Make It Happen Mondays - B2B Sales Talk with John Barrows

AI can give you an answer in seconds. It can’t own the decision, and it won’t think past the first domino.

In this episode, John sits down with Ricardo Valerdi, engineering professor at the University of Arizona, sports scientist, and author of The Five Tool Team. They dig into how to make decisions when the future keeps moving, why building in flexibility beats trying to predict, and what SpaceX and West Point teach about failing fast and leading teams. Ricardo walks through his FLASH framework, from asking the right questions to balancing data with gut, and...

Greg Glassman gave CrossFit away for free, turned down every investor, and charged $500 for anyone to put the name on their gym door. It became the most valuable fitness brand on earth.

In this episode, John sits down with Calum Marsh, journalist, New York Times contributor, and author of The Glass Box. They dig into how a personal trainer turned free online workouts into thousands of gyms and $80 to $90 million a year without a single investor. Calum shares how one sales lesson, always chase a no, helped him land Glassman after years of emails. They also break...

Most reps wait for their company to train them. Justin Jay Johnson paid for his own coaching while broke, $100,000 in debt, and living in his brother’s basement, and that choice has driven every career move since.

In this episode, John sits down with Justin Jay Johnson, Co-Founder & CRO at Synopsis. They talk about grit, betting on yourself, and making career decisions with a clear view of the worst case scenario. Justin shares his path from a blue collar background and a first year with one deal that got clawed back to Salesforce, becoming a CRO at 33, bu...

Most forecast calls run on what the rep says, not what the customer said. According to Mark Siciliano, that’s exactly where revenue gets lost, and it has a name: the discipline gap.

In this episode, John sits down with Mark Siciliano, Global VP of Sales Enablement & Productivity at Prometheus Group and author of Working the Gray: Where Revenue Leadership Actually Happens. They talk about the distance between the strategy announced at kickoff and the standards actually enforced week after week. Mark shares his path from CPA at Pricewaterhouse to helping build the Oracle Sales Academy and sc...

Any buyer can now run a prompt five minutes before your call and walk in knowing almost as much as your rep. That should make the rep less relevant. According to Brian Benfer, it makes them more important than ever.

In this episode, John sits down with Brian Benfer, CRO at Salesloft, to talk about where the sales rep fits in the AI era, why buyers using AI are ending up in analysis paralysis instead of self qualified, and why AI's real step function gain in sales productivity is opportunity volume, not faster cycles. Brian also shares...

Only nine percent of people at your company are excited about AI. Fifty two percent are more anxious about it than excited. If your rollout plan only accounts for the nine percent, you already know how this ends.

In this episode, John sits down with Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, a behavioral scientist and author of The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work, to talk about why 95 percent of AI pilots fail to scale, the three distinct types of resistance blocking your team from adopting AI, and the leadership policy that lets companies grow revenue and headcount at the...

Half of your buyers already picked their shortlist before your sales team even knew they existed. The only question left is whether your team knows what they typed in to get there.

In this episode, John sits down with Tim Sanders, Chief Innovation Officer at G2 and author of five books including Love Is The Killer App, to talk about why half of all software buyers now start their research inside ChatGPT, how BDRs have quietly become the frontline of business intelligence for companies trying to win AI search, and why the one thing AI still can't...

The Apple Store almost didn't happen. Not because the idea was bad, because it was too big for anyone but Steve Jobs to say yes to.

In this episode, John sits down with Ron Johnson, the retail executive who built the original Apple Store and Genius Bar alongside Steve Jobs, led Target's design transformation, and later served as CEO of JC Penney, to talk about why he turned down a scaled down test of the Apple Store concept, what actually went wrong with the JC Penney pricing overhaul he's still willing to own, and why he tells...

AI didn't kill the sales fundamentals. It just made everyone forget what they actually are.

In this episode, John sits down with Kristie Jones, Author and Founder of Sales Acceleration Group, to talk about why the buyer now wants to talk to a human 80 to 90 percent of the way through their own research, why the post-mortem meeting needs to be replaced with a pre-call meeting, and why AI is forcing sales leaders to teach objective judgment for the first time in their careers.

If you are in sales, sales leadership, RevOps, or GTM, this conversation...

AI is not replacing customer success. It's turning it into the most important revenue function in the business.

