Success Through Support

Compass Homes franchisee forges ahead in first year – despite Covid

I have never worked in an area where I have had this much top-level support,’ says Daniel Sterling. ‘I’ve found I didn’t buy a business – I bought a set of instructions in how to be successful!’

Daniel is the Compass Homes franchisee for Northland, Whangarei and Hibiscus Coast. After 20 years in the newspaper industry, several of which were in design, marketing and strategy, he followed his interest in building and moved from media into putting up big farm sheds. ‘That also fulfilled my desire to get outdoors away from the computer screen,’ he explains.

‘However, an accident made it clear I needed to get off the tools and I ended up working for a local boutique luxury building company, before taking over as general manager. Then I came across Compass Homes and met up with CEO Bronwyn Bindon in November 2019.

‘I recognised that the problems I’d found in the boutique company were all down to a lack of systems, or failures within the systems they did have in place,’ Daniel says. ‘My first impression with Compass Homes was that they had thought about the whole process of building individual homes for clients and created processes to follow and a network of support to look after you and help you grow. My experience since has entirely endorsed that.’

Fast start

Daniel was so impressed with his research into Compass Homes that he decided very quickly to take up the franchise. ‘My friends and family all thought I was mental, but then they usually do,’ he laughs. Unfortunately, the signatures were barely dry upon the paper when the first lockdown struck New Zealand, and everything went on ice.

‘I think it’s a further seal of quality for the franchise that despite Covid-19, I am virtually on budget for the fiscal year,’ says Daniel. ‘In my first full year, I will complete no fewer than 20 homes.’ Such is the speed with which Daniel has been able to grow his franchise that Compass Homes is already one of the highest-ranked and biggest building companies in his base town, Whangarei.

First class training

‘It’s all down to the support that Compass offers – every detail has been thought through and systemised,’ Daniel says. ‘If I have a question, Compass has an answer for everything. It means that all I need to do is manage, sell and build, because the designs, paperwork and instructions are all there. All the training was first class, and has been created from the perspective of someone who has been there, done it all and been successful. I thought I knew a bit about sales, but after the Compass sales course I tore up my old manuals.

‘The franchise package also includes an online project management program that helps me manage timelines and allows customers to follow building progress with automatic updates. All these systems make us far more competitive than other companies – we are converting a massive 95% of our hot leads into builds!’

Delivering real value

Compass Homes was founded 19 years ago, and has always sought to achieve significant cost savings without compromising on quality. ‘By value-engineering design, and positioning for the sun to provide savings on heating bills, we can keep costs down and deliver real value,’ says Bronwyn. ‘What sets us apart is our ability to build to any budget from first home to high-end.

‘We have 10 franchisees already established and are now looking to expand to other parts of the country. Daniel is not the first franchisee to demonstrate how well our systems work and how good an opportunity this can be. The franchise fee is just $50,000 +gst.’

Daniel himself concludes: ‘Compass Homes are true to their word. The service, support, constant education and financial auditing mean the system will all keep you on track and make it hard to go wrong. If you are reasonably switched on, and are prepared to follow instructions, this is a fantastic opportunity.’

Advertiser Info

Contact Bronwyn Bindon

P 0-3-379 1111 or M 021 46 13 13

bronwyn@compasshomes.co.nz

www.compasshomes.co.nz

Daniel Sterling will build 20 new homes in his first year