Feeling free to franchise with Auditel
Charlie Tomlins
Career Details
Charlie Tomlins lives in Egham, Surrey with his wife and two children. Prior to joining Auditel, he spent twenty-five years in IT working in the Finance industry, the last five as an IT Director. He held a variety of management roles supporting Network and Voice services across Europe, Middle East and Africa. For the last two years he was managing a team responsible for Technology Infrastructure programmes, whilst relocating part of the function to Eastern Europe. He was recently made redundant.
Reasons why I chose Auditel
Having been made redundant in December 2008, I decided I wanted a complete change in lifestyle and to run my own business. Franchising appealed to me as I wanted to be self employed but also have a support structure and work in a business with a proven track record.
I first met Chris Allison, Auditel’s Managing Director, at a Franchise Exhibition in London in February 2009. From the start he was unlike most of the other franchise representatives. He was not pushy but was as interested in what I was looking for, as in promoting Auditel. We only spoke for a few minutes but I left with a clear impression that this was an organisation worth following up.
I looked at a range of franchises and decided that Auditel had to be the best business model. I found the people I spoke to very helpful and did not feel I was being pressurised at any time. It was also clear that Auditel were careful in selecting their new Affiliates and wanted to maintain high standards within the network. This was reassuring, as I wanted to join a reputable and professionally run organisation.
Auditel Free Discovery Seminars
I was then invited to one of Auditel’s free Discovery Seminars. The afternoon was very well structured and focused on making sure that you learnt as much about Auditel as the few hours permitted. There were plenty of questions from the audience as you would expect and Chris Allison and his team answered them all openly. We also had an opportunity to meet some new Affiliates who were on the Client Acquisition training week and they were very happy to discuss why they had chosen Auditel and talk about the training. I left feeling very comfortable. What was key for me was that I did not feel this was a high-pressure sales event. It was certainly the most professional out of the four Discovery days I had attended with other Franchises.
The Auditel Training Course
The course more than matched my expectations. The trainers were all skilled practitioners who were able to share their experience and knowledge backed up by many examples to help illustrate points being made. I had a much clearer idea of what I needed to do to build my business and how I should do it.
On-Going Support
Other factors that stood out for me were the organised Local and Regional Meetings, the National Conferences and the interaction between Auditel Affiliates to assist one another and work on joint ventures. The software tools on the online Auditel Information Service are particularly useful.
What I Do
As an Auditel consultant I use my expertise to give clients a fully developed solution which includes supplier negotiations and managing the implementation of services. Ongoing, I monitor the bills, ensuring all charges are correct and follow up any discrepancies directly with the supplier. This comprehensive service enables clients to focus on their core business. They appreciate that they have an experienced consultant working on their behalf to manage business overhead costs as well as keeping them appraised of any new opportunities to further reduce expenditure.Now two months on, I have no reservations about my decision!
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