140: Karen Barbour – People Are People

140: Karen Barbour – People Are People

Guest: Karen Barbour

Guest Bio:

​With nearly 40 years of surety experience, Karen Barbour founded The Barbour Group in 2002, a nationally licensed surety agency focused on construction bonding and advocacy, with offices in Maryland and Tennessee. TBG is a certified DBE, WBE, WOSB, and WBENC firm. Her advocacy sparked in the late 1990s when achieving a Federal Acquisition Regulation change permitting annual bond forms to support five-year contracts instead of one bond for five years, giving small and minority 8(a) firms the capability of bonding such projects. Karen serves on the U.S. SBA’s National SBDC Advisory Board, MAA (BWI) Small & Minority Business Advisory Council, as Vice Chair for AMAC’s Government Affairs Committee, and on boards such as Women Construction Owners & Executives and Girl Scouts of Central MD for over 10 years.

Karen co-founded the Alliance for Hispanic Commercial Contractors, Party For A Cure, and the National Small Business Party. She continues to manage an exclusive surety bond program with Hensel Phelps Construction Co. that to date has bonded over $170,000,000 in subcontracts with no losses.

Key Points:

Early Career and Challenges as a Woman

Started in the insurance and surety industry in the 1980s as one of the few women in a male-dominated field. She faced pay inequality and a lack of mentorship or grooming for leadership. Despite working 80-hour weeks, she wasn’t offered ownership opportunities.

Founding the Barbour Group

After a successful career as a bond producer, she left to start her firm in 2002. Her motivation included economic independence, work-life flexibility, and family care (as a single mom and caretaker for her father with Alzheimer’s).

Passion for Cold Calling

Loved the challenge and directness of cold calling. Used it to differentiate herself and prove her value in a field where women were not readily accepted. Emphasized understanding of construction and surety underwriting, which made her uniquely effective.

Advocacy for Minority and Women-Owned Businesses

A pivotal moment came in her 20s when she unintentionally walked into a minority contractors’ meeting. Shocked by the industry's bias (her company directed underwriters to flat-out decline minority applicants), she left and began actively advocating for diversity. Worked to bond minority and women-owned firms, growing underwriting from $250,000 to $2.5 million in a year without losses.

Personal Motivation and Values

Grew up in a polluted, working-class neighborhood in Maryland. Experienced loss and hardship early in life (lost her mother at 11). Driven by empathy, fairness, and a strong sense of justice. Discovered later in life that her biological father was a neurosurgeon, which helped her understand her innate compassion.

Diversity, Inclusion, and Economic Equity

Emphasizes the importance of seeing and celebrating cultural differences, not ignoring them. Believes diversity brings better business outcomes and strengthens communities. Argues that systemic exclusion limits contributions from capable individuals and that access to capital and education are key.

Community and Social Impact Initiatives

Founded the Alliance for Hispanic Commercial Contractors to support minority businesses with financial assistance, consulting, and sponsorships. Created Party for a Cure, a nonprofit supporting children with neurological diseases. Developed a political platform, the National Small Business Party, to give small businesses a stronger voice in policy.

Core Philosophy

Step through fear—growth and purpose lie on the other side. Use business as a vehicle for empowerment, particularly for underrepresented groups. Diversity isn’t just a value—it’s a strategic imperative for societal and business success.

Guest Links:

www.thebarbourgroup.com

www.ahcc-midatlantic.org

www.nsbpusa.org – National Small Business Party

Home | Minority Business RoundTable | Washington, D.C. - Nonprofit for AHCC

www.pfac-md.org Party For A Cure – Nonprofit that helps kids with Neuromuscular Diseases

About Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders

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Episoder(150)

