Signwave franchise owners finished the last financial year on a high note with a number reporting a 50 percent or more increase in sales over the previous year. Mandi and Reg Brine introduced Signwave to Queensland, opening the first store there four years ago.
Following initial training in the United States the Brines employed a salesperson to kick-start sales and promote the business services franchise in their region while they focused on managing the business. They also employed telemarketers to help them work through databases and to establish their own customers and potential customer database.
The strategy has paid off and now they are not only increasing sales but developing larger business from key clients such as Westpac, the Sunshine Coast Daily and Regis, an aged care group.
“We were 65 percent up on sales in the last financial year and there is still a lot of potential for the business,” says Mandi Brine. David and Alison Amor, who own Signwave Penrith in New South Wales, increased their sales by 50 percent.
The Amors have made an art form out of community involvement by simply doing what comes naturally to them.
“David is very involved with the Chamber of Commerce and with various clubs. We make donations to a number of clubs, however it is something we have always done, even before we had our own business,” says Alison Amor.
The contacts the couple make within their community often lead to business referrals and sometimes help to make that initial first contact with someone new to the area.
Indeed, they secured a new, key account recently through their community involvement that has helped drive their figures up for the last financial year.
Victorian Signwave stores have also recorded record sales. Aaron Macpherson, Signwave Bentleigh, increased the sales of his franchise by a massive 85 percent. He says attitude is an important factor in any small business.
“I aim to stay optimistic. Success breeds success and if you are positive, your team is too. Our customers see how busy we are and want to do business with us because they feel confident about our abilities,” he says.
According to Macpherson, Signwave backs up his positive attitude with the latest technology in sign making. Bentleigh’s most recent equipment upgrade means that the store can produce large, high-resolution images in-house, such as billboard graphics.
“The largest sign we produced in the last financial year was 78 square metres for livery on one of National Food’s trucks. We have also supplied signs for the refurbishment of some of the Good Guys stores,” he says.
But Macpherson maintains that technology is nothing without the attitude, the staff and the customer service to back it up.
22-May-2006