Want to know more about the Auditel franchise opportunity? Chris Allison, Founder and Managing Director of Auditel, has been answering the burning questions many potential franchisees want to know the answers to when they’re thinking about joining Auditel. Auditel is the UK’s leading cost management franchise. They assist and educate clients to make smarter buying and management decisions, leading to business longevity and growth.

Auditel was established in 1994 with one of the main drivers behind the business being the process of the deregulation of the utilities and telecommunication sectors.

Chris saw an opportunity to develop a utility bill auditing programme because, with a much larger choice of utility companies and communication providers meant that businesses needed advice on choosing and selecting the right provider.

Auditel converted to a franchise in 1997 which provided an opportunity to build a UK-wide brand and broaden the scope of the business offering. It was at this point that Auditel moved from utility bill auditing to cost management consultancy and a more effective way of managing business costs.
 

1. What are some of the advantages of being an Auditel franchisee?

There are many advantages to being an Auditel franchisee:

• We have an award-winning training and support programme. We never stop improving the programme and it is reviewed and updated annually
• We offer a huge range of services and we’re continually broadening the scope of our business offering. This means we can engage with a client to provide further services, making us an indispensable and a valuable outsourced member of the management team for the long-term
• Auditel is a flexible business which allows franchisees to build a scalable business. You can tailor the business to your personal business aspirations. Whether you want to be self-employed and home-based, bring in a partner (free of charge) or become a multi-fee earning, office based business with employees, your business is as big as your aspirations.
• The job satisfaction is high and the business is never boring
• Our franchisees talk about being part of the Auditel family, we really look after each other.
   

2. What qualities do you look for in an ideal franchisee?

Within Auditel there are people from a whole range of careers and business disciplines so we have a wide range of talent in our network.

We look for people who will share our values and who are similar minded to our existing franchisees and it’s important that our franchisees are team players. We also look for people with good communication skills, good deductive thought processes and people who demonstrate commercial acumen.

You’ve got to be a self-starter. Even though you provide you with all the training and support you need, you do have to have the drive and passion to build a business. We can’t run the business for you!
 

3. In your opinion, why is Auditel such a great opportunity for someone looking to get into business ownership?

We believe that there’s still a massive opportunity for growth. After 21 years in the business we’ve still only got 1% market share of the total market. Very few businesses can manage all their business costs effectively in-house so ours is a service that will always be needed.

In a volatile, uncertain world it’s a much needed service. Business stewardship is the key to commercial success in the future. Many of our younger consultants are looking for careers for the next 20 years and beyond and this is something we welcome.
 

4. What advice would you give to someone who’s thinking of buying a franchise?

Look at the track record of the organisation and the business when completing your due diligence and make sure there is open disclosure in terms of the franchise itself. Talk to existing franchisees with similar backgrounds to yourself and see how they’re running the business day to day so know the ins and outs.

Many organisations may have been successful in the past but look at their plans for the future and how innovative they are. You want to know that the business model will stand the test of time.

Before you start looking, think about your own skillsets and how they transfer into the franchises you are interested in. You will be going through a selection process so you need to think about how you will fit into the franchise. Why should they appoint you?
 

5. What can franchisees expect from the training and support on offer at Auditel?

We have one of the most comprehensive training and support programmes in the franchise industry. We won Franchisor of the Year based on our investment into our training, support and mentoring programme. We have a 45 member team supporting our franchisees on a daily basis.

Our training is continual; franchisees can come back to a training session at any time free of charge or attend a refresher course.

They also have access to a business review every six months. Whether you’re in the start-up phase or you’re 20 years into the business, we support you at whatever phase you are at in your business. This may even include retiring and exiting Auditel. We take your business from cradle to grave.