???? ????????? -????? 9/15 Destination Unknown: Epic Journey of my career path EPISODE- 9 : BRANCH MANAGER
Chandrasekar Johnrose
Business Coach | Business Development Manager | JFM in JCI India | Digital Marketer | HR Consultant | Traveler | | Curious folk | Pet Lover
Hi Friends,
????????It's Chandrasekar Johnrose , thrilled to have you back for another exciting chapter of my career journey! Get ready to dive into the exhilarating world of being a Branch Manager at an Institute. I can't wait to unravel the challenges, celebrate the triumphs, and share the invaluable lessons I've gathered on this thrilling ride. Come along, and let's embark on this journey together!
CHENNAI RACE COACHING INSTITUTE?
In 2019, I joined Chennai Race Institute, Nagercoil, the leading Government job training institute in India. It has branches in Kerala, Chandigarh, Pondicherry, and Karnataka. My friend, Mr. Rejibabu, asked me to take charge of the Nagercoil branch. I decided to enter the field because I am passionate about business development. Here, I discovered my burning desire for business development. I was there from day one, overseeing interior design work. The franchise partner, Mr. Jegan, gave me full freedom for all necessary things, including funds.
The institute is nearly 6500 sq ft and can accommodate up to 500 students at a time. We started by recruiting staff, both teaching and non-teaching. On the day of the induction, we started with 10 students. After that, there was no looking back. My role encompasses the entire process: overall management of academics, admissions, promotion, branding, and marketing.
We utilized all Above-the-Line (ATL) and Below-the-Line (BTL) activities, including pamphlets, newspaper ads, offline magazines, radio, TV, theater ads, wall posters, sponsorships, bus ads, inside bus audio ads, roadside wall ads, billboards, stalls in exhibitions, pamphlet distribution in churches, bus stands, and all colleges in the district. I directly involved myself in all these activities, working day and night alongside the workers.
I worked tirelessly, sometimes up to 12 hours a day, involved in both day and night tasks. I also managed digital marketing for Race Institute, running PPC ads and conducting analytics. Within a year, we connected with all college placement officers and sponsored many local events. I personally distributed pamphlets at a summer exhibition for 45 days.
Within a year, we achieved 1000 admissions with 12 employees. I worked as a boss, grateful for my excellent team and management. I want to thank my teams, especially the admission, academics, and marketing teams, for their sincere work. I handled promotion, admissions, and account analytics, making decisions based on data.
Everything was going well until the sudden lockdown due to the coronavirus. We were shut down the offline process for 6 months and we continued all the process over online. After six months, we resumed the admission process and restarted our promotional activities as usual.
VERANDA RACE LEARNING SOLUTIONS?
In the mid of 2020 , Veranda took control of Chennai Race, renaming it Veranda Race. When Veranda entered this business, I learned what structured, organized business means. They organized and channeled everything, separating each process of the industry into departments: sales, academic, and promotion.?
Each department had its own regional head. Based on instructions given by the respective zone heads, they implemented CRM systems. Initially, we used Zoho CRM for one year, and afterward, we used LeadSquared CRM for customer maintenance. Whatever we did, we had to report to our head team at the head office, and we had quarterly meetings at our headquarters in Chennai.?
The head office would give forecasts for each upcoming activity, and we acted accordingly. All the ads we created for Veranda Race aimed to get leads. Our franchise partner gave me full freedom to carry out internal and external activities. We conducted orientations in all the colleges in our district, and every year, we organized race events, inviting all college students to participate in the competitions.?
I gradually built strong connections with all the colleges, putting memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in place with many colleges during my tenure. Things were going well. I spent almost four years in one process before deciding to quit my job and try other sectors.?
In my tenure at Veranda Race, I facilitated over 2000 admissions. I oversaw all recruitment processes, promotions, branding activities, and academic activities. I also gave freedom to my teams. I had a very nice experience with the Race Institute. Veranda Race is a proud partner of the Tamil Nadu Government's Nan Mudalvan Scheme.?
For this process, I visited all the colleges. One main thing our franchise partner, Mr. Jegan had faith in me and I fulfilled it completely . I did everything for the welfare of the franchise only. During my tenure, I handled the branch without a single problem arising, even though thousands of students were studying there. I learned and experienced all branding, promotional activities, and management activities.?
Veranda Race made me a complete business-minded man with analytical capacity and gave me a chance to connect with prominent figures. Speaking proudly, there is no college in my district without my footprints. I know all the colleges, their principals, and placement officers and many HODs and Staffs.
领英推荐
In this time, I need to thank Mr. Rejibabu, Business Partner, Mr. Jegan, Franchise Partner, Mr. Bibin Raj, the Operations Partner, and a very special thank you to Mr. Bharath Seeman, the CEO of Veranda Race, who gave special appreciation to me in the Branch Managers Meet held at Chennai Headquarters.
LESSON LEARNED?
1. All branding activities
2. All promotional activities both offline and online
3. Digital marketing stuff and Analytics
4. The Complete HR management process and policies?
5. Financial management and reporting
6. Building college connections
7. Student management
8. Evaluating the impacts of branding activities?
9. Analyzing the impact of student growth
10. Organizing all college programs?
11. Engaging with high-profile individuals
12. Event Coordination?
See you later, everyone! Let's keep this journey going. Remember to stay connected for more cool stuff and updates. Exciting episodes are on the way! Cheers!?
To be continued...