An In-Depth Interview with Franchisee David Coyne, owner of NuVinAir’s Alabama, Florida and Tennessee territories
Why did you choose NuVinAir and not some other product/service?
I had been searching for a business for about two years prior to learning about NuVinAir. I had looked at local businesses for sale and franchises. The local businesses tended to be over-priced for the income they produced. Many of the franchise opportunities lacked the ability to scale due to already having existing locations in and around where I live. A franchise consultant reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in his assistance and I figured why not as I thought he might bring me something I hadn’t seen. When I heard about NuVinAir, their products, the model and saw the available territory, I had to learn more. After going to discovery day and seeing the products in action and the market potential I was ready to sign up.
How have your first few weeks gone?
The first few weeks have been very busy. My sales team and I are honing our sales pitch and working on being more efficient in how we call on leads and how we perform demos. We have been working to stay focused on three areas within the markets we have launched within my territory. We are spending 60 percent of our time on dealerships, 30 percent of our time on rental cars and 10 percent of our time on other opportunities, such as 18-wheelers and car washes.
Do you have any success stories to share?
So far, we have on-boarded 4 franchise dealerships to our NSP+ program, two franchise rental car locations and a freightliner dealership group along with several independent dealerships.
What was your first impression of NuVinAir leadership?
My first impression of the leadership at NuVinAir was that these were sincere folks who believe in the product, have a vision for what they want NuVinAir to be, they had industry experience and they truly care about the people they work with and partner with. This was a big box that had to be checked when I was looking at franchises. From my prior jobs and businesses, I have been involved with I know how important it is to have a solid leadership team in place that cares about the people they are partnering with and have the ability to adapt in this fast-paced world we live in.
Do you have any future plans for expansion?
I already have a large territory covering Alabama, Tennessee and the Florida panhandle. I expect to ultimately have 15-20 sales managers covering this area over the next 24 months. That said, I am always looking at the opportunity to take down additional territory as we continue to gain momentum and grow. I like Mississippi and Southern Georgia since they are adjacent to me.
Why do you think dealerships would benefit from NuVinAir?
Wow, there are some many ways dealerships can benefit from NuVinAir. The model allows for dealerships to monetize NuVinAir in each profit center through adding NuVinAir as an addendum on their vehicles, including it in the service drive, our new F&I product is very attractive, and you can stock the products in parts. Each area of the dealership can take advantage of NuVinAir. Pre-owned has the added benefit of removing the previous owner from their inventory which removes a potential objection from the sales process, thus enabling the dealership to sell the vehicle faster and at a higher gross than they otherwise might have.
Why do you think consumers would benefit?
With NuVinAir, customers know they are buying a healthy vehicle on the inside. No more getting the vehicle home and a remnant of the previous owner shows up because the dealership used a masking agent rather than eliminating it. And customers can get the same benefits in their own car with NuVinAir. If they have odors that have built up in the car or have a funky smell coming from the HVAC, NuVinAir can take care of it and give them a fresh, healthy vehicle anytime they need it.
What are some traits you carry that drive you to succeed?
I love business. I love building relationships, providing good old-fashioned customer service, helping others to succeed and overcoming the challenges that each day brings. I think its fun building something from the ground up that is bigger than yourself and I enjoy helping others reach their goals.
Do you have advice for others who want to start their own business?
Take your time, do your research, and ask lots of questions. Learn what you like and don’t like, be willing to work hard, be realistic, make sure you have plenty of working capital when you are starting out as things may or may not work out like you plan — and have fun!
Starting a business is hard and it takes time. You have to be able to get up every day and work towards making things work when no one is necessarily pushing you to do so. But as hard as it is, it can be very rewarding to see all the hard work pay off. You just have to make the decision to actually do it to see the end result. A lot of people never take the leap out of fear of failure. You don’t have to be afraid of failure as you will fail, its part of it. The main thing is to learn from that failure and get up and keep going.
