The Top Franchise Opportunities; what it takes to be the best

by Joe Sirianni| Executive Director | Smartline
The Top Franchise Opportunities; what it takes to be the best


Joe Sirianni| Executive Director | Smartline 

There are over 1000 franchise opportunities in Australia and one of the best of these franchise opportunities is Smartline Personal Mortgage Advisers.  Australian-owned mortgage broking advisory business Smartline Personal Mortgage Advisers was established in 1999, and now has more than 200 franchise owners throughout Australia. The successful group has consistently ranked highly in the Top Franchise awards as one of the best franchise systems in Australia, and has won numerous industry awards as an outstanding mortgage broking group.

Joe Sirianni is Smartline’s Executive Director and has spent several decades in banking and mortgage broking.  In 2009 Sirianni received the Golden Mortgie for Lifetime Achievement in the Mortgage Industry, recognising his outstanding contribution to the industry as a whole. Sirianni is also the President of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA).

With Smartline’s continued success resulting in multiple awards for the top mortgage broking group, including being named Australia’s Top Franchise for 2009,2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, Joe Sirianni is well placed to comment on what it takes to be a successful franchise business. Here Joe outlines his  thoughts on what it takes to be the best.

A strong business model

When researching potential franchise opportunities, look for those with a sustainable business model the right business model is key to making and continuing to make money in a sustainable manner. Smartline has great systems in place to help franchisees generate their own business and keep existing customers. This results in a model that is self sustaining rather than being driven by lead generation from the group office. The proverb “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day – teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” is extremely relevant in reinforcing how important it is to achieve a self sustainable system.

Mortgage broking, like many franchise service businesses, is about gaining trust. When you get leads without a referral that trust is harder to establish and so conversion rates are lower. Franchise systems that understand the importance of trust will often have a model of teaching franchisees to generate referral business. At Smartline our model facilitates that building of trust rather than generating leads from people you don't know.

"Franchise opportunities come about when a successful business makes their systems, brand and know how available to franchisees, but it shouldn’t stop there." 

Look for franchise opportunities where you can get passionate about the business

One of the many reasons for Smartline’s success is that each and every franchisee gets a buzz out of helping people. If you are going to become a franchisee in any business make sure you are someone who is passionate about people, as well as the product or service your franchise sells.

At Smartline our best franchisees are organised, energetic and process driven. Above all else our best franchisees are very sociable and like people. They really love what they are doing and that is the key. Helping Australian families into their own homes is the great Australian dream and our franchisees love that they help families
achieve that dream.

Support and training

When considering potential franchise opportunities, look for those opportunities where you will have structured ongoing support and training, as having  the best tools and support from a franchisor will be crucial for ongoing success.

Smartline has a range of support and training mechanisms in place for franchisees, which includes everything from business coaching programs to regular professional development days to continually up skill franchisees.

Continuous improvement: The key to Smartline’s sustained success

As a potential franchisee, the best franchises to consider are those that are continually looking to improve their franchisees and own systems.

Franchise opportunities come about when a successful business makes their systems, brand and know how available to franchisees, but it shouldn’t  stop there. Business environments, technology and best practice always evolve. As such, the best franchises are always looking to improve their own systems.

At Smartline we have the philosophy that the time to fix a roof is when the sun is shining – when it’s raining it’s too late. So look for franchise opportunities where the franchisor has the courage and capital to continually reinvest in better ways of doing business, rather than believing that if it isn’t broken don’t fix it.



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