Interview with Howard McCormick, UK Franchise Sales and Recruitment Director World Options
Howard McCormick is the UK Franchise Sales and Recruitment Director for World Options. Established in 2002, and with over 80 franchisees in the UK, World Options provides an online courier booking service for businesses who need to send parcels across the UK and internationally; they work with the largest global carriers, UPS, DHL, FedEx and TNT.
Howard is responsible for recruiting new franchisees to the World Options franchise network, once onboard he oversees the induction training and development to ensure all new the World Options franchisees have the correct skill sets to be successful business owners.
Before joining World Options in 2016, Howard ran his own award-winning Franchised operation at Amtrak Express Parcels, as well as managing successful freight and aviation haulage businesses operating from both Manchester and Heathrow airports.
Outside work, Howard enjoys travelling with his family and playing golf at the weekend. His real passion is Rugby Union, both watching the national team and coaching locally.
Can you give us more insight into the courier industry in the UK?
“E-commerce has taken the courier sector to another level, grossing £120 Billion in revenue per year. With many online businesses and the online shopping industry booming, we’ve seen a huge increase in the demand for courier deliveries. Our ideal customer is the 6million SME’s in the U.K who require a full logistics solution. When new franchisees join the World Options family, their primary role is the market our services to these SMEs, we have the advantage for franchisees to introduce additional services such as Air, Sea and Road freight via our dedicated freight-desk.”
What qualities help make a successful World Options franchisee?
“We have franchisees who join the network from a variety of different professional working backgrounds, from those who have previous experience in the freight industry to schoolteachers, customer service managers, to professional footballers. The success formula requires a strong work ethic, balanced with I.T knowledge, sales acumen and a determination to succeed.“
Why is a World Options franchise ideal for those looking to achieve a work-life balance?
“Half of our franchise network run their franchised business from their home office, however the business model is totally scalable and when their business grows many franchisees choose to locate to a remote office base.”
What training and support do you offer your franchisees?
"We have pre-training visits, followed by a four / five-day training and induction course at our head office location. Telesales training, full development programme and accountability as well as a one-to-one mentor assigned to each new franchisee."
What have been World Option’s biggest achievement and successes to date so far? What key developments happened in 2019?
"We have a strong franchised network in the UK, the same model is successfully working in three continents, America, Australia and central Europe with the back-office administration controlled from our new State of the art head office in the North-west of England."
How does World Option differentiate from your competition?
"Franchisees receive a full training and induction programme from qualified professionals allowing the new franchisee to be operational from day one.
The development and training are ongoing, we want each franchise to be enjoying their successes.
Some of our existing franchisees in the network proudly boast monthly gross earnings in excess of £35K per month.
We also provide each franchisee with a full accounts package; World Options have an invoicing and credit control department to assist with your back-office.
Marketing and customer services complete the full support package with inbound sales leads and experienced operators to control your daily shipments.
MOST importantly, we offer a non-geographic franchise, allowing each franchisee to market their business throughout the whole of the U.K. they’re not restricted to find business in restricted postcode areas."
What does the future hold for World Options? What are your UK and international expansion plans?
"These are exciting times as we build and develop the UK network. We have plans to expand into more international countries, using the same successful business model created by experienced franchise professionals."
