Make It Happen Mondays - B2B Sales Talk with John Barrows

John Barrows reconnects with longtime friend and Pavilion CEO, Sam Jacobs. Sam is the author of the bestselling book Kind Folks Finish First, and he’s on a mission to prove that building with integrity and empathy isn’t just good for the soul—it’s good for business.John and Sam dive into the hard lessons learned from the rollercoaster ride of 2023, how timing and positioning can humble even the best ideas, and why leading with...

Kevin Evers is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review and author of the upcoming book There’s Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift. In this episode, Kevin and John break down what makes Taylor Swift one of the most brilliant business minds of our time.

From reclaiming her masters to building an unbreakable bond with fans, Swift’s ability to scale the unscalable, adapt to change, and maintain authenticity offer...

In this special debrief episode of Make It Happen Mondays, John Barrows sits down with Dale Dupree—founder of The Sales Rebellion and one of the standout voices from the recent Sales Play event in NYC. What starts as a post-event reflection quickly turns into a deep, unfiltered conversation on modern sales, personal transformation, and cultural shifts in the industry.Dale and John unpack the bold themes and subtle sy...

In this special Make It Happen Mondays episode, John Barrows takes you inside an intimate, after-hours debrief unlike anything we’ve released before. After a full day of sales content, networking, and roundtable discussions in NYC with 18 of the top minds in sales and tech, the group capped the night with a viewing of the Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross, starring Bill Burr, Kieran Culkin, and Bob Odenkirk. Wh...

In this special crossover episode, John Barrows is joined by Doug Landis and Jen Allen-Knuth for the one and only recorded session of a pilot project called Authenticated—a podcast experiment designed around unscripted, authentic conversations with inspiring leaders.The guest? None other than David Cancel, Founder and former CEO of Drift. David drops incredible insight on sales, marketing, leadership, and strategy—backed by de...

Steve Lucas is a seasoned enterprise software executive and the CEO of Boomi, leading AI-driven digital transformation. In this episode, he and John Barrows dive deep into the evolving role of AI in business, sales, and leadership.They explore insights from Steve’s book, Digital Impact: The Human Element of AI-Driven Tech Transformation, and discuss how AI can actually bring back human connection instead of replacing it. Steve...

Larry Kim is the founder and CEO of Customers.ai and the visionary behind WordStream, which he scaled to a $150M exit. In this episode, John and Larry dive into the battle between product-driven growth and go-to-market strategy, exploring why Larry believes a strong product trumps traditional sales tactics.Larry shares lessons from scaling two companies, including his experience hiring (and firing) sales leaders, the powe...

John Shulman is the Founder and President of Alignor, a negotiation expert with Harvard credentials, and a consultant to business leaders worldwide. This episode is all about the art of negotiation—from handling tough procurement conversations to defending price in a world of price-focused buyers.Learn about the interest-based negotiation approach, where it aligns (or conflicts) with today’s high-stakes sales environment, and how A...

Elina Teboul is a leadership expert, former attorney, and author of Feminine Intelligence: How Visionary Leaders Can Reshape Business for Good. In this episode, Elina and John dive deep into the balance between logic and empathy in leadership, the flaws in modern capitalism, and how embracing feminine intelligence—not feminism—can drive business success.

They discuss the importance of values, “awake” capitalism vs. “woke” ...

Shari Dunn is a polymath—an accomplished journalist, attorney, CEO, news anchor, and university professor—who brings a wealth of experience to this powerful conversation. She joins John Barrows to discuss her book, QUALIFIED: How Competency Checking and Race Collide at Work.

Shari explores the hidden biases in hiring and promotion, the concept of “competency checking,” and the importance of seeing diversity, equity, and inclusion (D...

Sydney Sloan is a seasoned marketing leader and the CMO at G2, the world’s largest software marketplace. In this episode John and Sydney discuss the evolving relationship between sales and marketing, the rise of AI, and how businesses can stay ahead. Sydney shares her personal experience with burnout, the importance of energy management, and how taking a step back helped her gain fresh perspectives. They also dive into AI-driven in...

Alex Buckles is back! As the CEO of Forecastable, Alex helps sales teams drive more qualified leads by tapping into their partner networks. In this episode, John and Alex dive deep into the tactical strategies reps and sales leaders can use to activate their company’s ecosystem—partners, investors, advisors, and employees—to generate real revenue.John is so impressed with Alex’s approach that he’s incorporating it into his own stra...

John Barrows is joined by Jonathan Lister, COO of Vidyard and former VP of Global Sales Solutions at LinkedIn. With over 25 years of experience in B2B tech and SaaS, Jonathan shares his journey of building billion-dollar organizations and explains the critical role of curiosity in leadership and hiring.Jonathan breaks down the evolving role of sales in the AI era, emphasizing the shift from quantity to quality in personalized selli...

John Barrows sits down with Alex Newmann, founder and CEO of Newmann Consulting Group. Alex specializes in helping B2B companies transition from founder-led sales to scalable, repeatable sales systems. Together, they unpack the challenges founders face when building a sales team, share actionable strategies for avoiding common pitfalls, and discuss the realities of entrepreneurship. If you’re a founder looking to scale your busines...

In this episode, John Barrows sits down with Fabiana Lacerca-Allen, a global compliance expert with over 30 years of experience leading Fortune 100 companies through complex challenges. Fabiana shares insights from her new book, Crisis Capable: Building Your Capacity to Survive and Succeed in Every Environment.They discuss practical strategies for navigating unexpected crises, aligning objectives with values, and avoiding comm...

In this episode, Geoff Coutts, SVP of Sales and Customer Operations at Unbounce, shares his unique journey from leading sales in global corporations like HP, Verizon, and Samsung to scaling startups through transformative growth. Geoff reveals what drove him to pivot to the startup world, the lessons he’s learned in hiring and scaling teams, and his strategies for navigating mergers and acquisitions. We also explore the evolving ro...

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2025! To kick off what promises to be a pivotal year for innovation, we’re revisiting John’s favorite episode of 2024—a conversation with none other than Guy Kawasaki.

Guy is a legend in Silicon Valley, known for being Steve Jobs’ right-hand man at Apple, launching the iconic Macintosh, and writing 17 incredible books, including his latest, Think Remarkable. In this unforgettable episode, John cha...

Topaz Adizes, founder and CEO of the Emmy award-winning experience design studio The Skin Deep, joins John Barrows for a thought-provoking discussion about the transformative power of human connection. As an expert in asking better questions, Topaz shares insights on how relationships are shifting in the digital age, the art of listening, and the importance of practicing authentic connection. From personal experiments with his...

Adam Carroll, founder of Carroll Sales Consulting, specializes in helping clients adopt actionable sales playbooks and accelerate growth. With 12 years of leadership experience in SaaS sales, Adam has built sales teams from scratch, spearheaded international expansions, and driven revenue growth resulting in multiple successful exits. In this episode, Adam shares his four-step deal health check, tips for eliminating “story time” in...