Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

Yellow Dog Pop Culture Roundup

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As many of you know, I’m a big pop culture fan. If you follow me on twitter, you are WELL aware of my nerdiness. So, I’ve decided to occasionally give you a glimpse into what I’m reading/watching/listening to in the pop culture arena. If you have suggestions of other things I should be checking out, feel free to share in the comments!

Reading

Sacre Bleu, Christopher Moore. My dad bought me this book for Christmas, and I’m finally reading it since I have a trip to Paris planned for August. It’s art history, comedy, and Paris all wrapped up in one. Two (soon to be three) of my favorite things!

The Walking Dead, I finally caught up with these graphic novels (Ezekiel has a Tiger!). If you like the TV show, or are frustrated with the show, or it scares the crap out of you so you think reading the comics will help you out, you’re correct, and should check out this great series. I picked up all the graphic novels at the library and am now going to my somewhat-local comic book store to buy the latest issue each month. I have reached that level of geekdom, and it is awesome.

Listening To

When my dad was up in March we went to see The Alabama Shakes (my dad is WAY cooler than your dad, FYI), and they were awesome. I’m listening to them a lot, and their opening act, Sam Doores and the Tumbleweeds. Again, awesome. I’m in love with the show Nashville, so a lot of my music is in that vain lately, The Lumineers, The Civil Wars, and others. Oh, and fun. has a great album I enjoy.

this hangs in my office. That mustache makes me smile daily.
this hangs in my office. That mustache makes me smile daily.

I also listen to a lot of Podcasts. The latest discoveries include Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR and You Made it Weird from Nerdist Industries. I still love the Nerdist Podcast and Grantland’s Hollywood Prospectus podcasts each week.

Watching

The Americans. This show is AWESOME. 80’s Russian spies living in DC, pretending to be married with 2 kids. It’s creepy, and awesome and so fun. I love it!

Nashville. I jumped right on this bandwagon in the fall and it has not disappointed. Yes it’s soapy and over the top, but the music is fun and there is a plethora of pretty people to look at.

New Girl. I can’t get enough, I love this show. I watch every episode twice because I’m laughing so hard the first time. It’s great.

Parks & Recreation. If you watch the show then it shouldn’t surprise you that I am in love with Ron Swanson and his libertarian values and awesome mustache. This is easily my favorite show on TV. I watch each episode twice, for the same reason as New Girl. Everything about it is sweet and funny and has had the odd effect of making me reach out to my city hall when I have a question or need something taken care of. I’m not to the Ann Perkins level yet, but could be soon.

Ask Yellow Dog: Controlling Managers Expectations

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IMG_3101Last week at my PSBJ Workshop I got an email afterwards from someone asking me this: how do you control expectations that every contact will produce business immediately?

That’s a great question- long sales cycles in a short sales cycle-minded company are a challenge. This is why keeping the pipeline full and healthy is helpful so you’re always working on prospects. When I was at PSBJ I had a monthly sales goal, so I knew I had to get my speaking engagements booked a month in advance to have next month taken care of and work to fill the gaps, instead of reacting to the work all the time.

Communicate with your manager to discuss what is realistic. If it’s a new industry you’re in charge of, there may be no proven track record to know that one industry is longer or shorter than others. This is also a great time to reach out to your Referral Partners. Take some time with LinkedIn or even Facebook to reach out to friends and your referral partners (that’s why I think they’re so valuable!) and talk about what you need and connections you’re looking to make in the industry. As I mention often, I can’t help you if I don’t know what you need.

Send a quick note to a few people asking them to introduce you- a quick “I saw you know so and so on LinkedIn, would you mind introducing me?” most people say no problem, and if they don’t, there is usually a good reason (the person is a jerk, or they haven’t talked to them in 2 years so it wouldn’t be a good lead).

If you have a couple of clients that you are comfortable asking, you may want to reach out to them and get their feedback on the ‘sales cycle’ and when they felt comfortable saying yes to you. Bosses like concrete answers and data to back it up.

Debate the argument, not the rules.

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imagesIn last weeks newsletter I talked about 3 things I learned at the International Public Debate Association National Tournament. I was talking with a friend after the newsletter went out, she mentioned that within 48 hours she’d already quoted one of my points to someone. So I thought I’d make sure you caught it…

Debate the argument, not the rules. In one round a debater said, “the IPDA bylaws 6.1 state he can’t do that.” Buck up camper, not everyone plays by the rules. Not everyone will play by the rules, and you can choose to debate the rules and fairness, OR the resolution at hand. Have a solid argument, back it up with facts, and let the judge decide.

How often do you debate the rule instead of the argument?