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/

John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today’s AI-driven sales environment.

Connect with John Barrows:

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

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

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows

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