Case Study: Successful Women in Franchising
Keeley Davison proves you don’t have to be male to run a successful Snap-on franchise…
The sphere of four wheels, the motor car (whether it’s design, engineering and production, the motor racing arena, or BBC’s programme Top Gear), all have one particular thing in common – and that is they are all male dominated. But there is one woman amongst many who are changing the male dominated arena of the motor car industry by becoming actively involved in it…
Just examine the demographics in the automotive aftermarket. Look at the guys selling the cars and, even more so, look at who works in the parts departments and who is servicing the cars - it’s 99 per cent men. Despite the Government’s and even the trade’s best efforts to widen the gene pool, it’s still a bloke who’s most likely to be fixing your car.
So imagine you’re a girl and you have an idea that you would like to infiltrate this Jeremy Clarkson, non-politically correct amphitheatre. It’s not exactly throwing a gladiator to the lions, but it’s not far off.
This is just what occurred to Keeley Davison when she discussed with her partner Glen Reynolds how employing third parties in his Snap-on Tools franchise was causing him too much stress in his life, and how she could help change that for the better. How? She could join Glen and help grow his franchise.
So when Glen asked Keeley whether she was serious, she replied: “Why not, I’ve worked in male-dominated environments before?” She’d worked as a PA on the dealing floor of a German bank in the City and then progressed to a conference coordinator travelling the world. After a subsequent spell in nursing to be nearer home, she decided to give the Snap-on franchise a go.
So how has it been since she made the change in the middle of last year?
It’s been a learning experience for her, especially on the product knowledge side, but then there’s always Glen at the other end of the phone if she can’t answer a customer’s question.
Has Keeley fitted into this male-dominated world?
You bet. And she’s helped to grow the business’ customer base by nearly 40 per cent with no additional territory provided by Snap-on.
The clear message for potential female Snap-on franchisees is you don’t have to be male to run a successful Snap-on franchise and you don’t need to have technical know-how of cars to get into the ranks of the top earners.
So if you’re looking for a challenging franchise, but one where you become highly valued by your customer base and at the same time have bags of fun and make money, then a Snap-on franchise could be for you.
It works for Keeley Davison. It can work for you, too.
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