In this episode, John sits down with Elizabeth Salmoun, Head of Customer Success at Otter.ai, to talk about why products and tooling have become table stakes in the AI era, why the sales to CS handoff decides whether a client renews inside the first 90 days, and why AI is turning CSMs into AI advisors and workflow consultants instead of relationship managers.

If you are in sales, customer success, RevOps, or GTM leadership, this conversation gives you...

AI is not going to replace real sales. It's going to expose who was never really selling in the first place.

In this episode, John sits down with Jeff Kirchick, author of Authentic Selling and a sales leader who has closed multi-million dollar contracts without ever going through formal sales training, to talk about why AI made personalization easier to fake and easier for buyers to spot, why authenticity is not the same as being liked, and why disqualifying the wrong buyer matters more than qualifying the right one.

If you are in sales, sales...

Buyers have more information than ever, but that does not mean they have more confidence.

In this episode, John sits down with Zachary Gropper, Founder and CEO of Insight Revenue, to talk about Challenger, platform sales, AI research, buyer validation, and why old sales motions are breaking under modern buying pressure. Zachary brings a practical lens from his years around CEB, Gartner, Challenger, Pavilion, and the teams now trying to sell more complex platform solutions in a market full of stalled deals.

If you are in sales, leadership, enablement, or go-to-market strategy, this conversation gives...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ca...

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...

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...

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 wh...

AI already knows your buyer better than most sales reps do. The question is — what are you going to do about it?

In this episode, John is joined by Scott Gillum, author of The Hidden Buyer Journey, to unpack seven years of research on how buyers actually make decisions — and why our sales and marketing tools are barely scratching the surface of what's possible. From personality profiling and corporate culture mapping to the death of the sales stage, this conversation goes deep on what it really takes to sell in a world where the buyer is more info...

The sales playbook is being rewritten and product-led growth is at the center of it.

In this episode, John sits down with Adam Carr, CRO at Apollo.io, to dig into how PLG has evolved, what AI is doing to the sales rep's role, and why the best sellers today need to think less like closers and more like go-to-market architects. From hiring smarter to building SDR programs that actually stick, this one's packed with real talk from two people who've lived it.

If you're in sales leadership, trying to figure out how to build...

The career ladder is burning. And if you are still waiting for the right moment to adapt, you are already behind.

In this episode, John sits down with Ilana Golan, founder of Leap Academy, to unpack what it actually takes to own your growth in a world where 92 million jobs are projected to be displaced in the next two years. From growing up a shy kid in Israel and becoming one of the first women to lead a flight instructor squad in the Israeli Air Force, to hitting rock bottom after a co-founder betrayal and building back...

Most BDR teams are struggling right now. Connect rates are dropping, email is getting ignored, and reps are rushing to get out of the role as fast as possible. Lauren Reeves is doing the opposite, and her team is booking more meetings every single quarter.

In this episode, John sits down with Lauren Reeves, BDR manager at Swap Commerce and one of the most vocal advocates for the SDR and BDR profession in Europe. Lauren built her team from 6 to 40, incentivized her reps to build real personal brands on LinkedIn, and created a culture where people actually...

Before your buyer takes your call, their AI has already researched you, evaluated your solution, and started forming an opinion. The question isn't whether AI is changing sales. It's whether you're going to catch up to what's already happening on the other side of the table.

In this episode, John sits down with Kris Lawson, the sales leader, founder of Ruby, and Snowflake alumnus, to unpack the most important shift in B2B sales that most people are completely ignoring. Kris was the first Oracle rep ever to lose a deal to Salesforce, went on to build...

Every founder who has ever handed sales off too early has paid for it. Every single one.

In this episode, John sits down with Lou Shipley, a Harvard Business School lecturer, board member, investor, and author of Unlikely Entrepreneurs, to dig into why sales is still the most misunderstood function in business, and why founders who treat it as a second-class citizen almost always fail. Lou draws from decades of experience running companies, building sales cultures from scratch, and teaching MBAs how to sell before they ever launch a product.

From cold-calling encyclopedia buyers to...

If your prospect thinks they can already get what you're selling for free, you don't have a product problem — you have a positioning problem.