014: Kendra Lee - How to Build a Real Sales Organization

014: Kendra Lee - How to Build a Real Sales Organization

Guest: Kendra Lee Guest Bio: Sales and marketing expert, Kendra Lee started her sales career in accounting, failed IBM’s entry-level sales exam, and was told she would be a sales failure without an engineering background. Despite that demotivating start, Kendra Lee entered sales and proved those nay-sayers wrong. She turned her knowledge of numbers into a lead generation approach that has propelled SMB companies to their own success. She is the founder of KLA Group, a sales and marketing agency that helps B2B SMB companies get more customers and is the author of Selling Against the Goal and The Sales Magnet.   Guest Links: https://resources.klagroup.com/worksheet-12-steps-to-create-marketing-messages/   Books: Selling Against the Goal: How Corporate Sales Professionals Generate the Leads They Need The Sales Magnet: How to Get More Customers Without Cold Calling   About Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders Download your free gift, The Salesology® Vault. The vault is packed full of free gifts from sales leaders, sales experts, marketing gurus and revenue generation experts.  Download your free gift, 81 Tools to Grow Your Sales & Your Business Faster, More Easily & More Profitably. Save hours of work tracking down the right prospecting and sales resources and/or digital tools that every business owner and salesperson needs. Watch the demo of the Salesology® Prospecting Method, A Simple, 3-Step Method That, On Average, Increases Qualified Appointments & Sales By 73%. If you are a business owner or sales manager with an under-performing sales team, let’s talk. Click here to schedule a time. Please, subscribe to Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! To learn more about our previous guests, listen to past episodes, and get to know your host, go to https://podcast.gosalesology.com/ and connect on LinkedIn and follow us on Facebook and Twitter and checkout our website at http://www.gosalesology.com

26 Sep 202235min

013: Lori Richardson -  Becoming an Inspiring Sales Leader

013: Lori Richardson - Becoming an Inspiring Sales Leader

Guest: Lori Richardson, Founder & CEO of Score More Sales, President of Women Sales Pros Guest Bio: Lori Richardson is a sales strategist helping leaders at midsized companies hire better sellers and evaluate the true potential of their existing sales team. In 2915 Lori started Women Sales Pros - a community to inspire more women into sales and sales leadership. Lori is the author of She Sells and is the host of the award-winning podcast, Conversations with Women in Sales.   Guest Links: https://womensalespros.com/podcast/ ScoreMoreSales - More of What Works, Now Women Sales Pros to Hire and Retain More Women in B2B Business   Books: SHE SELLS: Attract, Promote About Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders Download your free gift, The Salesology® Vault. The vault is packed full of free gifts from sales leaders, sales experts, marketing gurus and revenue generation experts.  Download your free gift, 81 Tools to Grow Your Sales & Your Business Faster, More Easily & More Profitably. Save hours of work tracking down the right prospecting and sales resources and/or digital tools that every business owner and salesperson needs. Watch the demo of the Salesology® Prospecting Method, A Simple, 3-Step Method That, On Average, Increases Qualified Appointments & Sales By 73%. If you are a business owner or sales manager with an under-performing sales team, let’s talk. Click here to schedule a time. Please, subscribe to Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! To learn more about our previous guests, listen to past episodes, and get to know your host, go to https://podcast.gosalesology.com/ and connect on LinkedIn and follow us on Facebook and Twitter and checkout our website at http://www.gosalesology.com

19 Sep 202226min

012: Tom Hopkins - THE Builder of Sales Champions

012: Tom Hopkins - THE Builder of Sales Champions

Guest: Tom Hopkins Guest Bio: World-renowned as THE Builder of Sales Champions, Tom Hopkins’ practical, yet powerful selling strategies have made the careers of literally millions of sales professionals. Tom has been teaching via live and online events, recorded audios and videos, and through his books for over 40 years. His classic book, “How to Master the Art of Selling” is dog-eared and filled with yellow highlighter on the shelves of today’s top sales pros. Tom teaches simple strategies you can put to work in your very next sales presentation. Why have millions built their careers on Tom’s training? Because they get the results they want—closed sales and happy clients!   Guest Links: Free trial of my online training at www.tomhopkinsvt.com/trial Books: How to Master the Art of Selling How to Master the Art of Selling Financial Services  Selling For Dummies Selling in Tough Times: Secrets to Selling When No One Is Buying Book Marketing That Drives Up Book Sales: Sell via Bookstores, Book Tours, Radio, Exchanges & More Sell it Today, Sell it Now: Mastering the Art of the One-Call Close When Buyers Say No: Essential Strategies for Keeping a Sale Moving Forward The Official Guide to Success  Fill Your Funnel: Selling with Social Media The Smart Start Up: Fundamental Strategies for Beating the Odds When Starting a Business Low Profile Selling Mastering the Art of Selling Real Estate: Fully Revised and Updated In It To Win It How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins Sales Closing For Dummies Selling for Dummies, Second Edition    A About Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders Download your free gift, The Salesology® Vault. The vault is packed full of free gifts from sales leaders, sales experts, marketing gurus and revenue generation experts.  Download your free gift, 81 Tools to Grow Your Sales & Your Business Faster, More Easily & More Profitably. Save hours of work tracking down the right prospecting and sales resources and/or digital tools that every business owner and salesperson needs. Watch the demo of the Salesology® Prospecting Method, A Simple, 3-Step Method That, On Average, Increases Qualified Appointments & Sales By 73%. If you are a business owner or sales manager with an under-performing sales team, let’s talk. Click here to schedule a time. Please, subscribe to Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! To learn more about our previous guests, listen to past episodes, and get to know your host, go to https://podcast.gosalesology.com/ and connect on LinkedIn and follow us on Facebook and Twitter and checkout our website at http://www.gosalesology.com