An In-Depth Interview with Franchisee David Coyne, owner of NuVinAir’s Alabama, Florida and Tennessee territories
Why did you choose NuVinAir and not some other product/service?
I had been searching for a business for about two years prior to learning about NuVinAir. I had looked at local businesses for sale and franchises. The local businesses tended to be over-priced for the income they produced. Many of the franchise opportunities lacked the ability to scale due to already having existing locations in and around where I live. A franchise consultant reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in his assistance and I figured why not as I thought he might bring me something I hadn’t seen. When I heard about NuVinAir, their products, the model and saw the available territory, I had to learn more. After going to discovery day and seeing the products in action and the market potential I was ready to sign up.
How have your first few weeks gone?
The first few weeks have been very busy. My sales team and I are honing our sales pitch and working on being more efficient in how we call on leads and how we perform demos. We have been working to stay focused on three areas within the markets we have launched within my territory. We are spending 60 percent of our time on dealerships, 30 percent of our time on rental cars and 10 percent of our time on other opportunities, such as 18-wheelers and car washes.
Do you have any success stories to share?
So far, we have on-boarded 4 franchise dealerships to our NSP+ program, two franchise rental car locations and a freightliner dealership group along with several independent dealerships.
What was your first impression of NuVinAir leadership?
My first impression of the leadership at NuVinAir was that these were sincere folks who believe in the product, have a vision for what they want NuVinAir to be, they had industry experience and they truly care about the people they work with and partner with. This was a big box that had to be checked when I was looking at franchises. From my prior jobs and businesses, I have been involved with I know how important it is to have a solid leadership team in place that cares about the people they are partnering with and have the ability to adapt in this fast-paced world we live in.
Do you have any future plans for expansion?
I already have a large territory covering Alabama, Tennessee and the Florida panhandle. I expect to ultimately have 15-20 sales managers covering this area over the next 24 months. That said, I am always looking at the opportunity to take down additional territory as we continue to gain momentum and grow. I like Mississippi and Southern Georgia since they are adjacent to me.
Why do you think dealerships would benefit from NuVinAir?
Wow, there are some many ways dealerships can benefit from NuVinAir. The model allows for dealerships to monetize NuVinAir in each profit center through adding NuVinAir as an addendum on their vehicles, including it in the service drive, our new F&I product is very attractive, and you can stock the products in parts. Each area of the dealership can take advantage of NuVinAir. Pre-owned has the added benefit of removing the previous owner from their inventory which removes a potential objection from the sales process, thus enabling the dealership to sell the vehicle faster and at a higher gross than they otherwise might have.
Why do you think consumers would benefit?
With NuVinAir, customers know they are buying a healthy vehicle on the inside. No more getting the vehicle home and a remnant of the previous owner shows up because the dealership used a masking agent rather than eliminating it. And customers can get the same benefits in their own car with NuVinAir. If they have odors that have built up in the car or have a funky smell coming from the HVAC, NuVinAir can take care of it and give them a fresh, healthy vehicle anytime they need it.
What are some traits you carry that drive you to succeed?
I love business. I love building relationships, providing good old-fashioned customer service, helping others to succeed and overcoming the challenges that each day brings. I think its fun building something from the ground up that is bigger than yourself and I enjoy helping others reach their goals.
Do you have advice for others who want to start their own business?
Take your time, do your research, and ask lots of questions. Learn what you like and don’t like, be willing to work hard, be realistic, make sure you have plenty of working capital when you are starting out as things may or may not work out like you plan — and have fun!
Starting a business is hard and it takes time. You have to be able to get up every day and work towards making things work when no one is necessarily pushing you to do so. But as hard as it is, it can be very rewarding to see all the hard work pay off. You just have to make the decision to actually do it to see the end result. A lot of people never take the leap out of fear of failure. You don’t have to be afraid of failure as you will fail, its part of it. The main thing is to learn from that failure and get up and keep going.