In our latest interview, we speak to John Leech, who operates from Dublin.
Every month, we interview a WSI digital marketing expert to find out more about their background. We also ask them about their life and experience with our global digital marketing agency. In our latest interview, we speak to John Leech, who operates from Dublin.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I have been in the network for a little over five years. I came into this industry at a time when I was working in e-commerce, so I brought on a lot of that industry experience with me. I was looking for something different when I came across WSI and I’ve been working with the team ever since. I am 30 miles out of Dublin. I am married with three kids and the eldest is 22. He works with me at WSI part-time, assisting us with multimedia and communications.
What made you come to work with WSI?
I studied electronic engineering as a profession and I previously worked at IBM as a system engineer. It was the birth of the PC revolution so at the time there were maybe three people in the company that had a PC. As IBM got to grow, I became part of their business team.
I joined the IBM.com team, which was a more internal role and we would spend time in B2B internet solutions. That took me up to 2005 when we had an opportunity to work with Lenovo. We were managing the Lenovo website which was in about 69 countries at the time, which was quite challenging at the time.
I learned then that I wanted to build a direct e-commerce business. I enjoyed what I did but it became difficult within a big corporate environment to become more independent. I then looked at what I wanted to do next. I liked the idea of working for myself and doing what I love, and WSI allowed me to do this, but with a supportive team.
What was your experience coming into the WSI network?
I found the onboarding, training, and introductions extremely helpful. I think throughout the years the WSI network has developed over time and has leaped in bounds in terms of the infrastructure. If you are joining now, you will find more structure but very much the same level of training and support from the network I had that has helped me so much.
There was a feeling at WSI that if you succeed, everyone succeeds. Everyone was very willing to share their experiences, share resources, and checklists and it was so much easier to get started at a new job when you were able to call someone and ask for help when needed.
What challenges have you had and overcome?
We had one project that went badly. It turned out to be a complete nightmare for my team. When things like that happen, you have to take responsibility and state the ways you are going to fix it. You cannot deny responsibility. It is a painful learning experience and it was for a client we had worked for three or four years. After this bad experience, they stopped doing business with us for a while, but nine months later they were back as clients.
Having gone through that pain, we knew we had to focus to make sure we were going to improve our relationship and business with the client. Even though it sounds painful at the time, when the clients come back to you years later, it shows you just how good your team is.
What are your goals in the next year or so?
We plan on focusing on e-commerce clients a little more and picking up projects and building a timeframe for those projects. We never worked on multiple different projects so we want to connect with various e-commerce owners. I also want to focus on helping e-commerce owners, engaging with brands, and doing more than just running a paid search campaign - I want to have a more strategic approach with our clients.
Do you have a favorite quote or motto to share with us?
It’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness
What would you be drinking at happy hour?
Gin and tonic.
WSI is a successful digital market agency with franchises across the globe. For more information on franchise opportunities or our digital marketing services, contact our team today!