Sales reps who cannot speak the language of business are going to get exposed fast.
In this episode, John sits down with Kevin Cope, founder of Acumen Learning and co-author of Business Acumen for Sales Success and See the Big Picture, to talk about why business acumen is now one of the most important skills in sales. Kevin shares lessons from his time at the Covey Leadership Center, the start of Acumen Learning, and 25 years helping companies close the gap between functional expertise and real business understanding.
If you are in sales, leadership, RevOps, enablement, or any role where you need to speak with executives, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about cash, profit, assets, growth, people, discounting, cashflow, AI, and how to connect your solution to the business results buyers actually care about.
Want to build stronger business acumen and sell with more executive relevance? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.
What You'll Learn
- Why business acumen is one of the first skills sales reps need to build
- Why round-number discounts can signal weak negotiation and weak business understanding
- How a small discount can create a much larger hit to profitability
- Why cash, profit, assets, growth, and people give reps a clearer business lens
- How salespeople affect cashflow before and after a deal closes
- Why AI research only matters if reps can translate it into business relevance
- How curiosity helps reps use AI as a learning tool instead of a shortcut
Kevin Cope is the founder of Acumen Learning and co-author of Business Acumen for Sales Success and the bestselling See the Big Picture. He built his career at the Covey Leadership Center, joining just before the release of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and later served as president of international for the combined organization following its 1997 merger with Franklin Quest to form Franklin Covey. Through Acumen Learning, Kevin helps organizations close the business acumen gap and connect everyday decisions to cash, profit, assets, growth, and people.
Connect with Kevin Cope on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinrcope/) and grab his book, Seeing the Big Picture: Business Acumen to Build Your Credibility, Career, and Company, at https://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Big-Picture-Business-Credibility-ebook/dp/B07DPWFK7T?ref_=ast_author_mpb, to build the business acumen that earns you a seat at the table.
Learn more about Acumen:
Website: https://www.acumenlearning.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acumenlearning/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AcumenLearning
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AcumenLearning/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/acumen-learning/?viewAsMember=true
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
Check out John's Membership: https://learn.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-packages?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast
Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter
