October 4, 2025 | Read online
These past few weeks have been a really interesting learning curve for me.
I recently launched a new 1:1 Coaching program which means I’m now getting into the world of B2C sales and realizing how different it is than B2B sales.
I wrote about this a few newsletters ago, about how B2C Sales is coming for B2B based on my buying experience for an app I wanted to invest in.
Now that I’m starting to sell a B2C solution, I’m realizing how different it really is.
With B2B sales or products/services with longer sales cycles and multiple people involved, it’s less about techniques and more about managing the process and getting alignment.
In B2C sales, specific techniques and the psychology around how and why humans buy, are far more important to master.
For those of you who have been following me for a while, you know I got my start in training by providing super tactical techniques that had an immediate impact and talked a lot about the psychology of sales.
I’m now going back to sales school to learn them again from a different perspective and thought I would get back to sharing some tips along with what I’m learning in this week’s newsletter.
TACTICAL TIPS: I’m in a meeting
SALES TECH/RESOURCES: Discovery Bootcamp
SALES FROM THE STREETS: Going back to school
TACTICAL TIPS:
I’m in a meeting
Do you ever get that response when you cold call someone?
It's the biggest BS objection there is because:
- they're either super rude to the people in the meeting because they interrupt them to pick up random calls from people they don't know or
- they picked up the call and realized it was a cold call and didn't want to talk to us.
I used to get so frustrated with this one so I started having fun with it.
Here's what I do sometimes when they pick up and say "sorry, I'm in a meeting."
The tone of my voice drops to somewhat of a whisper, and I say:
"Oh man, really?? Is the meeting that boring that you just picked up a random number in the middle of it? Do you want me to pretend like I'm your partner and something is wrong so you can get out of it?"
That usually gets them to laugh and open up a bit to ask what the call is about and then I take it from there.
By the way, this tip only works if you have the personality for it, so it's not for everyone.
Try this out on some Tier3 leads and see how it works.
SALES TECH/RESOURCES:
Discovery Bootcamp
Discovery in the B2B world is a never ending process which is why I hate it when I see “Discovery” as a stage in the sales process.
You should NEVER stop asking questions to gain clarity and understanding throughout the entire sales process.
I know this section isn’t for tactical tips but I’ll give another one here before I get to the tech/resource.
After your first meeting with a client, the first question you should ask on any and every follow up call is “What’s changed since our last conversation?” Not “Has anything changed” (closed-ended) but “What’s changed” (open-ended).
The reason for this is that things are moving so fast right now and changing so much, sometimes the client doesn’t even know that whatever changed internally on their end is going to have an impact on what they’re talking with you about.
Their answer gives you additional insight into things that could help or hurt the deal depending on what they say.
But I digress. This section is about Sales Tools and Tech, so I’m going to highlight my partnership with Luster.ai and a free training bootcamp we’re doing in November.
I've said before that my favorite use case for AI is front-line coaching and role playing.
AI can provide more tailored, objective and timely feedback than managers can, and reps are more open to receiving the feedback from AI than they are from managers, at least for the day-to-day stuff.
However, not all AI role play is created equal. When it’s just role playing without tying it to real world application or tracking the improvement over time, then it has limited impact.
That’s why I’ve partnered with Luster. They analyze, predict and prescribe.
They analyze a rep’s strengths/weaknesses based on previous call recordings, predict the skills they need to improve based on upcoming meetings on their calendars and then prescribe specific role plays to address the skill gaps needed for the upcoming calls so it’s immediately applicable.
Then they show the improvement on each skill over time and tie it to win rates.
They have created AI role play scenarios with all my content, specifically around cold calling and Discovery.
To show the power of this, we’re going to be running a FREE workshop the first week in November on Discovery skills.
We’ll be kicking things off on Monday the 3rd to go over the details and then give everyone access to Luster for an initial AI Discovery role play to set the baseline.
Then, on Wednesday, I’ll be delivering a free 90-minute training session focused on uncovering urgency and impact through the discovery process.
Then the reps will go through the AI role play again to see how they improved.
The winner will get free access to my JB Sales Membership ($420), $200 in cash and a few other things that we’ll add by the time we kick this off.
We’re looking for managers to nominate their sales reps to go through this so if you’re not a manager and want to be involved, forward this newsletter to them and ask them to nominate you.
Here’s the link to register: https://learn.jbarrows.com/pages/Luster
I hope to see you there.
SALES FROM THE STREETS:
Going back to school
A few years ago I felt like I needed to go back to school and relearn some of the art of sales, so I did a webinar with my mentor Jeff Hoffman to “teach” me in front of a live audience with the goal of everyone learning along with me.
We had some fun with the promotion of it and did a parody on “Back to School” and put my face on Rodney Dangerfield doing the Triple Lindy which I still think is hysterical.
Now that I’m going into B2C sales, I feel like I need to go back to school again so I’ve started to study some of the B2C sales “gurus” out there to see what their approach is all about.
You all know I can’t stand Grant Cardone or Jordan Belfort because I feel like they represent the worst of what sales is about and are more focused on convincing/selling someone rather than helping them.
However, now that I’m paying more attention, I have to admit, they do have some tips and approaches that aren’t bad, as long as you use them for the right reasons and represent a product/solution that truly makes a positive impact.
Alex Hormozi is someone I’ve followed for a while who’s in the same general category as Grant and Jordan but the more I get into his content the more I appreciate his approach.
He provides similar techniques and frameworks but ALWAYS reinforces how they need to be applied in the right way and for the right reasons.
I came across this 4 Hour Ultimate Guide on How To Sell Better than 99% of People and as I got into it I started taking more notes than I have taken in a long time.
I even transcribed the entire YouTube video and created a custom GPT to coach me like Alex and run role plays on different scenarios.
It’s interesting because this process of selling B2C has reignited my interest in learning more about the craft of sales from a different perspective, which I find fascinating.
Everyone knows the ABCs of sales (Always Be Closing) but I think the ABLs of Sales (Always Be Learning) is far more important.
If you’re not learning, you’re not getting better and if you’re not getting better right now, you’re getting replaced.
#EvolveOrDie
#MakeSalesFunAgain
#MakeitHappen
| How did I do with this edition? |
|
|
|
|
