Regional franchise managers driving business for gas-elec

gas-elec’s regional managers are crucial to the success of the franchise, responsible for carrying out sales, marketing and business development on behalf of the safety inspection franchisees in their region

Much has been written about the unrivalled head office support gas-elec Safety Systems provides to its 18 regional offices and 100-plus gas and electrical safety inspection franchisees.

Less well known, perhaps, is the role played by the men and women who run gas-elec’s regional offices as regional management franchisees.

The regional management franchise
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gas-elec’s regional managers are crucial to the success of the business, responsible for carrying out sales, marketing and business development on behalf of the safety inspection franchisees in their region. In a franchise established 16 years, the business opportunities for proactive management people are considerable - which is why several of them in gas-elec invested in more than one regional management area.

Like South Midlands regional manager Graeme Aitken, who set up his business in 2001 working from home and turning over £100,000 a year. A few years later he purchased the Swindon and Reading areas and, two years ago, broke the £1 million barrier. Now he owns his office premises in Chesham and employs three full-time staff who book and coordinate the work flow for 10 safety inspection franchises.

Or Tim and Kate Green of Wilmslow, Cheshire. Five years ago they gave up well paid jobs and bought two gas-elec areas covering West Yorkshire, most of the North West, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Lincolnshire. Aided by four part-time staff, their office supports 12 franchisees out in the field. The business has grown year on year and now provides both of them with a good income.

Marketing is a key driver
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gas-elec is a two-tier franchise comprising regional management franchisees, who market the business, and the safety inspection franchisees, who actually carry out the work. The business is underpinned nationally by sophisticated head office systems, including bureau services for accounting, invoicing, debt collection and VAT, a bespoke IT system, web-based marketing, new product development and technical support. But a principal driver for the business is the marketing skills of the regional manager and staff in the regional offices, who plan the working day for gas-elec safety inspection engineers throughout the UK.

Husband and wife team Tim and Kate have very clear lines of demarcation. Tim is mostly out on the road meeting clients and gaining new ones, while Kate is office based, making sure everything runs smoothly. Graeme Aitken concentrates on business development, going into the office only one day a week or so. 12 years down the line his long-serving staff know how to keep the clients happy.

“I was in the office yesterday,” he says, “and the phones didn’t ring at all with queries, simply because all the jobs had been booked in and confirmed. When everybody pulls together, it just works. When they don’t - well, that’s where I come in.”

Tim Green’s role is building new business, nurturing key accounts, promoting the development of new products from head office - like the energy saving Green Deal and ECO initiatives - and face to face contact with agents, landlords and businesses with large residential property portfolios.

“If we receive a new contact, he goes out,” Kate says. Kate’s role is ‘everything office based’ - account management, office manager and general troubleshooter. She explains: “I run the office and take care of the staff, the engineers, the bookings, irate clients, complaints, quotes and I liaise between the engineers and the landlords if there are problems.”

Taking care of income earners
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In five years Kate and Tim have not had any safety inspection franchisees leave the business - all are successful, some more than others. “We do everything for them - getting the work, making the appointment, chasing the appointments on the day, phoning the tenants, invoicing and credit control,”

Kate says. “Whereas the self-employed white van man has to do everything himself, the only thing our engineers have to do is go to the job and do the inspections. I admit we mollycoddle them, but they are happy because they can concentrate on providing a great service, which means our clients are happy.”

Another responsibility for the regional managers is promoting new safety inspection franchisees. Graeme Aitken has just had a new electrical inspection franchisee start in Oxford, so local marketing has begun. “In the early days, nothing beats walking the patch,” he says, “so it’s mostly cold calling, dropping off cards and making sure the agents know we can now offer electrical inspections and repairs in Oxford. We also mailshot our current customers. It does take time to build an area, as it’s about raising awareness. New engineers are up and running quicker if they do a bit of that themselves and most of our engineers are quite proactive.”

Pulling together
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The relationship between the gas-elec regional management franchisee and the safety inspection engineer is one of mutual support. Both are independent business owners, working towards one aim - to be successful. “The engineers that make the money are the ones that go the extra mile,” Kate says.

Graeme agrees: “With any business, you need drive and dedication to succeed. The regional office gets the work, but it’s the people out in the field who have the day to day contact, so apart from the right gas and electrical qualifications, a successful safety inspection franchisee has to be socially aware, able to talk to people and be a team player. Although they are working on their own, they have a team behind them with whom they must interact and that includes other engineers out in the field or our colleagues at head office, all of whom are as vital as the regional office in keeping the gas-elec business at the top of the market.”

Superb support
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One of the things that attracted Graeme to the franchise back in 2001 was the support offered by gas-elec’s head office in west London, in particular the technology and the bureau services. “Over the years our IT support has been superb - far and away ahead of anything else in this market,” he says. “That means we can offer a level of service that’s higher than anyone else - appointment making, annual inspection reminders, safety certification, it’s all IT controlled.

“The market is beginning to catch up with that now, but we are still ahead of the game because our bespoke technology is web based and very flexible - it’s easy to keep up with the changing needs of our market and new product offerings.”

Couple that with the benefits of gas-elec’s central bureau services, which save managers and safety inspectors hours of time spent on unproductive but vital administrative tasks such as credit control, accounting and debt collection, and it’s clear to see that while marketing may drive the gas-elec business it’s the unrivalled support services at national and regional level that greases the wheels.

gas-elec currently has three regional management franchises on offer - a new area in Northern Ireland (available at an investment level of £35,000) and resales of two established areas, London NE and the West Midlands. If you are a dynamic business person, with strong sales and marketing skills, gas-elec would like to talk to you.

There are opportunities, too, for safety inspection franchisees. Investment level: £16,500 plus VAT. Equipment package: £3,750 plus VAT (electrical only franchise £3,300). Training: £1,500 plus VAT (electrical only franchise £950).