Ponderings From The Perch

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Brett Baker of Trustpoint Management. As her sales coach, he has brought infinite wisdom and deep personal growth at a critical time in her entrepreneurial journey. They talk about bringing your sales process in alignment with your values and how to respect yourself and others when faced with other personalities and methods for making decisions. They discuss the worst podcast episode ever http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/513/129-cars in which the traditional sales management approach literally makes your skin crawl. Brett's Sandler training is imperative to understanding why sales people chase their own tails and how you can cut through the bull and actually have real conversations you can count as a pipeline. They also discuss voicemail jail and email jail and why people insist on engaging in behaviors that don't help them meet their goals. If you are looking for solid, traditional, old-school sales training

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about why understanding your ideal client makes a powerful impact on your marketing strategy. She talks about the "red flag" statements she hears from marketing managers and business owners which tell her that they are no longer considering their audience. With the insanely important need to create epic and relevant content for digital marketing, social media engagement and search engine optimization, she is convinced this can not be ignored. Check out http://info.littlebirdmarketing.com/a-little-bird-guide-to-personas for today's freebie guide which is a step-by-step guide to understanding and creating your personas to get your marketing plan back on track. Original theme music by Chris Stewart.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about how the reality of entrepreneurship and how hard it is to keep up with all you should know about business. Priscilla talks candidly about the shame that surrounds what we don't know about business and how few risk showing their vulnerability. Priscilla talks about how to listen to fear and use it to bring your true self to the table to grow through the process. They discuss the risk of entrepreneurship, why so many go for it, and how that life can be lonely. She points out, however, that EVERYONE is risking something, but few know what they are risking. She shares her personal story and gives practical advice about start up risks, social risks and financial risks. Before they even start the podcast content they digress into a discussion about "elusive on-hold music" from an episode of This American Life podcast which you can find at http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/516/stuck-in-the-middle.

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Chantal Pierrat, the amazing power behind Emerging Women. This movement was birthed out of a true transformation she experienced in her career as she emerged into owning her feminine power. They discuss what it means to walk through life with focused self reflection and how that can offer opportunities for total alignment with our true selves. They talk about finding support, the courage to be who we truly are, the power of personal transformation, why the feminine is at home in connection, what it means to truly lead with soul and why it is so important to build a tribe. Chantal created Emerging Women, a tribe of 48,000 brilliant women creating change in the world. They talk with anticipation about the upcoming thought leaders set to speak at Emerging Women Live 2015 coming in October. Original theme music by Chris Stewart.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about the meaning of generational differences. Popular business culture demands that management change their practices to accommodate specific generations, but Priscilla's entrepreneurial experience has left her to believe she should do no such thing. They discuss The Economist's article "Myths about Millennials" http://www.economist.com/news/business/21660110-businesses-should-beware-dubious-generalisations-about-younger-workers-myths-about which vindicates Priscilla's stance that most of the millennial touchstones are a myth. They discuss funny ironies found in the millennial generation and Billie Joel might have said it best when he sang, "You can't dress trashy 'til you spend lots of money." Original theme music by Chris Stewart.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about how the importance of asking for what you need. Key ingredient of asking for what you need is first knowing what you need. She points out that companies many times fail to craft a successful calls to action because they don't truly know what they need clients or potential clients to do. Perhaps that comes from a lack of understanding profit, or simply a lack of understanding the audience. They discuss personas as they pertain to helping write effective sales copy and the power of being CLEAR with people about their next step. Also, Priscilla would like to be called Prisca and Dan needs a nickname. Original theme music by Chris Stewart.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about how LinkedIn is NOT a dating site. They explore the mighty, mighty power of LinkedIn and the mighty, mighty fears people have about maintaining a presence online. However, as more than 300 million other professionals are using it to successfully connect and generate leads on a wide scale it is high time you created a profile. Priscilla likes to refer to her teachings on LinkedIn use as a primer on how to become six times more likely to exceed their sales quota. That is the reality of successful models of amazing uses for LinkedIn. Original theme music by Chris Stewart. Listen in for an amazing freebie she offers to podcast listeners!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird at Little Bird Marketing as she interviews Chris Stewart, who you might know as the musician behind the Ponderings from the Perch soundtrack. Priscilla has known Chris for more than two decades and has worked with him on multiple music projects for clients. They dive into the difficulty of marketing yourself as an artist, and making something as subjective as music for commercial purposes. They tried to keep the Spinal Tap references to a minimum but agree that D minor is truly the saddest of all keys. The best part is that after the podcast he and two other friends touring the Midwest performed an office party right at Little Bird Marketing. Original theme music by Chris Stewart. Check out Avery at averyhilltunes.com, Kelly Bosworth at kellybosworth.com and more from Chris at chrisstewart.net.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about dream jobs. Starting with an interesting list, they discuss the pros and cons of having some portion of your hobby become your job. If you love to cook, do you really want to have to do it as a J.O.B.? From cooks, to bed and breakfast owners to travel writers, they discuss the pros and cons of so many jobs people consider to be dream jobs. Just know that you can't be a Purveyor of Fine Cognac as Priscilla already wants that job! Original theme music by Chris Stewart.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about careers. They ruminate about the reality that so many viable careers did not even exist when they were in school, question their own career paths and are faced with how to explain to 4th and 5th graders what they actually do all day! They discuss the rate of technological change and try to imagine an advertising agency job without social media. Priscilla discusses digital marketing, platform building, and bizarre soft skills that are required for today's successful professional career. As they prepare to walk into a Career Day for 4th and 5th graders they talk about what they wish someone would have told them "back in the day". Original theme music by Chris Stewart.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird here at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about art and collecting art. Priscilla discusses difficult conversations she has in her job every day as she critiques work of multiple graphic artists. She explains how a culture which protects people's self-worth creates an environment where they can be vulnerable, fail multiple times, learn from mistakes, grow as a designer and ultimately succeed in producing their very best work. She holds fast to her belief "we will succeed or fail in groups," which provides the underlying basis for her company culture. As an award-winning agency, they feel the pressure to continue to produce amazing work, and yet it is a semi-subjective industry. She explains how they work as a team to push each other in problem solving, process and time management and how often she feels like Heidi Klum. Auf Wiedersehen! Original theme music by Chris Stewart.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird here at Little Bird Marketing as she has a morning conversation with fellow globetrotter, Helene Sheeler-Johnson. As they both work marketing and PR angles in the same small town in the Midwest they exchange several knowing glances. Yet they continue to work day in and day out to bring the marketing and PR aspects of their jobs into the same strategy. With Helene's massive experience with companies like Midway, Nike, Nestle and more, she gives real-world examples of the debacle that ensues when Marketing and PR Departments don't communicate. Although they discuss Helene's husband's Neanderthal origins, Helene also sheds light on tips for getting free press to advance strategic marketing goals. With a background in journalism, she talks about the full-court press that must be done to convince someone in the news to pick up your story. They end with a fun plug for a new product Helene has brought to market of her own creation, Back to Beauty Anti-Wrinkle Head Cradle which is