In this episode, John sits down with Eric Appel, CRO of Island, the company that turned a free commodity — the browser — into one of the fastest-growing enterprise security platforms in the world. Eric pulls back the curtain on how Island landed eight of the top ten US financial institutions as early customers, why the advisor network beats outbound at scale, and what today's sales reps are getting catastrophically wrong before they even open their...

Sales is about solving problems. It’s about helping people achieve their goals—and that’s exactly what innovation is at its core.

In this episode, John sits down with Jason Wild, author of Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation, to talk about his journey from Chicago to becoming a high-level entrepreneur. Drawing from his experience working with companies like IBM and Salesforce, he breaks down the ABC structure that helps business owners think differently and drive meaningful innovation.

If you’re ready to elevate how you approach growth, this conversation will challenge your per...

Start by asking yourself: What am I good at? What do I love doing? And ultimately, what will I get paid for?

In this episode, John is joined by Roderick Jefferson to have a real conversation about ambition, ego, and the true cost of success across our lives, relationships, and leadership. Together, they unpack the importance of slowing down, why constant hustle can come at a price, and the powerful lessons Roderick learned after experiencing a stroke.

If you’re at the stage where you’re focused on building a legacy and discovering your deeper “why,”...

Most startups obsess over growth. Very few actually understand when scaling makes sense—and when it doesn’t.

In this episode, John talks with Mark Roberge about the real science behind building and scaling a company. They unpack the myths around product-market fit, the ethical decision point every salesperson faces, and why revenue alone can be a dangerously misleading signal for founders.

If you're building, selling, or leading a team, this conversation will challenge how you think about growth, customer value, and the future of sales in an AI-driven world.

Ready to sharpen your...

AI is changing sales. But trust still wins deals.

In this episode of Make It Happen Mondays, John Barrows sits down with negotiation expert Tim Castle to break down what it actually takes to negotiate and close deals in today’s AI-driven sales environment.

They dive into the real difference between influence and manipulation, why belief in what you sell matters more than ever, and how preparation, emotional awareness, and cultural nuance shape successful negotiations. Tim also explains how AI can help sales professionals prepare faster while reminding us that human connection and trust are st...

Artificial Intelligence is transforming sales faster than any technology shift we’ve seen before. In this episode of Make It Happen Mondays, John Barrows sits down with Peter Grant, CRO of You.com and a four-time unicorn operator who helped scale companies like Salesforce and Siebel.

Peter shares his journey from the British military to enterprise software leadership, and how that experience shaped his approach to leadership, hiring, and sales discipline. The conversation dives deep into how AI is changing enterprise sales, go-to-market strategies, and the future of work.

They explore why AI literacy is be...

Stefan Feuerstein isn’t just an expert in delegation—he’s a humanitarian leader with a track record of real-world impact. In this powerful episode, Stefan joins John to unpack the simple but transformational delegation model from his book ABC Delegation.

But this conversation goes far deeper than business. Stefan’s approach—Autonomy, Briefing, and Consent—was born not in a boardroom, but in the field. From leading 250 people in Honduras (the murder capital of the world) to supporting migrant children at the U.S. border, Stefan’s leadership method was forged under pressure in some of the world’s mo...

This episode is different.

Devin Reed returns to the podcast—but this time, it’s not about content strategy, marketing tactics, or growth frameworks. It’s about something far more personal and far more relevant.

After posting a powerful message about how “business as usual” feels disconnected from reality right now, Devin made a conscious decision to stop staying quiet. That post sparked this conversation.

Together, John and Devin unpack what it means to:

In this episode of Make It Happen Mondays, John sits down with Saif Khan, Regional VP of EMEA and APAC at Semrush, one of the top SaaS platforms helping digital marketers drive visibility, traffic, and growth. But this episode isn’t just about tools or tactics—it’s about the real human side of sales leadership.

From growing up in a council estate in West London to building elite sales teams across two continents, Saif shares how a single ride-along with his uncle sparked his lifelong passion for sales. He breaks down how five years in retail taught...

In this episode, John sits down with Ashley Herd, a former General Counsel and HR executive turned founder of Manager Method — a movement and book that gives managers the real-world tools no one else teaches. She’s also a LinkedIn Learning instructor, podcast host, and a powerful advocate for human-first leadership.

Ashley brings a sharp legal and HR background from brands like KFC and McKinsey, and shares how those experiences opened her eyes to a problem most companies ignore: we don’t train our managers.

This conversation dives into: