Make It Happen Mondays &#8211; B2B Sales Talk with John Barrows

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Be the Mentor Who Mattered: How Mentorship Drives Real Revenue with Colleen Stanley Jun 01, 2026

Show notes

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 it
How to give feedback using empathy followed by assertiveness
Why the best mentorship happens informally, not through assigned programs
How one conversation from the right person can change your entire trajectory
Why mentorship cultures produce two times the profit of those without them
How 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/

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What AI Knows About Your Buyer with Scott Gillum May 25, 2026

Show notes

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 informed, more protected, and more machine-assisted than ever before.

If you're serious about staying relevant as a sales professional in an AI-first world, this one's a must-listen.

Want to make sure you're equipped before the market moves on without you? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.

What You’ll Learn

Why corporate culture predicts deal velocity better than any sales methodology
How to use personality profiling tools to adapt your style to any buyer
Why 85% of the people who actually influence your deals aren't in your CRM
The one thing AI still can't replicate — and why it's your biggest competitive advantage
Why Return on Effort (ROE) is replacing ROI as the real measure of AI in sales

Scott Gillum is the Founder and CEO of Carbon Design. Prior to founding Carbon Design, he was the President of the Washington, DC office for gyro (a Dentsu agency), the world’s largest B2B agency.

His career follows the pipeline. Starting at the bottom closing deals as a sales rep. Then as a management consultant after graduate school, helping clients build and capture demand for sales and marketing channels. Advertising broadened his knowledge and experience in building brands and creating awareness.

Along the way, he’s been the head of marketing for an Inc. 500 company, and an interim CMO for a Fortune 500 company. Today, Scott helps clients improve the effectiveness of their marketing efforts up and down the funnel. From transitioning to digital to finding new ways to communicate, connect, and motivate audiences.

Scott’s a member of the Gartner for Marketing Leaders Council and he writes a regular column for MediaPost on business marketing. He’s articles have appeared in leading publications such as Forbes, Fortune, Adage, the Huffington Post and he has contributed to various books on marketing. Additionally, his work on sales and marketing integration was made into a Harvard Business School Case Study and is taught at leading business schools across the nation.

Website: https://carbondesign.com/scott-gillum/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottgillum/

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Why Your Sales Rep Needs to Be an Architect, Not Just a Closer with Adam Carr May 18, 2026

Show notes

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 and develop a team in this new world, this episode will give you a framework to work with.

Want to level up your 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 people don't buy from people they like but from people they trust
How to hire intentionally and slow down when everyone's pushing you to scale fast
The difference between PLG, product-led sales, and sales-led growth
What product signals actually matter when deciding when to bring in a sales rep
The three skills every modern sales rep needs to stay relevant in an AI-first world

Adam Carr is the CRO of Apollo, where he leads the company’s go-to-market strategy and revenue growth initiatives. Since joining in 2025, he has focused on scaling a modern GTM engine that blends product-led and sales-led growth, aligning sales, marketing, product, and customer success into a unified customer journey. Under his leadership, Apollo continues to support millions of users and hundreds of thousands of businesses in accelerating growth through a scalable, customer-centric platform.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamhcarr/

Connect with John Barrows:

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Career Resilience in the Age of AI with Ilana Golan May 11, 2026

Show notes

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 stronger, Ilana brings a rare combination of raw honesty and practical frameworks to this conversation.

They cover the 555 rule for cutting through decision paralysis, what it means to build a portfolio career, and why people will no longer pay for knowledge but will always pay for transformation.

If you are ready to stop being a one-trick pony and start building something that holds up regardless of what AI throws at you, this conversation is the one to watch. Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.

What You’ll Learn

Why hard work still beats raw talent in any era
How to use the 555 rule to escape decision paralysis
What it looks like to lose your identity and rebuild from nothing
The case for building a portfolio career before you are forced to
Why people will not pay for knowledge but will pay for transformation

Ilana Golan was an F-16 Flight instructor in the Air Force and the first female commander in her squad, a tech executive, and now the founder of Leap Academy, one of the fastest-growing companies in America.

