Make It Happen Mondays - B2B Sales Talk with John Barrows

Brandon Bornancin, CEO and founder of Seamless.ai, has known John for more than a decade, back to when they started their respective companies. In that time Seamless, which helps clients broaden and deepen their business connections, has become one of the country’s fastest growing tech companies. On the podcast they discuss how passion can sometimes put people off, the difference between ego and confidence, why sales sometimes gets a bad rap, the state of entrepreneurship, dealing with toxic people, and what leadership means today.Hear how abiding by one of John’s guidelines to success — that you can learn something from anybody in any situation — helped Brandon connect with a Hollywood dealmaker. Connect with Brandon on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonbornancin/ 

After landing his dream job, Sean Castrina was set. Then new management spoke the dreaded words that the company was “going in a different direction.” His response: “I'm never ever going to depend on anybody again,” and an entrepreneur was born. He has since launched 15 companies, coached other business owners, and started a podcast. Among the traits of a successful entrepreneur, Sean says, “Number one is you see problems, and you naturally want to solve them.” He cautions that leaving work early is a thing of the past for entrepreneurs, but relying on yourself brings peace of mind.Hear John and Sean discuss how to navigate the “Bermuda Triangle” of startups, where companies can disappear because of lazy management.Interested in connecting with Sean?https://www.linkedin.com/in/seancastrina/When you’re done listening to “Make it Happen Monday,” check out Sean’s podcast, “The 10-minute Entrepreneur.”https://seancastrina.com/podcasts/10-minute-entrepreneur/

When Chris Schembra visited Italy and feasted on its food and love of life he realized he “was lonely, unfulfilled, … (and) overwhelmed.” After despair led him to self-harm, he discovered that embracing gratitude in the face of adversity is good for the soul and the bottom line. Today he is a successful consultant and author, having just released “Gratitude Through Hard Times,” a follow-up to 2020’s “Gratitude and Pasta.” He says too many of us suffer from “the plague of the ungrateful man, when you think that you've done everything yourself.” His remedy: Appreciate the contributions of others. Hear Chris open John’s mind about how his recently deceased father helped — and continues to help — shape him as a parent, husband, and person.Want to get in touch with Chris?https://www.linkedin.com/in/schembra/www.747club.org

Successful selling requires being able to “push past the concept of just the transactional mindset of sales,” says Dale Dupree, founder of the Sales Rebellion sales training company. He gained that perspective during his time selling copiers, which went from expensive tools to commodities. Rather than trying to win “a race to the bottom” on pricing, Dale says successful salespeople earn business by helping companies be more efficient and profitable. He also credits introspection and finding “something much deeper” for his recovery from depression and a suicide attempt — and he uses those skills today to better engage clients.Hear Dale and John discuss their shared histories in copier sales and how that shapes their approach to selling today.Interested in connecting with Dale?https://www.linkedin.com/in/copierwarrior/

In building his sales career, Jamie Shanks found he could make more genuine connections on LinkedIn than trying to “shake hands and kiss babies” at in-person networking events. Eventually, people were more impressed by his “social selling” skills than his products, and a career in training was born. The CEO of Pipeline Signals sales intelligence company shares how savvy account executives can “reverse engineer somebody's LinkedIn social network to look for referrals.” He adds that LinkedIn can provide a trove of data as well as connections to its 60 million active U.S. users.Hear Jamie tell John that because they forged an “authentic relationship” as competitors more than a decade ago, “good things will come out of each of our lives and businesses because of that.”Interested in learning more about Jamie and Pipeline Signals?www.pipelinesignals.com

Laura Palmer got into sales because she “always wanted to be paid what I was worth.” She sharpened her skills at Google and today Laura is a Web 3.0/Metaverse pioneer as global vice president of sales for Unity Technologies, a major video game industry supplier. As she scaled her career, she says it became even more important to listen to her team. That helped her identify why account executives in Asia were so conservative in booking sales: They feared a loss of face if the deal got derailed, which is much less a concern in the West.Hear Laura and John share in the excitement that business travel is returning, even if her “packing muscle” is out of shape. (Laura’s tip to beat jet lag: Force yourself to exercise in the morning.)Interested in connecting with Laura?https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-r-palmer/ 

Growing up poor in an affluent community could have left Scott MacGregor bitter, but he chose to be grateful for family and being born in the United States. The founder and CEO of the recruiting firm SomethingNew says appreciating what you have is a catalyst for “building relationships with amazing people” who share that outlook and can become business connections. Scott says be ready to “pump the brakes, and do things right the first time and not try to score easy quick wins,” whether that’s choosing fitness over a fad diet or building long-term business relationships over a fast buck.Hear how contributing to Scott’s book on gratitude helped John better realize the many opportunities life places in our path.Interested in connecting with Scott?https://www.linkedin.com/in/macgregorscott/

Pioneering designer Richard Banfield calls the product “a non-human salesperson” that can promote brand affinity and help generate revenue. He says meaningful communication between design and sales teams is “when you can get that truly innovative insight” to create products that don’t just dazzle consumers, they solve problems. Banfield credits his insights to the “fortune and misfortune of doing many different things,” including being trained as a microbiologist, serving in the South African army, and living off-grid on a remote island — all part of his path to becoming an innovative product leader.Hear how Richard is helping John grow his company by making sure vision and values, mission and strategies remain aligned.interested in connecting with Richard?https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardbanfield/IG: richardmbanfieldhttp://www.richardbanfield.com/https://richardbanfieldart.com/

Mindset coach Amber Deibert: helps Silicon Valley business leaders get past impostor syndrome, which she once battled herself. She says too many top performers miss out on life’s joys because their accomplishments only reinforce a sense of unworthiness. She turns that thinking on its head, saying, “You cannot feel impostor syndrome unless you’re a  success.” Her advice to those afraid of achievement: Accept anxiety as a natural response to the mind being challenged, just as muscle ache follows a workout.  “Don’t make it mean anything about you,” she says.Hear Amber help John deal with his own impostor syndrome, which she says stems from a long-standing fear that he’s not smart, despite a successful business career.Learn more about Amberhttps://amberdeibert.comLinkedIn.com/in/amberdeibertAnd check out her podcast "The Achiever’s Podcast" available wherever you get your podcasts and at amberdeibert.com/podcast 

Business and brand development consultant Kasey Jones, CEO of A Better Jones, found inner peace and a fresh approach to business while recovering from a near-fatal dog attack. The growth strategy coach explains that healing her soul along with her body was part of “a period of personal discovery in a very, very powerful and rewarding way.” Hear how she learned to embrace emotional pain and today applies those lessons in business. She says many entrepreneurs waste too much energy worrying about what the competition is up to instead of serving the customer. “There’s room for all of us”.