Ecommerce performance agency Door4 was founded in 2000, with Sean Dwyer joining in 2017 from Carat Manchester, where he was Associate Director.
The agency, which is headquartered in Burnley, also has an office in Manchester city centre, and works with clients including EgoPowerPlus, the National Fostering Agency and Capital Life – providing services across acquisition, conversion and web development.
Dwyer joined Door4 as Head of Operations five years ago, moving one year later to a directorial position. He has extensive experience working across digital strategy, PPC, conversion optimisation, analytics and more.
We found out how a recent week in his life looked.
Monday
The week starts with a 3am wake-up call from my son Jacob who’s decided now would be the perfect time to invite Daddy to play Lego. Which of course when you’re about to turn six, it is.
While trying to get back to sleep my brain, in contrast, has decided now is the perfect time to think through the week ahead. One of our Account Directors, Michael, is on paternity leave for four weeks, so there’s lots of plates for his team and I to keep spinning.
Monday turns out busy and really productive – the two don’t always correlate. After the weekly management meeting first thing to discuss our internal scorecard of KPIs, the day is a mix of operational, agency growth, team development and client-specific requirements.
Being new to the role of MD, I’ve learnt this juggling act is the new norm. Today’s highlights are a review of our operating system tech, new business activity, drafting offer letters and scheduling interviews, prepping for an upcoming client update meeting, and developing a client expansion brief. And, not forgetting today’s monthly team Lunch and Learn session. Conrad, in true Conrad fashion, delivers an unprepared but slick piece on Baymard – a resource we invest in for UX research.
Tuesday
Thankfully no dawn chorus Lego stints for me today. I arrive in the office bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to discover a rare two hours clear of meetings, due to a postponed client pitch.
The valuable time is spent checking in on our two largest clients before working on personal development plans for a couple of team members. The plan for the rest of the day is to focus on pitch prep as we have three pitches coming up this week.
However added to the mix is also an interview with a candidate for a client services role (she smashed it and got the position) and a weekly call with a key account.
Unfortunately the client call doesn’t start as upbeat as the interview – this month’s performance has been underwhelming. Macro trends have been a big factor in this. So thinking differently, we come up with a plan to stir the market and divert energies into above the line strategies.
Tuesday night is like many others – bath, book and bed for the kids, and dinner and chill-time with my wife Kel. I ring my older brother, Paul, to arrange a weekend trip to Bristol for a catch-up with him and his family. It’s been far too long since the last one.
Wednesday
This morning is 1-to-1 time with my team. I find mid-week is the perfect time to check in on everyone and help them to reduce any blockers.
Next, it’s onto a campaign analysis call with one of our biggest clients. Towards the end of 2021, we delivered a major insights piece based on the attribution of leads in their CRM. Our opportunity now is to make the data more accessible and work more frequently with their internal management information team. I love it when we can really get under the bonnet of a business.
Then – it’s pitch time. My happy place. We’re native storytellers and when you know your subject well there’s nothing more enjoyable in my mind. In this case it’s a tough one with a very clever crowd, which is what it’s all about. We thrive on being challenged and pushing ourselves.
I wind down on the drive home by playing Howlin’ Wolf very loud – bit niche, I know.
The next hat I wear is the most important. I arrive home to become Chief Tickle Monster – Lucas’s favourite game, whilst trying to cajole the kids though the usual routine, before heading out to play football. Kicking a ball around for an hour is the perfect outlet to level all those spinning plates in my mind.
Thursday
It’s an early start, through choice. I want to get stuck into the new business forecasts needed for the client we met on Tuesday that we’re applying a change of tact for.
I get in my flow so much so that I’m late to the party for the morning route with the kids, so I try and run everything with military precision to catch up.
The official working day starts with a budget meeting with our FD. We have to squeeze something that should take three hours into 30 minutes, so unsurprisingly, we just scratch the surface. Meeting reconvened for next week.
My diary must stick to plan today as I have two PDPs planned in. One for a long-standing team member that’s taking on a change in focus and increase in responsibility – we’re excited for her and what it means for the business. Another for a team member who’s pulled up trees in terms of standardising some of our product offering. We discuss how to show our workings-out more to gather kudos for our thinking and methods.
This afternoon sees another pitch – loud tunes on the way there this time. It’s a great exploratory conversation about the art of the possible, market potential, and acceptance criteria. We agree that viability is questionable, so explore avenues to test in a low-risk context.
The upbeat drive home is curtailed by a surprisingly fruitful Zoom call in the car – voice only through bluetooth, of course. When finally back home I depress myself with consumer confidence indexes.
Friday
Friday is the team’s WFH day, which I enjoy as it gives me time to work on the business. However today there’s a client meeting booked in and an interview, so back to the usual routine. We’re confident and upbeat going into the meeting with our client. They’re in a tough market but we have a clear strategy born from some creative thinking and application.
The client is as excited for the challenge as we are and everyone’s on the same page. Results so far have been efficient, and now’s a good time to notch things up a gear with a more aggressive approach.
The interview goes well too. This time it’s with an applicant for another client services role that turns out to be highly articulate and creative in his thinking.
The working week closes with headphones in and tunnel vision as there’s important admin to sort. Amendments to lease documentation for our office, redundant tech to pinpoint for recycling and, most importantly, office fit-out plans to consider.
Our team are so committed to the growth of Door4 and the businesses we work with, that my number one priority is to provide a working environment in which they can develop and thrive. Maybe Jacob can help me build and test some office layouts with the Lego.
