Jim Hawker

Relationships, often discussed but how often are they actually given the focus that they deserve, in this episode we talk about how important relationships can be and how - as an agency - you can even still benefit from the work you turn away. Our guest in the hot seat for this episode is Jim Hawker, Co-Founder and Sales and Marketing Director about the acquisition of ThreePipe and how that allowed them to expand, we talk about tech, processes, systems, softwares and suggestions, funnels and strategies. Threepipe works with a mix of ambitious start-ups and some of the best known consumer and business brands including Sweaty Betty, the NFL, Nike, Oracle, VTech, Nestle and Hotels.com. In today's episode we talk about the acquisition of ThreePipe and how that allowed for expansion, we discuss tech, processes, systems, softwares and suggestions, funnels and strategies…. Plus those all important relationships. This Episode covers:Ethics of being genuinely helpfulAmazon partnerships & how it helped ThreePipe Reply ExpandWhat is a digital shelf & how it can be utilisedImportance of not standing stillHow ThreePipe Reply gained a competitive advantageClient management and trackingSmart links, what are they and how they workCRM & Reporting SoftwareHaving confidence in your offeringLinks & ReferencesKatie Street: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiestreet/Jim Hawker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimhawker/Jim HawkerFounder, Investor, Trustee : https://threepipereply.com/Get in touch: jim@threepipe.co.uk“And so we were kind of forced into having deeper relationships with other agencies and different channels” - Jim Hawker [09:13]“The journey from 25 upwards to 80 or 90, was that partially because of the acquisition or did you grow to that stage before you did any MNA?” - Katie Street [12:28]“Whenever I’ve been in post as a new biz director, you want to look at the movers and shakers, who are the marketing directors on the move… - Katie Street [18:10]“Back in 2019 we invested quite a lot of time and money into creating a new Digital Shelf team - Jim Hawker [22:53]“We’ve always been afraid of standing still really and always wanting to constantly innovate” - Jim Hawker [25:55]“I’ve just never wanted just to be a typical agency” - Jim Hawker [26:03]“By not being scared and understanding that you need some kind of uniqueness is, that you take yourself away and out of that price war that agencies often get into” - Katie Street [27:04]“I think a lot of it is actually having confidence in your own offer and knowing that there are good clients out there and there are bad clients” - Jim Hawker [27:47]"One thing we’ve spent a lot of time on is good client management and client tracking. Especially in our industry, we’re seeing clients move around faster than ever before” - Jim Hawker [31:52]“The work we do is quite performance lead as an agency, it’s all about data and numbers…” - Jim Hawker [38:10]“I have to say after you have worked in the industry for like 20 years, you have quite a good gut instinct as well” - Jim Hawker [49:18]“You’ve gotta have confidence, I think this is where you need a short, medium, long term strategy to new business” - Jim Hawker [53:11]

Jim Hawker started his own agency, Threepipe, out of frustration, much like I did. He's been on the acquisition trail and most recently, was acquired by Italian business, Reply. Laura and Jim talk about the agency model, modernising the industry, the current PR economy in the pandemic and what the future might look like. You can find Jim on LinkedIn here. Thanks for listening to our conversation, which included elements of discussion around generational shifts towards a modern leadership in the industry, leaders showing up and being present, new thinking and trying to be different, plus, Jim suggests my next podcast guest should be someone who doesn't agree with any of my points! What do you think?! Please do leave a review, subscribe to the podcast and share on your social channels. Thanks in advance! 

Jim Hawker is the co-founder of Threepipe, a multi-award-winning integrated agency working with some of the biggest brands in the world. This is just a masterclass in how to continuously reinvent yourself and your offering to make sure it’s a relevant and compelling to the client as possible. They started life as a very well respected PR agency, then transformed its self into a truly digital-first agency as the worlds of PR and SEO began to merge. He’s been confronted with one challenging situation after then next and although each was gut-wrenching and intractable, he found ways to make sure they emerged stronger from the experience. Whether he knew it or not, that’s stoic philosophy in action. He’s open about the mistakes he has made, like how they lost business because they pitched really innovative digital strategies to internal people who didn’t have the knowledge or skillset, so they chose a different agency, they felt more comfortable with. It’s a lesson in starting with a lower commitment, then widening the scope of work, take them on a journey. we also discussed: Media fragmentation Leadership And what clients now expect from agencies If you are remotely interested in any of those topics then you will absolutely love this conversation. Register for Proactive Prospecting for agencies  Get your tickets to How to Triple your profit: the 2Y3X methodology, 5th March 2y3x.com/event

Jim Hawker is one of the co-founders of Threepipe, an independent and award-winning agency. From starting out as a PR agency and evolving the business via acquisitions and strategic growth they are now a 90 strong team. Today we discuss the challenges faced in a competitive market, creating technical products exclusively for their clients and how to stay ahead of the competition. Founders365 is hosted by business coach Steven Haggerty and shares the real stories from Founders who run inspiring and exciting companies. Listen to more and subscribe at https://stevenhaggerty.com/founders365-podcast/

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about client relationships recently. Generally speaking our growth objectives will start with the financials – the revenue goals, the profit margin targets and the scale those numbers will then afford us – the extra bodies, extra offices, extra services – or even exit! This focus on the numbers is essential but we should quickly translate these targets into the kinds of relationships we need to add into the business. Adding lots of clients who deliver short term revenue is what keeps us on the hamster wheel, whereas building strategic relationships, allows us to build not only sustainable revenue but that holy grail that comes with true advocacy – referrals! We talked a lot about the theory of client development with Iain Johnston in episode 26 of Small Spark Theory, and in this episode we return to the subject with Jim Hawker from Threepipe. An independent, owner-managed digital agency of 90 people delivering SEO, PR, social, search, display and creative, Threepipe are hot property. At the time of writing, they have been shortlisted for the Holmes Report Digital Consultancy of the year and have achieved 20% growth for the third consecutive year, with 20% margins. Impressive stuff. Jim and I discuss the practical implications of client development planning, relationship building, client satisfaction, motivation and much, much more. Listen in to win a copy of Jim’s recommended read The Four by Scott Galloway. The post EP28: Client development- part two | Jim Hawker | Threepipe appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

In the latest of a series of podcasts with PR industry leaders in the UK PRmoment founder Ben Smith recently interviewed Threepipe owner Jim Hawker

Public relations and search engine optimisation should be natural bedfellows, yet few PR firms have actively invested in substantial SEO capabilities. One that has is Threepipe, which recently acquired an SEO firm in the UK. Threepipe CEO Jim Hawker joins the Echo Chamber to discuss why the deal makes sense for his agency, and also explores the broader difficulties of genuine digital integration, four years after Threepipe merged with Blowfish Digital. Show notes:Threepipe Makes SEO Play With Spot Digital Acquisition Future Proofing Your PR Business