Leap Academy is disrupting professional education and is the only platform in the world today that helps individuals create portfolio careers and get ready for the future of work. Her disruption of professional education has caught the attention of leaders such as Richard Branson, Garyvee, and the Presidents of some of the biggest companies in the world.

Ilana won Inc 500, Startup of the Year for 2023, CEO World Award, 40 Women to Watch, and has been on the biggest stages in the world, including Tech Crunch Disrupt, Google Startup Accelerator, Inman Connect, Executive MBA Programs, and more. Ilana was also invited to give a private talk for Richard Branson and a very selected CEOs on his private island.

Connect with Llana!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilanagolan/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ilanagolanleap

Website: https://www.ilanagolan.com/

Learn more about Leap Academy: https://www.leapacademy.com/

Join her free 3-day training: www.leapacademy.com/makeithappen

Connect with John Barrows:

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What the Best BDR Teams Are Doing Differently Right Now with Lauren Reeves May 04, 2026

Show notes

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 want to stay in the seat long enough to get good at it. She shares exactly what is working right now on email, on the phone, and on social, and what is quietly killing results for most teams that are copying the playbook from five years ago.

If you lead a BDR or SDR team, or you are in the role of trying to figure out how to stand out and build a career in sales, this conversation will give you the most practical and honest take on what it actually takes to win right now. Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.

What You’ll Learn

The hiring question Lauren asks in every interview
Why Lauren tells every candidate upfront: I do not work with dicks
Why good BDRs should stay in the seat for at least 18 months
Why the no promotion before a year policy creates better salespeople
What is actually working right now in email
Why the phone still converts
How Lauren pays her reps to post on LinkedIn
What BDRs should post on LinkedIn
Why costly quarterly targets work better than monthly pressure
How to spot it in an interview and how to coach it on the floor

Lauren Reeves is a sales leader and outbound specialist with 7 years of experience in the BDR/SDR space, known for developing high-performing business development teams. She began her career as a BDR before moving into management, where she focuses on building ambitious, growth-driven sales professionals and creating environments centered on learning, collaboration, and success. Lauren has driven significant outbound revenue growth, scaled teams across regions, and earned recognition as a top sales manager and leader in the industry.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thelaurenreeves/

Connect with John Barrows:

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The First Guy to Lose to Salesforce (And What He Did Next) with Kris Lawson Apr 27, 2026

Show notes

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 and scale sales teams across some of the most iconic tech companies of the last 25 years, and is now building the AI-powered sales assistant he always wished he had.

From how buyers are already using AI to screen vendors, to why generic AI tools will never replace purpose-built sales intelligence, to how to pick a rocket ship company before anyone else knows it's one, this conversation covers the ground that matters most right now.

If you're in sales, leading a sales team, or building a company and trying to figure out how to win in an AI-saturated market, this episode will change how you think about what's coming. Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.

What You’ll Learn

Why your buyer's AI is already evaluating you
How OpenAI and Anthropic told one company to "just send the documentation" and let their LLMs decide
The framework Kris uses to evaluate whether a company is worth joining
Why the first Oracle rep to lose a deal to Salesforce ended up joining Salesforce
Why the chat interface will never work for the average sales rep
The build-vs-buy fallacy in the AI era and the real risks nobody is talking about
How AI will reshape sales methodologies
The rubber duck exercise and how to use AI to learn, not just execute
Why choosing the right life partner is the most important career decision a salesperson will ever make

Kris Lawson is a sales leader, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Ruby (heyruby.ai) — an AI-powered sales assistant purpose-built to help sales reps be excellent in every customer interaction. Kris has spent 25 years scaling go-to-market organizations at Oracle, Salesforce, Microsoft, and Snowflake. He was the first Oracle rep ever to lose a deal to Salesforce, went on to become a key early sales leader in Canada for Salesforce, and has since built and exited multiple sales organizations in the tech sector. He is also co-founder of Snow Angels, a Snowflake alumni investor syndicate focused on data and AI startups.

