615: Introducing Jeff Tomlin

Conquer Local. It’s really a breath of fresh air. Good times. I help leaders go from anxiety to authority under pressure. And then let’s go and get it. It’s an ecosystem. The hardest part here is going to be getting me to shut up on this one. Conquer Local with Vendasta, hosted by Jeff Tomlin. Welcome to the Conquer Local Podcast, the podcast where we explore strategies and tactics that help companies and local businesses grow. I’m not George Leith. My name is Jeff Tomlin, co-founder and chief marketing officer at Vendasta. I’m nervously excited to announce that I’ll be the new host of the Conquer Local Podcast. I’ve got some big shoes to fill. A very special thanks to George Leith for all of his contributions to the podcast over the years. And on behalf of the team, we wish him all of the best as we continue to work with him closely.

I still see George on a regular basis and I’m looking forward to having George back in the podcast to check in on his new exploits. Let me introduce myself. I’ve been working in the marketing and technology space for more than 25 years with a focus on marketing, strategy, business development, and digital communications. I’ve had the privilege of leading teams and developing partnerships with some of the world’s biggest brands, including companies like Google, Yahoo, The New York Times, and Hearst just to name a few. Today at Vendasta, I work with our team to serve over 50,000 registered channel partners, including some of the largest media organizations in the world. Combined, they work with us to manage relationships that they have with over 5 million local businesses. Over the years, I’ve developed a deep passion for helping businesses grow, especially local businesses. When we started Vendasta, we wanted to build a long-lasting business and make a big impact by helping small businesses grow using technology. And here we are 15 years later, working hard every day to help our partners help their customers conquer local markets. And I can say it’s been a hell of a ride.

As a chief marketing officer at Vendasta, I have a front-row seat on a quickly changing digital world. The marketing landscape is evolving and we all have to adapt. I can honestly say that I am learning on the job each and every day, week, month, and year. I’m passionate about discovering creative and proactive solutions through product development and market research. With the support of my team, we work with hundreds of marketing agencies and media enterprises to develop solutions and strategies to navigate the local marketplace profitably. At its core, Vendasta is an ecosystem for technology and service vendors, channel sellers, and small businesses. We’ve built an end-to-end commerce platform to help channel sellers market, sell, build, fulfill, and deliver digital products and services to local businesses. We help channel sellers grow recurring revenue and become the go-to marketing experts for local businesses. Our company has been recognized for its steady growth by the Deloitte Fast 50 in Canada, the Fast 500 in North America, the Profit 500, and Brannum 300 programs, not to mention dozens of trade associations. And that’s

all thanks to the incredible work our team has done and to the amazing partnerships that we’ve been lucky enough to forge. We couldn’t be more thrilled about this new chapter of the Conquer Local Podcast. I’m committed to making it a valuable resource for businesses looking to improve their local marketing efforts. My goal is to continue providing insightful, actionable content that you can use to dominate your local markets. I’ve learned a lot through my journeys. I’ve learned a lot from our successes, and I’ve learned a lot from our far too many dimension mistakes. I’m excited to share what we’ve learned and hope that those learnings can help you grow your business. Here’s what you can expect this season on the Conquer Local Podcast. We’ll be covering themes from topics and go to market strategies, technology, and entrepreneurship to sales, agency growth, and marketing.

Stay tuned for new episodes every Wednesday as we invite industry experts and thought leaders to share their tips and learnings on how you can take your business to the next level. We’ll be kicking off the new episodes next week. And until then, I’m Jeff Tomlin. Get out there and be awesome. You’ve been listening to the Conquer Local Podcast presented by Vendasta. Tune in next week for a new episode. Guest discovery and produced by Suleyman Adam. Marketing by Rory Lawford, Nicole Lozon, and Suleyman Adam. Executive producers, Brendan King, Jeff Tomlin, and Suleyman Adam. Recorded at Vendasta headquarters on the Canadian prairies.