In 1990 an insurance company client approached me and said, “If you want to start your own software development company, we’ll come with you.” I didn’t see that one coming, but of course, I said, ‘Yes!”. Little did I know at Quest Technology Group’s 1991 launch where it would lead.

💡 One of my favorite sayings is, “We like technology, but we love business even more.” Here’s why.
Technology is a tool that serves business, not the other way around. 

We’ve seen -- time after time -- IT providers leading with technology. 

• There is little or no conversation with company leaders about their goals. 
• Where are they now? 
• Where do they want and need to go? 
•  How can they get there given the time, resources, and a ton of other factors that impact them every day?

There’s a better way to put the right technology to work to support thriving companies.

Our experience has proven that strategy supported by the right technology tools, flexible foundations, and curious, committed people builds long-term success.

* The Process is Simple *

🍏 Every company is unique. It’s not a one-size-fits-all tech stack that every company adopts.

🍏 We start by learning about your company’s business objectives. Technology isn’t part of the conversation.

🍏 Together we uncover the gaps and the opportunities. It’s amazing how companies realize unexpected results with the tools, technologies, data, and people they already have.

🍏 We plan. We don't rush out and buy the latest shiny tech thing because someone said you should.

🍏 Together we plan, execute, discover, learn, and keep doing it


* Working Together is Essential *

🍏 We believe in long-term partnerships. Our clients aren’t ATMs. They’re valued business relationship where creating something meaningful for their employees, leaders, clients, customers, and partners matters.

🍏 And our first startup client who asked that one simple question? They were our client for 22 years until they were acquired by a larger, national insurance company. 

For all of us, the relationship meant transformative technology changes. It also meant human connections. We built relationships with their clients. We attended funerals. We celebrated anniversaries and birthdays. 

We were there together because we love business more than technology.

Linda Rolf (Fractional CIO)

Most businesses don’t struggle with marketing because they lack activity. They struggle because their marketing doesn’t earn trust.

Agencies overcomplicate. Internal teams lack direction. Founders spend more, see less, and can’t tell what’s actually working.

If that sounds familiar, it’s not a failure of effort. It’s a failure of systems.

Many of the businesses I work with are excellent at what they do, but their marketing doesn’t prove it. Customers hesitate. Sales cycles stretch. Competitors with louder messages win attention.

And without trust, nothing converts.

That’s the gap I focus on.

I help leadership teams build trust-led marketing systems they own internally, instead of outsourcing belief, clarity, and control to agencies.

Depending on where a business is today, I work in three ways:

1️⃣ Done-for-you: Hands-on marketing leadership and execution, delivered transparently and built so teams can take ownership over time.
2️⃣ Done-with-you: Fractional CMO-level leadership to align teams, sharpen positioning, and turn scattered activity into systems that compound trust.
3️⃣ Done-by-you: Coaching, training, and frameworks that give teams the confidence and capability to run marketing in-house, without agency dependency.

This approach has helped businesses achieve:

🚀 5200% increase in leads after relaunching website, messaging, and pricing
🚀 45% growth in MQLs through aligned sales and marketing
🚀 £3M ($3.75M) added to pipeline in under 10 months through trust-led content systems

Trust is the real growth engine.

Everything I do is about making it practical, measurable, and repeatable.

As someone who is autistic, I tend to see patterns and inconsistencies others miss, especially in systems that look busy but don’t work. That’s shaped how I approach marketing: less noise, more structure, and zero tolerance for performative activity.

I also work with agency founders who recognise the same issues internally, helping them build clearer systems, stronger positioning, and more sustainable growth without burnout.

If this thinking resonates, the simplest next step is a conversation.

(And when I’m not working on marketing systems, I’m usually at a piano. Once a musician, always a musician.)

Tom Wardman

Rant incoming.
I’ve seen this cold email screenshot doing the rounds.

Subject line: “Saw your name in the Epstein Files.”
Followed by: “Don’t worry, I’m only kidding.”

And the more I see it shared, the more I see people laughing. Turning it into parody. Spawning even edgier subject lines for clicks.

I've had enough! Am I the only one who finds this sickening?

We need to call this out for what it is: Trivialising abuse. Exploitation. Real victims. For pipeline.

We can debate tactics all day; pattern interrupts, curiosity gaps, shock hooks. Fine.

But there’s a line between disruption and decay.

Using one of the darkest scandals of our time as a punchline to boost open rates is purely corrosive.

And what worries me more than the original email is the reaction. The marketing crowd treating it like a creative masterstroke.

“Cold email guys are built different.”
“Unhinged but effective.”

As if the only metric that matters is attention.

Marketers and sales professionals, we’re better than this.

Trust is already fragile. Audiences are already sceptical. And we’re out here proving them right.

When we normalise this kind of behaviour, we’re not just hurting our own brands.

We’re lowering the standard of the entire profession.
Shock for the sake of shock is just desperation disguised as strategy.

If we want to be taken seriously as an industry, we have to start calling this what it is, not rewarding it with applause and reposts.

Where do you draw the line between bold marketing and moral bankruptcy?

Anti-Agency Marketing. Built In-House, Not Outsourced 🔥 | Author, Build a Trusted Brand 📚 | Endless Customers Certified Coach 🤝 | AI Trust Signals Score Accelerator 🌐 | HubSpot Partner 💻

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The Battle

Linda Rolf (Fractional CIO)

Tom Wardman

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The Battle

Linda Rolf (Fractional CIO)

Tom Wardman

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Tom Wardman's LinkedIn Performance

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