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird here at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with the illustrious Jeff Cannata. As fellow podcasters they explore the idea that revealing the inner-workings of making a podcast might indeed be like making sausage - a bit messy, but worth it all in the end. First and foremost she is a huge fan of WE HAVE CONCERNS podcast which he co-writes and hosts with Anthony Carboni. They discuss the process of starting a podcast, naming conventions for episodes, consistency and technical issues. Jeff also sheds light on the Patreon model and the selection of social media they use for their show. More importantly, they discuss the importance of being authentic. Jeff's expertise in developing epic content, building an audience, managing growth and mastering the dad jokes should not be missed!Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird here at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter the most fascinating case of complete and utter faking. Priscilla reaches back to the story of the sign language interpreter for the Nelson Mandela memorial service and discusses, with incredulity, the absolute audacity some people have and the painful experience that is watching fakers try to spin their story. They discuss the cost on businesses when they hire a faker and the on-going costs if they are not let go. They decide that it is not immediately clear if these people are "using a different method of communication" or not. Original theme music by Chris Stewart.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird here at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about finding unique win-win-win situations in marketing. She gets bored with the typical promotional giveaways and questions marketing decisions that make companies all look the same. She talks about her thought process in developing marketing strategies that will offer that will create the right behavior with clients which lead to increased revenue. They marvel at Baz Lurhmann's genius and discuss what makes people influential in marketing. Priscilla expounds on the need to embrace your natural curiosity about people's revenue picture in order to craft a winning marketing plan. Original theme music by Chris Stewart.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird here at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about podcasting. She pours out her heart on her love for podcasting and reveals some of her current personal playlist. As both are podcasting professionals, they discuss the virtues of podcasting and how it compares to blogging. Join them as they marvel at the wide variety of experts available to everyone totally for free. She also elaborates on the intimacy a podcast listener can feel with the podcaster. Want to start a podcast of your own or simply tell better stories at cocktail parties? Either way, you'll wonder to yourself, “What would I podcast about if I were brave enough to get started?” Let us know your answer in the comment section as you review this podcast on iTunes. Original theme music by Chris Stewart.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird here at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter in a follow up conversation about creating New Year’s resolutions in the workplace and aligning them with your business values. She gets practical and talks about how and why to make SMART goals which are S for specific, M for measurable, A for assignable, R for realistic and T for time-driven. In a fast-paced work environment, she talks about stepping back and asking yourself what is meaningful to you this year. She again pontificates on her love for her business coach of Trustpoint Management and Sandler fame, Brett Baker. She elaborates on why this type of goal setting is the basis for a disciplined culture and how it contributes to creating a real space for creativity and excellence. She shares her thoughts about the importance of creating a WISH LIST each year and how writing down goals are really the only way to provide a benchmark for your company's growth. Did we mention she gives away a freebie in this

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird here at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Gary Hood, Sales Manager at KSNF/KODE, local affiliates of the NBC and ABC stations. Join these two golf enthusiasts as they discuss ad agency ownership and life working in the media. Listen as these old friends examine the long-term benefits of marketing for consumers and offer advice for small mom and pop shops looking to advertise in television. And who knows, you might even get some advice on your backswing! Original theme music by Chris Stewart.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird here at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about creating New Year’s resolutions in the workplace and aligning them with your business values. In a fast-paced work environment, she talks about stepping back and asking yourself what is meaningful to you this year. She also gives insight about simplifying life — at work and home — by using energy towards the things that truly matter. She discusses her company’s process of setting SMART goals and shares tips given to her by business coach Brett Baker, of Trustpoint. Most importantly, she shares her New Year’s resolutions with us and how she plans to accomplish them. Original theme music by Chris Stewart.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Priscilla McKinney, Momma Bird here at Little Bird Marketing as she talks with Dan Leadbetter about creativity and what it is like to "turn it on" when you are a paid creative. In an industry where ideas are inventory, how do you stick to a winning process for idea generation. She also gives insight into the environment of allowed failure which keeps creatives encouraged to explore new ideas. She discusses the value or lack of value people place on creative thought, and the importance of practicing creativity throughout your lifestyle - beyond work hours. Most importantly, she tells her tale of singing Bette Midler's WIND BENEATH MY WINGS at a funeral. Original theme music by Chris Stewart.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices