“I find it fascinating that there are businesses of different sizes in the Pirtek franchise network all of which are pushing in the same direction. While an important part of our competitive edge is the full national service we can provide, we are reliant on the franchise business owners to deliver these services locally and we help make a real difference to them as they realise and maximise their potential. “If they grow, we grow”.
I come from an engineering background, so being able to lead a franchise business in this sector with a market-leading brand is fantastic.
As Sales Director in recent years, my main focus was building up the national accounts for our franchise network. I really enjoyed contributing towards franchise business owners’ growth and seeing the results in their local territories.
Experiencing how we can positively impact a family or small business with a large contract is very motivating. For example, you can take on a substantial, £1m+ contract for a large customer where a small franchise receives £10,000 of work and it makes a massive difference to the franchisee’s business.
Another benefit for me was personal development. What attracted me to the role was the opportunity to manage various functions within the business, whether that be CRM, marketing, sales or operations. It really stretched me from a personal point of view. The experience I took from the team was something I really enjoyed. Coming to Pirtek from a larger organisation, it was great to be able to put structures in place for our sales presence and culture in order to build a high performing sales team.
In every business, it always comes down to the people. In my new role I am keen to help my leadership team grow, so one of my main priorities now is people development.
I think this is a really great time for me to learn from people across different functions. After all, the excitement of franchising is that you get to influence people across all sorts of businesses. It still really fascinates me!
Over the last 30 plus years, Pirtek has built a very good business in the UK and Ireland. However, Franchise Brands’ Maximum Potential Model has highlighted the significant potential for growth in these markets. We have many different growth opportunities, in particular through the broadening of the range of services. With the right mindset and culture, I see huge potential for Pirtek UK and Ireland in the next three to five years.
Technology will play a key role in this. We see technological advances every day, week and month that will help our business. Prior to joining Franchise Brands, we weren’t very forthcoming about innovation and trying new things, but there are group systems we can benefit from that will help drive efficiencies, productivity and operational gearing. We’ve also got some great untapped talent, that over the next few years can come through this business and become the next leaders to help drive success.
Working with Franchise Brands has been supportive, but not restrictive. There’s so much support available and everyone is willing to share their experiences and provide advice. I really love the collaborative approach. It was great to meet the team in Amsterdam at the Growth Summit, to come together and share ideas. With Franchise Brands, I feel really empowered and so does my team.”
