Make It Happen Mondays - B2B Sales Talk with John Barrows

Mark Raffan is the founder and CEO of Negotiations Ninja™, a former procurement pro turned sales ally, and one of the sharpest minds in the negotiation game today. In this episode of Make It Happen Mondays, John Barrows welcomes Mark back for a tactical, no-fluff conversation on why most sales reps lose deals in the final 10%—not to competition, but to poor negotiation.

They dive into some of the biggest silent killers in dealmaking...

John Barrows is joined by Dan Sperring, founder of AlignICP, to unpack one of the most overlooked—but critical—elements of GTM success: your Ideal Customer Profile.

Dan has made it his mission to help sales and marketing teams work together to define, refine, and activate a high-impact ICP strategy. The conversation dives into common ICP mistakes (like defaulting to company size or segment), how your ICP evolves year over year, and ...

Karen Kelly is a sales strategist, speaker, and founder of K2 Performance Consulting, where she helps B2B companies sell with confidence, clarity, and purpose. In this episode of Make It Happen Mondays, John Barrows sits down with Karen for a tactical and inspiring conversation that covers everything from her immigrant upbringing and biology background to coaching, confidence, and creating safe spaces for buyers.

They explore her co...

On today's episode, John Barrows sits down with Blair LaCorte—a transformational leader whose career has spanned aviation, AI, tech, entertainment, and aerospace. With multiple highly successful exits, Blair brings battle-tested wisdom to the table, but what sets him apart is his focus on people, purpose, and emotional intelligence. They explore everything from growing up with entrepreneurial parents to the role of money as a vehic...

In this episode of Make It Happen Mondays, John Barrows sits down with Kelly Cheng, CMO at Goldcast, for a wide-ranging and insightful conversation on sales, marketing, and the evolving buyer journey. From her early days as a self-proclaimed rebel growing up in Hong Kong to working with top brands like Adobe and Microsoft, Kelly brings a fresh, strategic perspective to how modern go-to-market teams win mindshare before buyers ...

In today's episode, John Barrows sits down with Dustin Crawford, VP of Sales at Otter.ai, for a deep dive into the intersection of sales, psychology, and modern leadership. While Otter.ai is a sponsor of the show, this conversation goes far beyond the product—it’s about the why behind how salespeople operate and how leaders can unlock their team’s full potential.Dustin shares insights on everything fro...

In this episode, John Barrows is joined with with Alyssa Merwin, Global VP of LinkedIn Sales Solutions, to unpack the findings from LinkedIn’s brand-new ROI of AI Report—a first-of-its-kind look at how AI is truly impacting sales outcomes, not just activity metrics.With over $1 billion in revenue under her leadership and a rich career path shaped by EQ, adaptability, and grit, Alyssa shares how she’s guiding one of the mo...

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...