Smartline Named Australia’s Top Franchise

Sept. 17, 2009 - PRLog -- Smartline Personal Mortgage Advisers has been named Australia’s top franchise.

Topfranchise.com.au ranked Smartline number one in its latest top 10 list released this week, following a comprehensive survey of franchisees from some of the best known franchise systems across the country.

In addition to taking out the top spot overall, Smartline was ranked number one in three of the five specific categories:

1.   Support – the levels of support offered by the franchisor to the franchisees – Smartline ranked number one
2.   Rewards – the financial and social rewards franchisees feel they receive from being part of the franchise – Smartline ranked number one
3.   Passion – how passionate franchisees are about their customers, brand, product or service they offer – Smartline ranked number one
4.   Refer – willingness to recommend a franchise to friends and colleagues – Smartline ranked number two
5.   Lifestyle – whether franchisees are satisfied with the lifestyle their franchise affords them – Smartline ranked number four

Smartline Managing Director, Chris Acret, said the group was thrilled to take out the number one ranking.

“While this result recognises our benchmark systems and marketing, most importantly it recognises that our people are passionate about what they do and about being part of the Smartline group,” Mr Acret said.

“Not many people have the chance to go to work every day loving what they do, while having the opportunity to build a highly successful business – but Smartline franchisees do.”

More than 170 franchise systems were given the opportunity for their franchisees to take part in the survey across Australia by research company 10 THOUSAND FEET.

Each franchisee was asked to rank their business with a comparison of more than 35 questions about their franchise system.

Franchise systems in a range of industries were included in the survey, with others in the top 10 including Mrs Fields Cookies and Fernwood Women’s Health Clubs, as well as fellow financial services groups, Mortgage Choice and ANZ Mobile Lending.

In addition to taking out the top spot, Smartline had the highest franchisee participation rate in the survey of any of those named in the top 10, further highlighting the Smartline franchisees’ belief in their system.

Smartline has more than 200 franchise owners throughout Australia, has assisted over 100,000 clients and has a loan portfolio exceeding $10 billion.

Mr Acret said the result was testimony to the strength of the team culture embraced within the organisation.

“We have a group of amazing franchisees who offer our clients an unparalleled level of service and advice, and I’m pleased that these franchisees are so passionate and positive about being part of Smartline,” Mr Acret said.

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Smartline. Established in 1999, Smartline is a multi award winning franchised mortgage broking group, having built a unique reputation for advice and client care.

The group’s 200 franchise offices have assisted over 100,000 Australians arrange their home finance to date. 85% of Smartline's business comes from a personal recommendation. As part of every loan Smartline arranges, the company donates $10 to charity.

Smartline’s Managing Director is Mr Chris Acret and its Executive Director is Mr Joe Sirianni.