website: https://www.acumenlearning.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acumenlearning/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AcumenLearning Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AcumenLearning/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/acumen-learning/?viewAsMember=true John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today’s AI-driven sales environment. Connect with John Barrows: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows Check out John's Membership: https://learn.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-packages?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

  4. Jul 27

    Why Human Connection Still Wins in an AI-Driven GTM World with Katrin Gurvich

    AI can speed up the work, but it still cannot replace the human connection that moves trust forward. In this episode, John sits down with Katrin Gurvich, a GTM Strategy & Operations leader at Navan, to talk about networking, referrals, AI, hiring, and what modern sales teams need to protect as the go-to-market world gets more automated. Katrin shares how she built connection as a skill, why referrals have lost meaning when they become a checkmark, and why AI-assisted work still requires real ownership from the person using it. If you are in sales, RevOps, enablement, leadership, or any GTM role where AI is changing the way work gets done, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about human touch, buyer trust, personal brand, and how reps should use the time AI gives back. Want to build a team AI can support but never replace? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen. What You'll Learn Why networking is a skill you can build through repetitionWhy referrals only matter when real trust sits behind themHow AI use reveals ownership, curiosity, and judgmentWhy human connection still matters in modern GTM executionHow onsites, events, and personal touches can change sales conversationsWhy reps need to use AI-given time to get sharper, not just faster Katrin Gurvich is a GTM Strategy & Operations leader at Navan, where she partners across sales and revenue teams to translate high-level strategy into day-to-day execution. Her work spans diagnosing business health, improving pipeline visibility, and helping revenue leaders separate real signal from vanity metrics like quota attainment. Before Navan, Katrin held roles in sales planning and analytics at Dropbox, management consulting at HealthScape Advisors, and corporate and institutional banking at PNC, giving her a cross-functional view of how strategy, data, and operations intersect. She holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Case Western Reserve University, where she studied economics, psychology, and world literature. Visit and learn more about Navan: Website: https://navan.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/navan/?viewAsMember=true Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GetNavan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getnavan/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@navan?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GetNavan Connect with Katrin Gurvich: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrin-gurvich-559142130/ John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today’s AI-driven sales environment. Connect with John Barrows: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows Check out John's Membership: https://learn.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-packages?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

  5. Jul 20

    How Agentic CRM Is Changing the Way Sales Teams Sell with Ryan Braastad

    CRM is finally moving closer to where sellers actually work. In this episode, John sits down with Ryan Braastad from Microsoft to talk about agentic CRM, AI adoption, productivity tools, and why the old system-of-record model has created so much friction for sales teams. Ryan shares lessons from Forrester, Yammer, Salesforce, his own startup, and Microsoft as he explains how the next wave of CRM can move closer to the flow of work. If you are in sales leadership, RevOps, enablement, or go-to-market strategy, this conversation gives you a practical look at what AI should actually do for reps: reduce admin, improve data quality, support better habits, help leaders coach more effectively, and give sellers more time to focus on customers and revenue. Want to prepare your sales team for the next version of CRM before the market moves again? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen. What You’ll Learn Why CRM is shifting from a system of record to a system of actionHow AI can support sellers inside the tools they already use every dayWhy CRM adoption has often failed to give reps a clear benefitHow sales leaders can think about revenue per seller as AI becomes part of the workflowWhy AI adoption should start with one specific use case, not a company-wide free-for-allWhat agentic CRM actually means and why it is different from bolting AI onto old software Ryan Braastad is a customer-obsessed tech marketing leader at Microsoft, where he works on product strategy across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365, helping shape the future of agentic CRM and AI-powered productivity tools. His background spans Forrester, Yammer, Salesforce, and a self-founded fitness startup, with experience across product marketing, go-to-market strategy, productivity, collaboration, enterprise social, and business applications. Connect with Ryan Braastad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rbraastad/ John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today’s AI-driven sales environment. Connect with John Barrows: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows Check out John's Membership: https://go.jbarrows.com/ Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

  6. Jul 13

    Why More Revenue Can Still Break Your Business with Cruz Gamboa

    More revenue does not always mean a healthier business. In this episode, John sits down with Cruz Gamboa, founder of Ascend Growth Venture and Scaling CFO, to talk about profitability, cash flow, working capital, financial literacy, and why founders can grow revenue and still create a weaker business if the model underneath is not healthy. If you are a founder, sales leader, or rep trying to sell into executives, this episode gives you a practical look at how finance affects sales, why discounting and payment terms matter, and why business acumen is becoming one of the most important skills in a tougher market. Want to build a healthier business before growth breaks the model? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen. What You’ll Learn Why more revenue can still create cash flow problems when the business model is not ready to scaleHow working capital creates a cash void that sales teams often overlookWhy sales reps need stronger financial literacy and business acumenHow discounting, payment terms, and deal structure can affect profit and cashWhy value creation should be understood before a rep starts negotiating priceHow Cruz thinks about efficiency, timing, and capital when diagnosing a businessWhy AI should be deployed against real constraints instead of used as a shiny efficiency play Cruz Gamboa is the founder of Ascend Growth Venture and Scaling CFO. After more than two decades in corporate finance, including roles across GE Capital, GE Vernova, NBCUniversal, and Unilever, Cruz now helps founders and executives understand the financial blind spots that can quietly limit growth. His work blends CFO advisory, business strategy, and financial intelligence for leaders who want to scale with stronger profit, cash, and enterprise value discipline. Connect with Cruz Gamboa: Website: https://ascendgrowthventures.com/ Scaling CFO: https://scalingcfo.io/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cruzgamboa.ascend/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cruzgamboa/ John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today’s AI-driven sales environment. Connect with John Barrows: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows Check out John's Membership: https://go.jbarrows.com/ Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

