GUTTER-VAC
Warren Ballantyne, CEO of Gutter-Vac says franchisees come from all backgrounds: from the retail industry, automotive industry, engineers, professional services and even an ex-bank manager.
Gutter-Vac has its own registered training organisation (RTO) that conducts safety training
“Unlike most RTO companies doing this work, we don’t just sit in a classroom, we take them out on a training roof to teach them practically. “Many new franchisees are entering owning their own business for their first time. So it isn’t just the technical aspect where franchisees are novices, they are also new to business. Because of this we put a large focus on business ownership and the skills required to make their business a success,” says Ballantyne.
“At Gutter-Vac we have worked really hard to ensure that our peer to peer support is second to none because this is the greatest tool for a new or novice coming into our brand.
“We have found that our existing network of franchisees take what we have done at training with a new franchisee and then help us
(at head office) support that new franchisee from things as simple as a small technical issue to how to quote a job through to encouraging, supporting and celebrating them as they grow their business.”
Years franchising
20 years
No of franchise units
80+
Length of initial training
7 days
Technical training includes:
Safety/at heights training On-the-job practical training Quoting
Machine servicing
Nozzle making
Add-on services (theory + hands on)
Business training includes:
Marketing
Social media
Sales
Bookkeeping
Reporting/admin
Admin/customer flows
Business plan/marketing plan (tailored to the franchisee)
Help with recruitment
Training program in our online training portal (post initial training).
HR support for workplace rules
We use HR Central at head office so this support is referred to our franchisees.
What support at opening?
Mobile business so no store opening required We do have an opening campaign process with checklist
Business coaching support
Technical support
Quoting support
Opening marketing strategy
We don't have a national marketing fund at GutterVac but the franchisee leaves training with an individual business plan, marketing plan and also an opening campaign process with checklist plus on-hand support.
Frequency and type of BDM support
Weekly coaching from external business coach who Gutter-Vac head office has contracted and pays for, who also supports the existing franchisees. Once up and running, calls may go fortnightly, monthly or quarterly depending on the level required by franchisee and their results.
Technical support/quoting support on hand as required.
Informal peer-to-peer support as required or we see needed by the new franchisee.
Is there franchisee benchmarking?
Yes. We are currently introducing a new reporting system and online portal where all franchisees' sales figures are available for all to see.
What HO support available?
Everything ... Business, technical, quoting, sales and, we have found, even emotional support as required. That's what we are here for!
Supplier deals
We don't have products, but we have many suppliers for affiliate requirements for our franchisees so we try to source great deals for them including insurance, new vehicles, finance (machinery, vehicle and business), accounting and bookkeeping, social media, even airfares for conferences!
IT software
Dedicated IT support available for direct contact from franchisees (they don't have to go via head office) and all included in their franchisee fee – no additional charges.
Lead generation/call centre
We have IVR system through Telstra so if someone calls our national 1300 number, the customer simply enters their postcode and the number is automatically diverted to the franchisee who owns that territory.
Head office also has a national contracts manager on staff for any contracts that wish or need to be handled by a single contact point (eg. Defence force work).
How is ongoing training delivered?
Business coach
Online training and resource centre
Library and "portal" for documents or materials Peer-to-peer support
Closed Facebook group
Annual conference
Technical training if required (generally handled one on one)
New services/products training sessions as required
Is there formal franchisee mentoring?
Yes. We use a contracted external business coach (who works from our office) to provide business support.
We also set up peer-to-peer support as needed or as appropriate to each franchisee.
We tailor our mentoring to the franchisee.
Income guarantee
No
Total investment cost
$79,400 + GST + freight (includes training & machinery)