Scotland bonnie Scotland

This is written whilst taking advantage of the hospitality of Johnny Sellyn of whichfranchise.com in Glasgow.  As well as running the series of web-based companies, Johnny runs free franchise seminars which are highly informative and impartial.  Having attended one of these it is obvious that many people who are considering Business Ownership also look at franchising as a way into this ownership. 

It is also clear that whilst these seminars deliver high quality and useful information, it still leaves the attendees with some work to do to investigate franchisors and to find the one that would suit them.

Hopefully, this website and content will create a dialogue with individuals considering this next step and demonstrate that using the services of a company such as Kyroswill help them to achieve this match that they are looking for.  Certianly a number of attendees today have expressed an interest in our services when the time is right for them – i.e. when they have decided that Business Ownership is for them, and franchising is the preferred route.  In the meantime they will be able to keep up to date with all things franchising via our website.

We also have a Scottish section of the website – have a look at www.kyros.uk.com/Scotland.php where you will find a small local introduction and where we will be adding content related to Scotland over the coming weeks and months

What’s wrong with talking AND meeting?

I know that may sound a little churlish as I sit here and type instead of talking to you all but this is a way of getting information across to many people at one go. It is certainly not the way to engage in a dialogue -there are other media better than this – personal e-mail for example, or the telephone.

Many companies who suggest they offer a recruitment service to franchisors and franchisees never engage a potential franchisee in conversation. They are merely advertising and enquiry sorters – what kind of service does that give?

Others profess to get to know the potential franchisee by talking to them on the telephone – indeed they advertise their service to potential recruiters as a ‘work from home’ job – ‘all you need is a PC and a telephone’. Why would you NOT want to meet someone who you are going to recommend to one of your clients?

I spend a lot of my time talking to people but I would never recommend a franchise to an individual nor indeed an individual to a franchisor unless I had spent at least an hour or more with them to understand them as an individual; their hopes, aspirations, background, attitude and aptitude, funding and income requirements.

It is good to understand if someone is punctual, prepared, of the relevant appearance – you can’t get that information from a telephone conversation. For the franchisor clients we work with, there are far more applicants than franchises available so the franchisor has no need to ‘sell’ their franchise concept to potential franchisees – exactly the reverse is true, the candidate will be expected to ‘sell’ their candidacy and their suitability, desire, funding and ambition to the franchisor.

As I act on behalf of the franchisor they must sell themselves to me first!

For one of our clients we receive in excess of 200 enquiries each month, and our task is to get to the best applicants quickly and reduce the 200 enquiries down to maybe 3 or 4 top quality applicants – for some of the qualification process we can use e-mails and telephone, but there is no substitute for meeting face to face and for me to assess if the applicant has got what it takes to be a successful franchisee for the client.

Punctuality, appearance and professional demeanour all count for a lot even before we start talking!

That doesn’t mean the 196 remaining are poor candidates, they are just not the best, and because we work with so many high quality franchisors we are able to offer alternatives to these individuals if we think they have qualities that the other clients would need.

This ‘matching’ is not as easy as you might think but we believe we do it well, and our results would indicate that too. I can honestly say that everyone I have met has found the meeting useful even if the result was a decision against them entering business ownership – far better we find out now rather than when it’s too late!

Man Triumphs over Machine!

Those of you who have been following this blog will know that last Saturday we launched the new Kyros Website (www.kyros.uk.com) and as can often happen, a few electronic gremlins crept in.

Well Man has triumphed!  All links, forms, scripts and other techie bits have been tested and given the “thumbs up”.  These little electronic beasties had, among other things, broken the link to our free report: “Right Place, Right Time”, and I must apologise again to those who tried to download the report and failed.
This too has now been corrected and you can download the report at: www.kyros.uk.com/right.pdf.  I hope you enjoy the report and find it helpful. 

The Report is of particular importance to anyone who is considering starting up their first business, and especially those who are looking at franchise businesses as an option.

Speaking of man’s triumph over machine, this applies too to the services that are offered by Kyros.  You may have come across various sites with directories, automated “matching and other machine based services that offer to help you find the right franchise.  Some are fine, as far as they go, but they are limited. 

Kyros on the other hand, is the acknowledged leader in UK Franchise Recruitment.  Our “matchmaker” system is personal, professional and designed to match your skills, resources and lifestyle requirements with just the right Franchise Business.  This goes far beyond simply popping a few details into a web form and getting a series of options sent to you.  Our Consultants take the time to ensure you are matched with the right business, and then help with the myriad of other requirements, paperwork, financial options and more.

Another major advantage for you is that there are absolutely no fees or related cost for our services to you, so you have no risk whatsoever.

Really there is no reason to wait!  You can contact us by phone or email (www.kyros.uk.com/Contact-Kyros.php), or better yet, fill in an online registration form at www.kyros.uk.com/Registration.php, and we will contact you.

Remember, man triumphs over machine every time!

Electronic Gremlins and other “Tech-beasts”

Hello again,

Well as you can see this is the first entry in a few months - which was kindly pointed out by one of our first visitors!  There really is a good reason for this – we did not go live until two days ago!  As the “virtual office manager” for the site and weblog, I can only apologise for my oversight!  The original post was meant to come down and a fresh one added – slip-up on my part.  I can only put it down to an ongoing battle with the “Tech-beasts”.

Let me explain.  On Saturday, 5th April, the new Kyros Website went Live! (check it out if you have not been there yet).  It was a complete “extreme makeover” and also involved a move to new web servers.  As is often the case in such complex operations, a few “electronic gremlins” infiltrated the site and needed to be sorted out.  This meant that we were busy tracking these down, and missed the scheduled change of the original test Weblog entry. 

We managed to get rid of most of the “little beasties” quite quickly, but a few clung on, and as someone pointed out, a few links were still not working.  This is now all in hand and everything will be put in top flight order within a couple of days.

For our new and loyal group of readers, please be assured that we will have a full, interesting and exciting webpost on Wednesday, 9th April and regular posts after that (starting next week) from the team of professional consultants at Kyros.

For me at least, these little “glitches” are quite comforting … at least they point out that behind all the wonderful technology in this virtual world of the web, there is still the need for a human face!

Hello world!

Welcome to The Kyros Insider Weblog.  Here you will find comments, information, news and updates about Kyros, the Franchise industry, regional and national business events and information, and much more.  Written by the team of Kyros consultants it will go beyond the scenes at Kyros to provide an indepth look at the industry, opportunities and how you can benefit and what to avoid.

It is not just all dry news however.  The team will be brining you their own unique view on events and more.  Kyros is a “People” business.  We recognise that the most important asset that we have is the team of experienced consultants, and you our clients, candidates and Insider readers.  We look forward to your feedback and comments as these help to improve our service to you.

It is our sincere hope that you will visit us regularly.  Why not add an RSS feed to keep up to the minute with what is happening so that you don’t miss any news, information to help you improve your business, and even a few amusing moments?