Andrew Foye has been married for 18 years, is half-Irish and half-South African, and has two daughters. He has been with WSI for fifteen years and he says the biggest value he gets from being a WSI Internet Marketing Consultant is the thought-leadership he has access to via access to a network of top industry consultants. Read our interview with Andrew here:
Why did you want to become an Internet Consultant and join WSI?
I reached a point in my career where I realised I had to make a significant change to get ahead and I knew enough about my own character to recognise that it was time to push myself out of my comfort zone. That decision prompted me to start reading about different business models, which helped me to hone in on business opportunities that would generate recurring revenue, and that’s very much what a WSI franchise can help one do.
I believe that one of the greatest sources of satisfaction comes from making a significant positive difference in somebody else’s life. I can’t say if I really understood just how much difference I could make back then, but there’s no doubt in my mind that, right now, there are few industries that can make a more meaningful contribution to the survival and growth of businesses - and the lives of their owners - in the current economic climate.
What’s the biggest value that you get from WSI?
The thought-leadership via access to a network of top industry consultants.
What job/business were you in before you started your WSI business?
Systems Analyst and Application Development.
Tell us about anyone who helped influence you into starting your own business?
My father - not because of what he said, but because he led by example. Sadly, he passed away in 2002. Various authors including Robert Kiyosaki and Michael Gerber (E-Myth) also influenced me.
How long have you been with WSI?
Since 2006.
Describe your typical work week?
A mix of prospecting, proposals, sales meetings, project management, R&D and operational tasks. That includes things such as landing page wireframes, marketing report development, client communication, keeping the team focused on maintaining a balance of working on important and urgent as well as important and not urgent tasks.
What highlights have you had since being with WSI?
One of our clients, an auto dealer, has won the “Best Large Dealer Group of the Year Award” twice. Another client that manufacturers tents also won the Western Cape exporter of the year award.
The realisation that we’ve grown a highly skilled and motivated team that genuinely wants and has the capacity to help our clients is very gratifying.
Our agency was among the first to offer Facebook Dynamic Ads for car dealerships in South Africa. This required extensive research and included the preparation of the vehicle feed for Facebook, dynamic ad setups, the automation of sending the leads through to our clients’ CRM, the implementation of a series of automated checks to ensure there’s no break in the process, and of course detailed reporting.
What are the biggest obstacles that you have faced in running your business and how have you overcome them?
I struggled with getting sucked into the operational side of the business. What helped me was time blocking and growing the team. This is a challenge that I regularly have to keep an eye on because I often find myself back in the trenches.
What do you think are the best skills that you bring to your business?
I listen to my clients to learn as much as I can about their objectives, target market, product and competition. A strong understanding of which digital marketing strategies yield the best results for a wide range of businesses is key, but I also appreciate that we never stop learning in this game. Sales / landing page conceptualization. Conversion optimization and systematization are also our top skills.
What goal do you have for yourself that you want to accomplish in the next year?
To extract myself further from the operational side of the business and increasingly focus on sales.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
Running a successful digital marketing agency - one that’s making a significant difference to our clients’ businesses and yielding a decent return on what will then be a 20-year investment.
What advice would you give a new WSI Internet Consultant?
Being detail orientated surely has its challenges. Yes, it can be satisfying but it’s not scalable. Therefore, try to ensure that you find someone (whether that be a team member or a supplier partner) that can help to take over the operational side of the business as fast as possible. In other words, don’t follow my example…
What would be your personal motto?
Make a positive difference in the lives of others, and you will have great satisfaction.
Focus on what builds recurring revenue.
What do you want most for your team?
Access to ongoing professional training for my team on Google Ads, Facebook Ads, SEO (done in a way that we can be proud of), Conversion Optimization - so that each of them can grow their skills fast, become experts at their job and leave me alone to focus on sales.
If you could be anywhere other than here talking to me - right this minute, where would you be?
On holiday, in the bush with my wife, my kids and my ol’ Land Rover… soaking up nature at its best. (see image below)
