An Interview with Grahame Dean, ASPRAY FRANCHISEE OF THE YEAR FOR 2019
Winner of the Franchisee of the Year award 2019, Grahame, accepted his trophy from Aspray Managing Director, James Whittle at Aspray’s Annual National Conference Awards Dinner.
Aspray are committed to helping franchisees create the best environment to succeed, reach their full potential and most importantly they come together as a network to celebrate success and reward good practice.
After opening their franchise only two years ago, Richmond based franchisees Grahame Dean, and his business partner Justin Gudgeon, were named Franchisee of the Year 2019 for consistently going above and beyond to deliver exceptional service to their customers whilst continuing to grow their business.
We caught up with Grahame after the win to find out more…
Why did joining the Aspray franchise opportunity appeal to you?
We wanted to hit the ground running rather than starting a business from scratch.
Initially we were attracted by the excellent processes and controls Aspray have in place, as they are directly authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to manage property damage insurance claims for residential and commercial property owners. The well qualified claims handling team at head office have a wealth of expertise in understanding insurance and the legal and regulatory requirements of the franchisee’s role, which was very reassuring when we were first starting out. However, what really sold the proposition was the Aspray business model, which has been proven time and time again and once again by us!
What was your occupation before joining Aspray?
Before joining Aspray I worked as a Business Consultant for 3 years and prior to that I worked for over 25 years in the financial markets in the city of London.
Justin started as an apprentice within the construction industry, become a multi tradesman and then a project manager.
How have you found the support from head office?
Aspray provide you with all the training and support you need to achieve your goals. The launch plan and marketing strategy helped us to quickly build the business.
The support is first class. Everybody at head office has a vital role to play and they are all great.
What do you enjoy most about being an Aspray franchisee?
Fighting for my clients. Quite often the policyholder feels like they are the underdog especially when their insurance company are not acting as appropriately as they should do.
I also love the personal fulfilment which comes from helping people to get their home or business back to the condition it was before the damage occurred.
What did winning the Franchisee of the Year award mean to you?
It made us feel even more confident that we had chosen the right path, we are extremely flattered, excited about the future and motivated to continue to succeed!