“FocalPoint is about coaching and training
excellence.”
That is the word according to CEO of Brian Tracy Solutions, Andrew Phillips, after 20 years of experience in franchising domestically and internationally. We talked in detail with him about the business, its IP, and the types of people best-suited… By Glenn Walford
In 2015, after bringing Brian Tracy Training programs to Australia since 2005 in a licensing format, CEO Andrew Phillips merged the local and international business model with the North American-based FocalPoint Business Coaching—also powered by Brian Tracy. Focal Point International now combines high-level professional development and business coaching programs for SME’s and ASX companies.
With Andrew describing this move as a ‘no-brainer’, he also notes that a big part of the reason for expanding the offering was because “FocalPoint has become a market-leading unique offer, and one-stop shop for professional business coaching and corporate training consultants.”
Serious Intellectual Property ‘Fire Power’
Brian Tracy is today unarguably considered as one of the foremost leaders in the development of human potential. He has authored over 80 books, spoken in over 80 countries, and with his team, has over 5 million graduates of programs worldwide. Even Anthony Robbins is often quoted saying, “He would still be sleeping in his car if it were not for Brian.”
As part of the benefit of his involvement with Brian Tracy Training, Andrew has worked closely with Brian for over a decade now in all parts of the world. “Together, we continually innovate to bring world-class tools and resources to the franchise coaches worldwide.”
Andrew further describes their collective strategy and mission as twofold: “To ensure the success of coaches, starting from recruitment integrity; and secondly, to add real, tangible value to retail customers worldwide.”
Locally, Andrew is especially proud of what the business does, and whom they work with, “We tackle head-on corporate training – providing this to some of the biggest companies in Australia, including the top four banks, leading airlines, major real estate groups and chief medical institutions. In addition, we work with SME’s to improve time management, productivity, culture, and profitability and have achieved outstanding results.”
The Business Model & Revenue Streams
“There are five distinct revenue sources in FocalPoint for franchise owners, including a world-first in this space called ‘Business Process Agility’ which is a software mapping service that builds out organisational structure, roles and responsibilities.”
“It also allows the marketplace to score the effectiveness of the company’s employees and the overall market’s perception of the company.”
Andrew’s FocalPoint five revenue streams are:
Business Coaching to executives and business owners
Corporate Training to SME’s and ASX companies
Wholesaling Training Programmes (train the trainer)
Behavioural Assessments—hiring and performance appraisal tools
Business Process Agility—system which accelerates business growth
The types attracted to and most successful in the business
FocalPoint is quite specific in the type of person they are looking for, and who is best-suited to their business. A professional with a corporate sales, marketing or management background or business owner who has over 10 years of experience are the first key criteria.
Andrew continues, “To take this a little further, I can best wrap it up by saying that in line with the above two key criteria, it is also for individuals who are looking to earn a sizable income and have a balanced lifestyle. The great thing about this space is that if you can articulate and then demonstrate your value proposition, your clients will pay accordingly for your time and expertise. Naturally, that’s why the background and experience are so important.”
As a Focal Point franchise owner you need to be:
- Ambitious
- Successful
- Hard-working
- Goal-oriented
- An influencer
- Have excellent listening skills
- Decisive
“Now, you will read just about any business offer, in franchising in particular, run off lists of characteristics, all which sound quite similar. Ours, you will note, are quite specific as we find that executives or business owners with these specific skills and talents are best-suited to our environment and to creating a successful business in their own right.”
“This is what I love about this market: your reward is most directly proportional to the value you can add to your clients, whether they be solopreneurs, SME’s or corporates.”
The difference
As a passionate executive and coach, Andrew continues, “One of the things we do that is different to the ‘others’ is that we give each coach their own coach.”
“We provide every new franchisee with a successful practice mentor coach. We split our training between Adelaide and San Diego across a 30-day period to make sure you hit the ground running. Then we provide 30 weeks of ongoing training to ensure your immediate and long-term enjoyment and success in the business. The two go hand in hand.”