12 Sep 202233min

011: Sky Cassidy - List Companies Aren’t Monogamous & Other Things to Know About Lists for Sales & Marketing

011: Sky Cassidy - List Companies Aren’t Monogamous & Other Things to Know About Lists for Sales & Marketing

Guest: Sky Cassidy Guest Bio: Sky Cassidy is the CEO of MountainTop Data a provider of marketing database services for B2B companies. As CEO Sky oversees the daily operations as well as marketing and product development. He is also the host of the If You Market Podcast.   Guest Links: Free TopData Search account with 200 free download credits: https://tds.mountaintopdata.com/login/register/?promocode=WendyWeiss200 Information on our TopFunnel email as a service product: https://www.mountaintopdata.com/resources/#1648655829561-50b2be23-8bba     About Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders Download your free gift, The Salesology® Vault. The vault is packed full of free gifts from sales leaders, sales experts, marketing gurus and revenue generation experts.  Download your free gift, 81 Tools to Grow Your Sales & Your Business Faster, More Easily & More Profitably. Save hours of work tracking down the right prospecting and sales resources and/or digital tools that every business owner and salesperson needs. Watch the demo of the Salesology® Prospecting Method, A Simple, 3-Step Method That, On Average, Increases Qualified Appointments & Sales By 73%. If you are a business owner or sales manager with an under-performing sales team, let’s talk. Click here to schedule a time. Please, subscribe to Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! To learn more about our previous guests, listen to past episodes, and get to know your host, go to https://podcast.gosalesology.com/ and connect on LinkedIn and follow us on Facebook and Twitter and checkout our website at http://www.gosalesology.com

5 Sep 202250min

010: Jake Butzer - Today, You Can Rocket Your Sales

010: Jake Butzer - Today, You Can Rocket Your Sales

- Guest: Jake Butzer Guest Bio: Jake Butzer is a Partner and the Chief Revenue Officer at Rocket55 - A digital marketing agency headquartered in Minneapolis. Jake has been at Rocket55 since 2015 and in the digital marketing industry for over 10 years. He has served in numerous roles with Business Development being the core focus of most of his career. Jake takes a pragmatic approach when it comes to sales and has contributed to Rocket55s growth of over 30% for two consecutive years.    Guest Links: rocket55.com     About Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders Download your free gift, The Salesology® Vault. The vault is packed full of free gifts from sales leaders, sales experts, marketing gurus and revenue generation experts.  Download your free gift, 81 Tools to Grow Your Sales & Your Business Faster, More Easily & More Profitably. Save hours of work tracking down the right prospecting and sales resources and/or digital tools that every business owner and salesperson needs. Watch the demo of the Salesology® Prospecting Method, A Simple, 3-Step Method That, On Average, Increases Qualified Appointments & Sales By 73%. If you are a business owner or sales manager with an under-performing sales team, let’s talk. Click here to schedule a time. Please, subscribe to Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! To learn more about our previous guests, listen to past episodes, and get to know your host, go to https://podcast.gosalesology.com/ and connect on LinkedIn and follow us on Facebook and Twitter and checkout our website at http://www.gosalesology.com

29 Aug 202230min

009: Bob Howard - Using Business Processes To Set More Appointments And Drive More Sales Revenue

009: Bob Howard - Using Business Processes To Set More Appointments And Drive More Sales Revenue

