"It's hard to single out any one influence, but the one thing I have always done is listen to successful people."
Founder of The SEO Works Ltd, Neil Palmer has been in the digital marketing industry for over 20 years. Built an award-winning team for all forms of search marketing and web development. His role as CEO is to support the MD, Sales Director, and Operations Director.
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Table of Contents
Let’s start with a brief introduction first. Introduce yourself to our readers.
Neil Palmer: I’m Neil Palmer and I live and work in Sheffield. After various e-commerce positions I started a search marketing agency in 2006 as a sole trader. I have 2 children and my hobbies include keeping fit, travel and golf.
Our audience is interested to know about how you got started in the first place. Did you always want to become a CEO or was it something you were led to? Our readers would love to know your story!
Neil Palmer: After University I knew I wanted to own and run my own business. My business degree gave me a wide range of skills, but I was still unsure which industry I would eventually work in.
I started an e-commerce venture aged 24, retailing large white goods online. The business grew very quickly and most of the success was on the back of the great Google rankings we achieved. I did my own SEO for our 5 websites and we ranked number 1 for hundreds of phrases, including “kitchen appliances” “cookers” and other high-volume search terms.
It became clear after 3-4 years that there was little or no margin in the industry, so I started SEO Works from a small office in Sheffield. I worked as a sole trader for 3 years before joining up with Simon my business partner. We now have almost 100 employees from our flagship offices in Sheffield.
“Selfmade” is a myth. We all received help, no doubt you love to show appreciation to those who supported you when the going got tough, who has been your most important professional inspiration?
Neil Palmer: It’s hard to single out any one influence, but the one thing I have always done is listen to successful people. This included friends, business contacts and online learning. The most important thing as an entrepreneur is to have conviction in what you do.
How did your journey lead you to become a CEO? What difficulties did you face along the way and what did you learn from them?
Neil Palmer: My journey naturally led me to become a CEO when we reached a certain level of business. I instinctively knew when to bring in other directors and ultimately an MD, which led to my role of CEO.
Tell us about your company. What does your business do and what are your responsibilities as a CEO?
Neil Palmer: The SEO Works is a marketing agency specialising in helping our clients to get more customers online. Our core service is Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO as it’s known. Alongside organic search services we provide paid search solutions for Google PPC, Amazon, Facebook and Linkedin.
As CEO I concentrate my efforts on supporting the 3 main directors. I know how lonely it can be running a sales team, the finances or the operations, so I make sure my team have support in any way they need. Some days I’m just in the numbers, some days I’m helping make strategic decisions, other days I’m just a sounding board for the management.
What does CEO stand for? Beyond the dictionary definition, how would you define it?
Neil Palmer: For me a CEO is the heart of the company. A CEO often doesn’t have the same impact as an MD or Ops Director, but they provide the focus, drive and passion needed to keep everyone motivated. A great CEO is visionary and brings an entrepreneurial element to the business.
When you first became a CEO, how was it different from what you expected? What surprised you?
Neil Palmer: The first thing that happened as CEO is my workload reduced significantly! Day to day operations were delegated to the directors and management, so I then focused on carving out a role as CEO which utilised my motivational strengths and vision for the business.
There are many schools of thought as to what a CEO’s core roles and responsibilities are. Based on your experience, what are the main things a CEO should focus on? Explain and please share examples or stories to illustrate your vision.
Neil Palmer: A CEO is often seen as a figurehead for a business, the person who represents what the company stands for in terms of values. In reality, it’s very much like this, the CEO is the person who should be everything he or she wants the employees to be. Having passion for everything they do and being supportive of others can filter down through the company from top to bottom, creating a fantastic working environment and quality culture.
Every day I speak with people within The SEO Works I have passion, whether it’s about our own marketing efforts, client issues, staff benefits or accounts. Having a love for what you do shows others that it’s possible to enjoy and be positive about everything within the business.
How would you define success? Does it mean generating a certain amount of wealth, gaining a certain level of popularity, or helping a certain number of people?
Neil Palmer: Success for me a happy workplace. Whether we had 5 staff or 85 staff we have all been driven to make sure that our culture is one of support and happiness in the work place. If you get that right then it’s even more satisfying than the financial gains or notoriety.
Some leadership skills are innate while others can be learned. What leadership skills do you possess innately and what skills have you cultivated over the years as a CEO?
Neil Palmer: My two main strengths have always been selling a dream to others and delegating to great people. In the early days I struggled in the flexible role as a sales manager, MD and finance assistant. I was ok at them all but not great! I quickly got really good people to come in and manage each part of the business for me, then spent my time making sure the dream was instilled throughout the business. Other skills I have learned as CEO all revolve around support and motivation of others.
Do you have any advice for aspiring CEOs and future leaders? What advice would you give a CEO that is just starting out on their journey?
Neil Palmer: The best way to get to the top is to forget about the top! I discovered very quickly in my early days in business that thinking too much about success down the line doesn’t help. Whatever your current role, smash it! Success as a CEO will happen organically if you push every day to be good at your role.
Thank you for sharing some of your knowledge with our readers! They would also like to know, what is one skill that you’ve always wanted to acquire but never really could?
Neil Palmer: Public speaking is something I wish I could do well! Typically CEO’s are industry facing – speaking at networking events or industry awards. I despise it and have always been good in small groups but not with large audiences. Some people force themselves to do it but I simply don’t enjoy it so leave it to others.
Before we finish things off, we have one final question for you. If you wrote a book about your life today, what would the title be?
Neil Palmer: “Belief and Conviction”
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Neil Palmer for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Neil Palmer or his company, you can do it through his – Facebook
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