What’s real: Paid ads aren’t fake - the expectations often are.

Brandy Morton (PR → comms → B2B/GRC marketer → founder) breaks down how to build demand the right way in regulated, “boring” industries without losing the human...and why equity and justice in marketing are not side quests but operating principles. We get into expectation-setting, aligning sales + marketing, and decision rules that move outcomes, not optics.

You’ll learn

• How to reset “$5K in, Fortune-500 out” expectations, and what to measure instead across TOFU/MOFU/BOFU.  
• A simple foundation checklist: shared target account list, CRM truth, definitions, SLAs, and automation.
• What “human-centered demand gen” looks like in finance/insurance/GRC (and why it converts).
• Equity in practice: breaking silos, aligning incentives, and earning trust in your ICPs and inside your team.
• The “borrowed credibility” playbook: trade media, associations, and trusted SMEs → podcasts, short video, and live/editorial partnerships.
• Brandy’s favorite “turn the PDF into pipeline” moves (checklists, calculators, “12 RFP Questions,” etc.) and the one lever she pulls before “increase spend.”

Timestamps

• 00:00 Cold open: “Paid ads aren’t fake; expectations are.”  
• 01:00 Brandy’s non-linear path (PR → sales → GA → marketing leader → founder).
• 03:00 Learning the agency “language” and following the money.  
• 05:20 Demand gen = foundations first (shared lists, SLAs, automation).
• 06:40 Why one click ≠ one customer in B2B; stakeholders, cycle length, and metrics that matter.  
• 08:10 Resetting $5K expectations with a holistic plan.  
• 09:50 “Keeping Up with Kevin”: humanizing compliance with an SME-led series (and the results).  
• 14:20 Equity as an operating system: alignment, trust, language, and incentives.
• 17:00 Going solo: permission, community, and your personal “board of directors.”
• 19:10 One action for “boring” industries: talk to a customer—today.  

Guest

Brandy Morton -  founder of Brandy Morton Marketing; demand gen + growth systems for B2B and regulated industries.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandybmorton/

Site: https://brandybmortonmarketing.com/

Host

Adam W. Barney: Leadership Coach. Book a Transition Leadership Foundation Call (20 min) → https://calendly.com/adamwbarney/foundation-call-20min

If this hit: share it with a leader who still thinks “equity” is a campaign, not a capability.