  7. Jul 6

    AI Agents, False Productivity, and the Sales Team Reset with Gabe Larsen

    AI is everywhere in sales right now, but very little of it is actually moving the number. In this episode, John sits down with Gabe Larsen, CRO of Atonom, to dig into what is real, what is hype, and where AI is actually creating measurable ROI. Gabe walks through the SaaS golden age, the false positives it created, the rise of digital employees, and why most teams are still confusing efficiency with results. If you are trying to figure out where AI agents belong in your sales process, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about it: stop chasing every research bot, map the process first, and only automate the work that actually creates revenue or reduces cost. Want to reset your sales team before the market moves on without you? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen. What You’ll Learn Why saving time with AI is not the same as creating measurable business impactWhere Gabe is seeing AI produce real ROI across coding, customer service, SDR work, and recruitingWhy perfect prep docs and research bots still fail when reps lack the fundamentalsHow digital employees could change the way sales and customer-facing teams operateWhy GTM leaders need to map the process before buying another AI tool Gabe Larsen is the CRO of Atonom, an AI company building always-on AI agents, with a career spanning leadership roles at Kustomer, Meta, and InsideSales.com, where he previously served as VP of Growth and hosted the company's Sales Secrets podcast. He's known for an unconventional, science-driven approach to sales — one that's helped him close major deals and train thousands of reps to replicate his results. Check out Atonom at atonom.ai to see how AI agents can run your work end-to-end. Follow Atonom on social media to stay up to date: Li: https://www.linkedin.com/company/atonomai/ X: https://x.com/atonom_ai Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@atonomai Connect with Gabe Larsen: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabelarsen/ Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabelarsen/ John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today’s AI-driven sales environment. Connect with John Barrows: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows Check out John's Membership: https://learn.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-packages?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

  8. Jun 29

    How to Stay Calm, Focused, and Resilient When the World Speeds Up with Ishan Shivanand

    The world is getting faster, but your nervous system still has to make the decision. In this episode, John sits down with Ishan Shivanand, a yogic scholar, Vedic educator, and mental health researcher born into a 21-generation lineage of yogis, to talk about stress, focus, resilience, meditation, and what it really takes to stay regulated under pressure. From growing up inside a monastery to building research-backed protocols for modern life, Ishan brings a very different lens to performance than the usual sales playbook. If you are in sales, leadership, or any high-pressure role where the pace of change is starting to wear on your focus, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about breathwork, awareness, curiosity, and the human component that still matters in an AI-driven world. Want to build more resilience before the market moves even faster? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen. What You’ll Learn Why real joy is different from temporary achievement-driven happinessHow unresolved experiences can shape fear, behavior, and decision-makingWhy the human component is still the failure point in any systemWhy breathwork can help train the nervous system before pressure hitsHow stress can become a reverse meditation if you repeat it long enoughWhy curiosity matters more than chasing one final answer Ishan Shivanand is a globally recognized yogic scholar, Vedic educator, and mental health researcher born into a 21-generation lineage of yogis. He is the creator of Yoga of Immortals, a set of evidence-based meditation protocols designed to help people build resilience, reduce stress, and improve mental well-being. If you want to go deeper into the King's meditations and ancient yogic wisdom, grab Ishan's book The Practice of Immortality at https://www.amazon.com/Practice-Immortality-Discovering-Unlimited-Positivity/dp/0306834561 — your entry point into breathwork, meditation protocols, and the philosophy behind it all. Connect with Ishan Shivanand: Website: https://ishanshivanand.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ishan.shivanand/?hl=en Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ishanshivanand/ Fb: https://www.facebook.com/IshanShivanand X: https://www.facebook.com/IshanShivanand YT: https://www.youtube.com/c/IshanShivanand/featured?app=desktop John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today’s AI-driven sales environment. Connect with John Barrows: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows Check out John's Membership: https://learn.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-packages?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

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4.6
out of 5
200 Ratings

About

John Barrows helps sales leaders decide whether to replace or rebuild their teams for the AI era, drawing on 25+ years working with Salesforce, LinkedIn, Google, and Amazon. He advises CROs and VPs of Sales on AI readiness, team structure, and go-to-market strategy. He trains sales teams on the fundamentals that drive consistent performance, with or without AI.

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