Budding franchisees urged to learn from TV's Apprentice

Budding franchisees should be glued to the gogglebox in order to learn some valuable lessons about business from TV smash hit show The Apprentice.

Ian Thornton from Apollo Blinds believes anyone who is thinking about starting their own business is advised to watch the BBC One programme as an example of what not to do in order to be successful in business.

Thornton believes that the programme – in which 16 hopefuls compete to impress Sir Alan Sugar to win a £100,000 per year job – is a great training aid which offers a valuable insight into the perils of sales and negotiations.

“The show is hugely entertaining but I do wince at it sometimes because the contestants seem to approach sales and negotiations without preparation, planning or much discussion,” he said.

“The contestants are clearly under pressure to sell in order to win tasks but the way some of them go about it serves as a textbook example of the wrong way to approach the process of making a sale.

“Time and again you see the teams of contestants getting their sales strategies wrong and never achieving the full financial potential of the products or services they are selling.”

And that is the crux of the matter according to Thornton because Sir Alan Sugar has been consistently clear about what he expects in the TV show which is now into its fourth series.

“Love him or loathe him, there are lessons to be learned from the man who built Amstrad and as much as the programme serves as a warning about what not to do, there are also some real gems of what to do to make a success of any business,” added Thornton.

“The main thing that strikes me every time I watch The Apprentice is that Sir Alan wants the contestants to understand they should be turning in a profit on each sale they make because profits are the lifeblood of any successful business.

“But you see it week after week that contestants get pricing wrong or end up panicking and practically giving away products to get as much money in the kitty as possible at the end of each task – but often I think they could have got so much more if they’d have had better preparation and better strategies.

“And that is a lesson for all firms and people who want to start their own business.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Apollo Blinds has more than 85 stores across the UK and Ireland which are operated through individual franchise agreements.
2. Apollo Blinds is part of Dutch-based Hunter Douglas, the world’s leading supplier of blinds, canopies, awnings, insect screens and curtains.
3. For more information about your nearest Apollo Blinds store, or to become an Apollo Blinds franchisee, please call 01924 413010 or visit www.apollo-blinds.co.uk.

ENDS

For pictures and more information please contact Paul Kirby at Octopus Public Relations on:
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