Connect with Kris Lawson:

Website: https://www.heyruby.ai/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krislawsonland/

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Why Founders Who Avoid Sales Always Fail with Lou Shipley Apr 20, 2026

Show notes

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 opening Asia for Avid Technology to building the sales curriculum at HBS, Lou has lived every stage of the sales journey, and he's done it at the highest level.

If you're a founder, a sales professional, or anyone trying to understand what it actually takes to build a company in the age of AI, this conversation will challenge everything you think you know about selling. Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.

What You’ll Learn

Why founders who delegate sales too early almost always fail
How Lou built one of Harvard's most in-demand courses
The cultural disdain of sales
Why sales is not about convincing anyone of anything
How to use AI as a learning tool instead of an answer machine
What the Guy Kawasaki GPT experiment revealed
Why curiosity is the most important professional skill in the AI era
What SaaS companies should be doing right now
How to build a farm system for sales talent
17 stories that prove anyone can build something worth buying

Lou Shipley is a multi-time tech CEO, entrepreneur, and enterprise software leader with over 25 years of experience driving growth and innovation. He has led several successful startups through rapid expansion and acquisition, including Black Duck, WebLine (acquired by Cisco), Reflectent (acquired by Citrix), and VMTurbo. In addition to his executive leadership, Lou serves on multiple boards, teaches technology sales at Harvard Business School, and is a respected mentor, speaker, and commentator in the tech industry.

Connect with Lou Shipley:

Website: https://www.loushipley.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loushipley/

Grab a copy of Lou Shipley’s book, “Unlikely Entrepreneurs: Wins, Losses, and Crucial Lessons on Building Great Companies,“ on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Unlikely-Entrepreneurs-Lou-Shipley/dp/1394345895/

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Selling What They Think Is Free with Eric Appel Apr 13, 2026

Show notes

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 mouths.

If you're navigating a market where AI is commoditizing everything around you and buyers think they don't need what you're selling, this conversation will change how you think about value, positioning, and the future of selling. Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.

What You’ll Learn

How Island sold a "free" product to the world's biggest enterprises — and won
The advisor network strategy that replaced traditional outbound prospecting
Why the first 15 sales hires at Island were all known killers — and why that matters
How to build a real feedback loop between sales and engineering
The three questions you should never ask a prospect (and what to do instead)
Why hypothesis selling is replacing discovery in today's AI-driven sales environment
What separates leaders from followers in the AI era — and why followers will get left behind

Eric Appel is the Chief Revenue Officer at Island, the enterprise browser company redefining how organizations think about security, productivity, and AI enablement. With a career that spans Arthur Anderson, Yahoo, McAfee, and some of the most pivotal chapters in information security, Eric has spent over two decades building go-to-market engines for category-defining companies. At Island, he helped architect the sales strategy that brought the world's largest financial institutions, pharma companies, and global enterprises onto the platform — proving that even a "free" product can command a premium price when the value proposition is airtight.

Connect with Eric Appel:

Website: https://island.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-appel-605310/

Connect with John Barrows:

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Microsoft VP Exposes the Truth About Scaling Teams with Jason Wild Apr 06, 2026

Show notes

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 perspective on leadership, strategy, and the results you’re capable of creating. Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.

What You’ll Learn

What it’s like to work with IBM and Salesforce
The ABC structure for innovation
Laying out the framework for innovation
Aligning People In One Vision
Approaching innovation in the era of AI

From a child actor in Hollywood to tech executive in Silicon Valley, Jason Wild has collaborated with some of the most talented and creative people in the world. He is an adviser and author on growth, innovation, strategy, and leadership, having led projects in 40 countries from Disney and AT&T to NATO and the City of Paris. He is the co-founder of Wild Innovation Consulting and helps leaders and organizations unlock their genius at scale, with significant experience in AI, business, and operating models, and digital transformation. He worked for over 20 years in executive roles at Microsoft, IBM, and Salesforce. He is dedicated to ensuring that AI and emerging tech benefit all of humanity.

Connect with Jason Wild:

Website: https://geniusatscale.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonwild/

Get a copy of “Genius at Scale: How Great Leaders Drive Innovation” on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Genius-Scale-Great-Leaders-Innovation/dp/1647827507

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