At the 2019 Autosmart conference, Clive McCormack was presented with the coveted Stronger Together award; an award that is chosen by the franchisee network and given to the person that they feel embraces the Autosmart philosophy of going above and beyond the call of duty to help out and support each other in a collaborative way.
The Stronger Together award which is given by Autosmart every two and a half years saw Clive’s neighbouring franchisees put him forward for nomination. They said that Clive had been very generous with his time and helped them to retain customers, combat activity of competitors, transition their business to the Atlas system, and is always available to share his experience.
Clive McCormack, Managing Director says, “I have had my highs and lows over the years and it has been these situations that have given me the chance to learn and grow stronger. On top of business challenges, losing my son changed my mindset and has been one of the main reasons to why I help others, albeit working closely with my Autosmart colleagues or in my support of the local Children’s charity – Laura Lynn.”
The Stronger Together award represents the idea that if the Autosmart franchisee network all work together, share experiences and learn from each others successes and mistakes, it will be to the benefit of all.
Clive says, “Although we all own our individual businesses, it is great to have the support of Autosmart and the other franchisees to call upon. We follow the same business model although we are all at different stages of our journey. I am happy to share my experiences, good or bad with newer franchisees and share all my business information with those who reciprocate so I can learn from them and they can learn from me. It is great having the opportunity to talk to someone who has already gone through the experience or offer your own advice to those just starting out. We are all part of the same team.”
Clive also puts much of his success down to hard work and having a great team around him and today Team McCormack is made up of salesmen Jimmy, Edmund, Adam, Mick, Carol who provides office support and Damien in the warehouse.
Clive continues to say, “I am immensely proud of my team and couldn’t do this without them. It was great to see both Edmund and Jimmy win sales awards this year for all of their hard work. Team McCormack took 3 out of the 10 awards at the Autosmart conference and it was a really proud moment for all of us.”
The celebrations for Autosmart Leinster doesn’t stop there. As well as receiving these three awards Clive also celebrates 24 years as an Autosmart franchisee this year and holds the legacy of being the first franchisee to get an Autosmart mobile showroom across the waters to Ireland and setting up the Atlas system.
Clive says, “Being the first franchisee to take the Autosmart mobile showroom that was working well in the UK to Ireland was a real accomplishment for me. I was also the first to move from a 7.5 tonne showroom to a 13 tonne one. I remember my first ever invoice being written in November 1995 by a personal friend who owned a garage who became my first ever customer and one that I still deal with today. It was so daunting being a new franchisee but I was helped every step of the way by those around me and by Autosmart. Even though the Stronger Together award wasn’t around when I started out, the idea was clearly part of what makes Autosmart and our franchisee network so special. I look forward to handing the award to the next Stronger Together ambassador in 2022”