Guest: Bob Howard Guest Bio: Contact Science helps MSPs with inbound and outbound strategies to fill the pipeline by setting more initial appointments. Before founding Contact Science, Bob’s background with business process included running product development and marketing teams which focused on using technology for strategic marketplace advantage.   Guest Links: www.contactscience.com     About Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders Download your free gift, The Salesology® Vault. The vault is packed full of free gifts from sales leaders, sales experts, marketing gurus and revenue generation experts.  Download your free gift, 81 Tools to Grow Your Sales & Your Business Faster, More Easily & More Profitably. Save hours of work tracking down the right prospecting and sales resources and/or digital tools that every business owner and salesperson needs. Watch the demo of the Salesology® Prospecting Method, A Simple, 3-Step Method That, On Average, Increases Qualified Appointments & Sales By 73%. If you are a business owner or sales manager with an under-performing sales team, let’s talk. Click here to schedule a time. Please, subscribe to Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! To learn more about our previous guests, listen to past episodes, and get to know your host, go to https://podcast.gosalesology.com/ and connect on LinkedIn and follow us on Facebook and Twitter and checkout our website at http://www.gosalesology.com

22 Aug 202237min

008: Tibor Shanto -  It’s All About Execution

008: Tibor Shanto - It’s All About Execution

Guest: Tibor Shanto Guest Bio: I started in B2B sales in the 1980’s, around the same time faxes were the height of communications. I started off on the phone and have held almost every possible role in sales over the years, with companies of all sizes, helping them achieve and improve their revenue goals. People have called me “a brilliant sales tactician”, which is fine by me, as I truly believe that success in sales is all about Execution, everything else is just talk; and there is no shortage of talk in sales. My work is focused on helping sales teams and organizations better execute their sales process. With a focus on metrics and process, I help clients improve critical aspects of their sales cycle, including aligning to buyer process, remove redundancies to shorten their cycles, increase close ratios, and create double digit growth through the execution of their strategy with through tactical execution. With a focus on adoption and behavioral change required for ongoing improvement in execution and results.   Guest Links: Voicemail - https://www.tiborshanto.com/7-day-voicemail-challenge/ Calculator - https://www.tiborshanto.com/whats-your-number/ Books: Shift!: Harness the Trigger Events That Turn Prospects into Customers Sales & Consequences Objection Handling Handbook: A Proactive Prospector's Guide To Overcoming Objections Report On Sales: A collection of articles about B2B selling from the Globe and Mail's Report On Small Business   About Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders Download your free gift, The Salesology® Vault. The vault is packed full of free gifts from sales leaders, sales experts, marketing gurus and revenue generation experts.  Download your free gift, 81 Tools to Grow Your Sales & Your Business Faster, More Easily & More Profitably. Save hours of work tracking down the right prospecting and sales resources and/or digital tools that every business owner and salesperson needs. Watch the demo of the Salesology® Prospecting Method, A Simple, 3-Step Method That, On Average, Increases Qualified Appointments & Sales By 73%. If you are a business owner or sales manager with an under-performing sales team, let’s talk. Click here to schedule a time. Please, subscribe to Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! To learn more about our previous guests, listen to past episodes, and get to know your host, go to https://podcast.gosalesology.com/ and connect on LinkedIn and follow us on Facebook and Twitter and checkout our website at http://www.gosalesology.com

15 Aug 202246min

007: Jim Mitte - Internet Marketing Without The Smoke & Mirrors

007: Jim Mitte - Internet Marketing Without The Smoke & Mirrors

Guest: Jim Mitte Guest Bio: Jim Mitte is an industry leading Internet Marketing expert with over 23 years of experience. His digital agency focuses on generating leads and making phones ring.   Guest Links: https://www.turtlehut.com/free-consultation     About Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders Download your free gift, The Salesology® Vault. The vault is packed full of free gifts from sales leaders, sales experts, marketing gurus and revenue generation experts.  Download your free gift, 81 Tools to Grow Your Sales & Your Business Faster, More Easily & More Profitably. Save hours of work tracking down the right prospecting and sales resources and/or digital tools that every business owner and salesperson needs. Watch the demo of the Salesology® Prospecting Method, A Simple, 3-Step Method That, On Average, Increases Qualified Appointments & Sales By 73%. If you are a business owner or sales manager with an under-performing sales team, let’s talk. Click here to schedule a time. Please, subscribe to Salesology®: Conversations with Sales Leaders so that you don't miss a single episode, and while you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! To learn more about our previous guests, listen to past episodes, and get to know your host, go to https://podcast.gosalesology.com/ and connect on LinkedIn and follow us on Facebook and Twitter and checkout our website at http://www.gosalesology.com

8 Aug 202233min

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