Tom is an author, internationally recognized social selling speaker, and a former contributor to Ad Age’s Small Agency Diary. He founded Converse Digital in 2010 after a 20-year career in the advertising agency business to help people and organizations learn how to turn conversations into customers.
In 2013, Pearson published Tom’s first book, The Invisible Sale, available everywhere books are sold. He keeps threatening to write that second book — The Propinquity Principle — but he’s been so busy teaching people how to win The Invisible Sale, by leveraging the science of propinquity, that he just can’t seem to find the time yet. But stay tuned.
His previous experience includes Temerlin McClain Advertising in Dallas, Texas where he developed direct marketing, retail and corporate branding programs for various American Airlines service offerings. After leaving Temerlin in 1994, Tom would spend the balance of his career largely responsible for business development at agencies throughout New Orleans.
As Vice President, Business Development at Peter A. Mayer Advertising, he created the firm’s business development program, which generated over 35% growth in new billings in just over four years. Leveraging the systems and approaches developed there he founded his own brand strategy firm, Brandmarken, which he successfully ran until Hurricane Katrina forced the young firm to disband.
It was during his short return to advertising as President of another mid-sized New Orleans based firm that Tom developed the framework that is now Painless Prospecting. Based on the belief that getting known for knowledge is more efficient and effective than cold calling, Tom set out to prove his theory in the real world with the founding of Converse Digital.
A former contributing writer for Advertising Age and author of The Invisible Sale, described by one reader as showing you how to rip down the communication barrier between sales and marketing teams in an easy-to-digest look at how both teams can work together to attract, measure, and close prospects in today’s online landscape.
In the book, Tom breaks down his entire business development process, honed over a decade of practice, to create the ultimate field guide for anyone tasked with creating an effective business development program for themselves, their agency, or their company.
For those seeking to learn more about the art and science of persuasion, modern digitally oriented prospecting, effective lead nurturing without becoming a nuisance, and closing more business deals, Tom has authored hundreds of articles available via his Painless Prospecting Newsletter Archives.
He is also a highly sought-after sales and marketing keynote speaker who has graced stages in 52 cities, 27 states, and 7 countries on four continents. He primarily speaks on sales, business development, social selling, social media, and the power of consumer experiences shared via social media as the ultimate form of advertising.
Tom’s probably best known for his incredibly successful, groundbreaking social media campaign to rebrand Mardi Gras from “girls gone wild” to “family-friendly fun” using nothing other than social media. That work led him to create his signature tourism marketing keynote — The Soundtrack of our Life: Leveraging Visitor Experiences To Drive Visitation.Since the founding of the firm in 2010, Converse Digital has enjoyed consistent year-over-year growth without making a single cold call or running any paid advertising or participating in a single “agency pitch”. All of the firm’s clients are the result of inbound leads as a result of content marketing and social media marketing efforts that are the hallmark of his Invisible Sale Strategy framework for selling professional services.
Tom is an active member of the New Orleans marketing community and served as the President of the American Marketing Association chapter. In 2008, the Advertising Federation named him Agency Executive of the Year and in 2010 the IABC named him Communicator of the Year.
He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and a Longhorn for life. He is the lucky husband of Missy and father of four children. Rumor has it that he once starred opposite Tyler Florence on an episode of the Food Network’s now-defunct show, Food 911, and might have sunk a half-court basketball shot to win a Cadillac Escalade.
When not helping his clients better leverage digital platforms to grow their business, he enjoys reading, cycling and the very, very occasional round of golf.
You can learn more about Tom’s most requested talks or check his availability by visiting his professional speaker page.
You can also follow him on Twitter or connect with him on LinkedIn.