Five new ERA recruits, six months in

In October 2015, Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA) welcomed five new recruits on to the last Franchise Partner training course of the year. Barry Donovan, Lyn Pyatt, Neil Pinner, Richard Slater and Stewart Anderson all saw in ERA the opportunity to achieve dreams of business ownership, financial freedom and become part of a successful and diverse network of professionals.

Six months later, they’re all feeling empowered by their decisions. Laying secure foundations for future success and, in some cases, have already smashed their initial targets to pieces!

“I set myself a target of five clients in 12 months and I’ve done that by the end of month six! So, I’m doubling my target now - I want to reach 10 clients by the end of the year. It’s not easy but anything worth having requires a bit of hard work; you just have to be proactive and put the effort in,” says Stewart Anderson.

ERA are world leaders in cost management and procurement consultancy. Franchise Partners are trained to offer strategic advice and practical methods which optimise supplier relationships and generate cash. Boasting the highest consulting revenue of any UK procurement franchise, ERA Franchise Partners have enjoyed an impressive increase in sales over the past five years.

“What attracted me to ERA initially was the variety of the work and the customer facing side of things. I’m a real people-person! The more I looked into it the thought of working with different companies across many industries and in different scenarios to save people money… really appealed to me!” Success for me is about gaining my financial freedom, I plan to be earning the same or more as I was in previous role within two years. That’s my goal and I’m well on track!” enthuses Stewart.

Stewart is by no means alone in his early successes. The rest of the new recruits are each seizing opportunities to grow their businesses whilst enjoying the freedom of being their own boss.

“I’m very busy! I’ve had lots of client meetings, got one signed and a couple just about to plus some additional consulting work coming in too. It’s fair to say I’m happy with how it’s going! I’m on plan to hit my targets and pretty soon I will have to decide whether to dedicate the majority of my time to being a specialist consultant or a Business Development Manager within the network. At the moment I choose to do both as a dual role because I enjoy both; it’s nice to have the option!” explains Barry Donovan

“I’ve never had my own business before and that’s why franchising appealed to me. I’d have really struggled to achieve what I have in just six months had I tried to go it alone. The help and support from ERA has been tremendous. The training was through and intense but it’s the support you get afterwards that’s been the thing for me,” adds Stewart.

ERA’s award-winning programme of training and support is designed to equip you with all the knowledge and confidence you need to successfully launch and run your business, whatever your skills or background. New Franchise Partners undertake a tailored five-week course consisting of classroom and hands-on learning at the ERA Academy.

“The training was very good indeed, very comprehensive. The team at head office took a lot of time, and have done subsequently, to make sure you understood all aspects of the business. In fact the IT support team have just run a session on CRM as a refresher for the five of us who were on the October course. It’s a perfect example of them going the extra mile. The ongoing support is great. If you have any issues you just call head office, they are always available. I actually think the support provided is more than I expected it to be before I joined!” says Lyn Pyatt.

When you join ERA, you join a network of over 150 consultants, each an expert in their own field. Access to this combined knowledge ensures that your business isn’t confined to one or two cost centres or even your own area of specialism. Franchise Partners work together to maximise opportunities for collaboration, expansion and guidance.

One of my favourite things about ERA is very much being part of the collective. You don’t have to be but you can choose to be involved and there’s such a great community and team spirit, knowledge sharing and support that I can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to be a part of it,” adds Lyn.

All new Franchise Partners are paired with a mentor after training and October’s recruits were no different. As Barry Donovan explains, this unique and integrated approach has been hugely beneficial already: “each of us that was on the training course in October has an existing, experienced Franchise Partner as a mentor. I’ve been really pleased with the programme and in fact most of my day-to-day support has been with my mentor. He’s always there if I need him and because he’s actually been through what I’m now doing, he totally understands. Even if I don’t actually have problem that needs solving, just chatting to him for reassurance and to hear his experiences is priceless.”

From award-winning training and industry leading support programmes to one of the most inclusive and collaborative networks in the UK. It’s no surprise that ERA Franchise Partners continue to thrive from day one. The five newest additions to the ranks have hit the ground running and after just six months are well on their way towards their own personal ideals of success as part of the ERA franchise family.
 

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