Most marketing agencies chase Fortune 2000 clients and leave small and mid-sized businesses with few good options. Erik Huberman, Founder & CEO of Hawke Media, built his agency to change that. Hawke Media now has about 250 full-time employees, works with roughly 650 brands, and calls itself your outsourced CMO.
In this episode of E-Coffee with Experts, Erik explains why he stopped closing deals himself at a run rate of about $7 million, what happened when his first salespeople closed at half his rate, and why a salesperson who can’t close is just a conversationalist. He also shares what 27 agency acquisitions have taught him, including the year Hawke Media bought 10 companies on purpose to learn what breaks.
The conversation then turns to AI. Erik says traffic from AI converts at about three to three and a half times other sources, and explains why people trust AI recommendations the same way they trust Amazon reviews they know are unreliable. He talks about using AI for productivity instead of cost cutting and why he treats it like an army of 17-year-old interns. He also explains why LinkedIn ads underperform Instagram and why Google is now Hawke Media‘s top ad channel.
If you run an agency, lead a sales team, or want a practical view of how AI is changing marketing, watch the full episode.
Takeaways:
- Most agencies chase big brands, leaving millions of SMBs underserved.
- Push back when a client asks for a tactic that won't pay off.
- Agencies get hired for bandwidth, expertise or as a punching bag.
- Don't gatekeep clients. You can't predict which brands will win.
- Founders cap growth when they close every deal themselves.
- Expect a sales dip when you hand off closing. It recovers.
- Hire social sellers, but make sure they can actually close.
- Acquisitions fail on hidden surprises. Demand transparency both ways.
- Use AI for productivity, not cost cuts. Think six times output.
- Ad performance depends on the context people see it in.