Make It Happen Mondays - B2B Sales Talk with John Barrows

John Barrows

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. 1d ago

    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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. Jun 22

    How Fear Controls the Way We Lead, Sell, and Parent with Bryan Post

    Stress is shaping more of your decisions than you realize. In this episode, John sits down with Bryan Post, one of America’s foremost child behavior experts and co-founder of The Post Institute, to talk about fear, love, stress, trauma, parenting, leadership, active listening, and why people often react from survival instead of clarity. If you are a sales leader, manager, parent, or anyone trying to communicate better under pressure, this episode gives you a practical look at how stress affects the brain, why discipline should be taught instead of punishment, and how slowing down can help people move through fear and make better decisions. Want to lead better conversations before fear takes over the room? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen. What You’ll Learn Why fear and stress shape how people respond at home, at work, and in sales conversationsHow early experiences can influence behavior, emotional regulation, and relationshipsWhy physical presence is not the same as emotional presenceHow breathing and self-awareness can improve active listeningWhy discipline should mean teaching, not punishmentHow slowing down can help people move through fear and indecisionHow Bondify is using AI to give parents in-the-moment support without removing the human lens Bryan Post is one of America's foremost child behavior experts and the co-founder of The Post Institute. For more than 20 years, The Post Institute has provided education and support to parents and professionals involved in the lives of children who have experienced trauma. Bryan specializes in a love-based treatment approach focused on understanding fear, stress, and the power of love to bring peace and healing. If you are a parent who needs support at the moment, check out Bondify — free 24/7 parenting support built on 30 years of Bryan Post's expertise. Text it like you're texting Bryan himself. Visit bryanpost.com to learn more. Bondify: https://bondify.ai/ Bondify Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bondifyofficial/ Bondify FB: https://www.facebook.com/people/Bondify/61571882300625/ Connect with Bryan Post: Website: https://bryanpost.com/ Fear to Love: https://feartolove.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryanpostofficial/ Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanpost1/ Fb: https://www.facebook.com/people/Bryan-Post-Official/61585577754101/ 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

  6. Jun 15

    AI Is Not a Strategy: How to Lead Real Transformation with Julie Averill

    AI will not fix a business that does not understand itself. In this episode, John sits down with Julie Averill, founder of Gold Thread and former CIO of lululemon, to talk about real transformation, AI adoption, technology leadership, and what companies need to understand before they rush into the next big platform shift. Julie also shares lessons from her time leading technology through major growth at lululemon, digital transformation at Nordstrom, and the early signals that told her when a system problem was really a culture problem. If you are leading sales, technology, enablement, or go-to-market strategy, this episode gives you a practical look at why AI has to serve the business, why trust still drives innovation, and why the companies that win will understand what makes them truly different before the market decides for them. Want to build the kind of team and operating model that can keep up with where business is heading next? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen. What You’ll Learn Why AI strategy needs to start with business strategy, not technology experimentsHow the dot-com shift mirrors what companies are experiencing with AI todayWhy AI is changing how customers discover, compare, and choose brandsWhat a 20-hour website outage revealed about culture, ownership, and escalationWhy innovation depends on trust, candor, and teams that can take risks togetherWhy AI reveals organizational dysfunction instead of magically fixing itWhy real transformation requires human intelligence, not just artificial intelligence Julie Averill is the founder of Gold Thread and former Chief Information Officer of lululemon, where she led the technology transformation that helped scale the company from $2 billion to over $10 billion in revenue. Prior to lululemon, she led omni-channel and digital transformations at Nordstrom and REI. Today, she advises boards, CEOs, and founders at the intersection of AI capability and organizational readiness, and her book Chief Impact Officer comes out June 16. Connect with Julie Averill: Website: https://goldthreadllc.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julieaverill/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julie_averill_/ Grab Julie's new book Chief Impact Officer, out June 16 — connect with her on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/julieaverill) or visit goldthreadllc.com 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

  7. Jun 8

    How AI Agents Are Rewriting Sales with Kris Billmaier

    AI agents are not just changing sales tools. They are changing the job of the seller. In this episode, John sits down with Kris Billmaier, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Agentforce Sales and Growth Products at Salesforce, to talk about Agentforce, headless software, AI-native sales workflows, and what happens when sellers start managing teams of agents. If you are in sales, sales leadership, enablement, or GTM strategy, this episode gives you a practical look at where humans still matter, how agents can support pipeline and qualification, and why AI adoption needs clear use cases, measurement, and training. Want to stay ahead of where sales are heading next? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen. What You'll Learn Why product-led growth is moving toward agent-led growthHow Salesforce is thinking about headless software and conversation-first AIWhy AI-first SaaS is not just a front-end feature or branding exerciseHow agents are changing SDR and BDR work at SalesforceWhy successful AI adoption starts with a narrow use case and a real training planWhat sellers need to become as agent teams take on more busy work Kris Billmaier is Executive Vice President and General Manager of Agentforce Sales and Growth Products at Salesforce, where he leads the product strategy and vision for Agentforce Sales. With more than 20 years of experience across productivity software, search, and enterprise technology, Kris has launched category-defining products, scaled startups, and is now building a future where agents and sellers work together to grow revenue. Connect with Kris Billmaier: Website: https://www.salesforce.com/ap/ Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krisbillmaier/ 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

  8. Jun 1

    Be the Mentor Who Mattered: How Mentorship Drives Real Revenue with Colleen Stanley

    IQ is a commodity now. AI can out-think, out-research, and out-process almost anyone in the room. So what is left? In this episode, John shares a conversation with Colleen Stanley, bestselling author and founder of Sales Leadership Development, to talk about the two things that AI cannot replicate — emotional intelligence and meaningful mentorship. Colleen has spent decades proving that EQ is not a soft skill, it is a revenue skill. And her new book, Be the Mentor Who Mattered, makes the case that the next generation of leaders cannot go it alone. They get into why self-awareness is the mega skill every sales leader needs to develop, how to give feedback without triggering defensiveness, and why the best mentorship rarely comes from a formal program. If you lead a team, coach reps, or are trying to figure out what your competitive edge looks like in a world of AI, this one is for you. Want to build the skills that hold up in any market? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen. What You’ll Learn Why self-awareness is the mega skill and how to actually develop itHow to give feedback using empathy followed by assertivenessWhy the best mentorship happens informally, not through assigned programsHow one conversation from the right person can change your entire trajectoryWhy mentorship cultures produce two times the profit of those without themHow to find a mentee instead of waiting to be asked to be a mentor Colleen Stanley is president of SalesLeadership, a sales development firm specializing in the integration of emotional intelligence, sales, and sales leadership skills. She is the author of three books, Emotional Intelligence For Sales Success, now published in eight languages, Emotional Intelligence For Sales Leadership, and Growing Great Sales Teams. Connect with Colleen Stanley: Website: https://www.salesleadershipdevelopment.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenstanleysli YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ColleenStanleySalesLeadership Grab your Free Corporate Sales Training Resources: https://www.salesleadershipdevelopment.com/resources/ 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

See All (241)

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.

Information

You Might Also Like