Selling like a Real Human Being with Scott Barker - Ep. 41

Plus, the importance of accountability & some funny email mistakes

Congratulations on making it through January! That only leaves 11 more months in 2025 for you to hit your goals. Best of luck!

Here’s what’s on deck this week:

• What Craig’s Reading

• Recent Insight from a Past Guest:

• Latest Episode: Selling like a Real Human Being with Scott Barker - Ep. 41

Did someone forward you this newsletter? I’m sorry about that, but since you’re here you might as well subscribe…

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What Craig’s Reading: Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success

The author was recommended by Chris Messina and serendipitously, it was the perfect book to accompany last week’s Brent Adamson episode where we talked a lot about a selling process that focused on helping buyers feel confident in their decision whether they bought from us or not. In other words, actually help them. Adam’s book title speaks for itself in that regard!

Recent Insights from Past Guests

Dave Brock, Founder & CEO of Partners In EXCELLENCE, Dave’s Episode

John Common, CEO at Intelligent Demand, John’s Episode

Scott Barker, Partner & Co-founder of GTMfund, Scott’s Episode (Scroll down)

Latest Episode: Selling like a Real Human Being with Scott Barker - Ep. 41

Selling B2B has always been hard. The crazy buying frenzy of the ZIRP era was the exception, not the rule, so if you’re expecting the current buying climate to change any time soon, you need to readjust your perspective.

Scott Barker

, Partner & Co-founder of GTMfund and Host of The GTM Podcast, joins Host Craig Rosenberg and special guest-host Scott Albro to talk all things sales, venture capital, and go-to-market. Scott (Barker) shares why focus can give sales reps superpowers, the outsized impact of warm introductions when building pipeline, and how focusing on uniquely human skills can help you excel in sales. There’s also some great discussion around the importance of accountability and ownership throughout your go-to-market team.

Also, Craig pitches both Scotts on launching a legal practice, Scott Albro relives the glory days of selling TOPO services, and Sam the Producer attempts to crack the case and catch the Bottle Cap Culprit.

Critical Takeaways

• Invest time in becoming an expert in the problems you are solving for your customers. Offer valuable insights that make clients see you as invaluable.

• Focus on the human side of sales, including trust-building and relationship management; that’s what closes deals. Rely less on pure automation or technology and more on human connections.

• Sellers can emulate what works in founder-led sales by using personal testimonies about why they joined the company or how the product solved a problem for them. This can make their pitch more relatable and compelling.

• Warm introductions are the best way to build pipeline in what is quickly becoming an AI-dominated selling landscape.

Epic Quotes

• “ If you even have the thought of an excuse as a sales leader, as a seller, as a marketer, you're already dead in my books.  It requires full and complete accountability.” - Scott Barker

• “ If there are things that are stopping you from doing your job, it is nobody else's problem, but your own” - Scott Barker

Connect with Scott Barker

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/

• GTMfund Website: https://www.gtmfund.com/

• GTMfund’s new fundraising announcement: https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/04/how-max-altschuler-accidentally-founded-a-vc-firm-that-just-raised-another-54m/

• GTMnow Website: https://gtmnow.com/

• The GTM Podcast: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

• GTM Newsletter:

Shoutouts

• Brent Adamson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentadamson/

• Brent Adamson’s Episode of The Transaction: https://open.substack.com/pub/thetransaction/p/reframing-b2b-sales-to-drive-buyer?r=3iae7z&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

• Max Altschuler: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/

•  Javier Soltero: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsoltero/

• Zendesk

• Anthropic

• Microsoft

• Google

• Neil Harrington: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neildharrington/

• Jim Cyb: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimcyb/

• Vinny Pazienza, AKA Vinny Paz and Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil" Pazienza

• Bleed For This (2016, Ben Younger)

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Sponsored Segment

Ringmaster Conversational Marketing - The Transaction is sponsored by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through Branded podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/

Interested in becoming a sponsor of The Transaction? Contact thetransaction@samguertin.com

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Follow the Hosts

• Craig’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigrosenberg/

• Matt’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-amundson-91657236/

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