The Lost Episode: Tales from Sales, Sashes & Success with Tom Morrissy

Well, this is embarrassing. While we’ve had our fair share of technical hiccups over 53 episodes of The Snarketing Podcast, we’ve never actually lost an entire conversation.
Until now.

And of course, it had to be with that guest, the ever-charismatic, endlessly quotable Tom Morrissy, Chief Growth Officer at Noble People, wearer of a literal “Small Agency of the Year” sash, and soon-to-be author of Tales from Sales.

We recorded live, outdoors, at the ANA Masters of Marketing in Orlando, our first open-air experiment in front of the famed Rosen Shingle Hotel and Conference center... and, well, nature (and technology) had other plans.

The first one barely recorded, because the Bluetooth mics weren't syncing up properly. Tom was kind enough to do it all over again. The conversation was different, because they all are. It was even better than the first. But when we played it back afterwards, there was no audio captured whatsoever.

Beyond disappointing on many levels. We're so sorry to Tom for the misfire(s), but also to you, because Tom shared some incredible stories and lessons from his incredible career, and he's really the best.

But thanks to our note-taking bot and sheer stubbornness, some of Tom’s brilliance survived in transcript form. So rather than let this one slip completely into the ether, we’re sharing the highlights, the stories, the lessons, and the snark that remind us why we love doing this in the first place.

The Setting: ANA in the Wild

Imagine three marketers trying to podcast outside a resort conference center as golf carts and convention shuttles whiz by. Tom, wearing his “pageant sash” from Noble People’s recent Small Agency of the Year win, gamely rolls with every interruption, cracking jokes, sharing war stories, and reminding us that humility and humor go a long way in an industry that takes itself too seriously.

The Man Behind the Sash

Tom’s career is the kind of ad-world arc you only get through decades of curiosity and persistence:

• Started selling ad space at 18 for the Yorktown Penny Saver.

• Hustled frozen food door-to-door on the South Side of Chicago (“five rejections before lunch builds character”).

• Climbed through publishing and media sales to agency leadership.

• Now driving growth at Noble People, one of the most creative independent shops in the business.

His mantra? “Be politely persistent. Be respected over being loved.”

10 Snarketing-Approved Lessons from Tom Morrissy

1. Sales Is the Original Social Network

“Everything I’ve ever done since selling local supermarket ads has just been a build of sales documents and marketing documents.”

Persistence and human connection still beat algorithms. Always will.

2. Rejection Is a Superpower

Years of being yelled at by frozen-food managers prepared Tom for anything. (There’s no CRM alert for “tough skin.”)

3. Respect > Likeability

“You have 365 days a year. Maybe one will be tense. You’ve got 364 more to win them back.”

Being liked is nice. Being trusted is scalable.

4. The World Needs More Honest Conversations

Valerie nailed it: too many people can’t disagree productively. Tom’s calm, directness is the antidote.

5. “Tales from Sales” — Coming Soon (We Hope)

A mix of memoir, marketing manual, and Hollywood exposé. Chapters include “Starf***ing My Way Up” and run-ins with Harvey Weinstein and Sean Combs. (Yeah. That’s a thing.)

6. The ANA Masters Is a Pageant for Marketers

Tom attends every year for both content and community, calling it “the rare event where what’s on stage and who’s in the crowd are equally valuable.”

7. The AI Gap Is Real

“Last year was the year of GPT. This year is the year of the agent.”

Noble People has built over 150 custom GPTs, with at least one in use every 15 minutes. That’s not dabbling. That’s operational.

8. Fear Is a Feature

Watching big marketers like GM move fast with AI was both “inspiring and terrifying.” The takeaway: you can only go as fast as your team’s curiosity.

9. Experimentation > Perfection

Tom’s philosophy on AI applies equally to podcasts: build, test, break, learn. (And sometimes lose the audio.)

10. Be Present, Not Just Online

Whether it’s a handshake at the ANA or an unrecorded chat, the real magic happens off the feed.

Coming Soon: Tales, Take Two

We’ll have Tom back when his book drops... hopefully indoors this time.
Because conversations like this remind us why marketing is still a business built on people, stories, and a little bit of chaos.

Until then, consider this our tribute to a great talk that refused to stay silent.

Stay snarky. Stay curious.
– Matt & Valerie