Franchising

In the business of duplicating concepts, the process of marketing and selling the model is new and unique to most. It could be compared to dating, fishing, hunting and many other catching metaphors, but from someone who has actively marketed and sold franchises for the past ten years, it comes down to a few key factors as to what separates the successful franchise marketers from the unsuccessful ones.

The first point to be aware of is that franchise sales and franchise marketing takes a budget. In 2010, I have personally been involved in 67 new franchise sale transactions...3 of those came to my clients through referrals or contacts they had prior to franchising their business. The rest of the franchise sales came through good old fashioned advertising. Yes, that's right, you do have to advertise to attract good franchise prospects. What I tell my clients in deciding what to budget for franchise marketing activities is twofold. One, budget something up front for a brochure, printed materials, a good website and other program pieces that are necessary to attract buyers. Then on a monthly timeframe, start out with a budget of $500 up to $1,500 per month for lead generation activities. Do not go into franchising without some kind of a budget for marketing the business.

The second point is take notice of in franchising is that you need to have a compelling story. I call this the unique selling proposition for a business concept. What the heck makes you different from every other business out there in the license/franchise/business opportunity world? If you can't say something to yourself in the mirror that makes you smile, you're probably going to have a hard time getting other people to find it interesting. Develop this value proposition and nail it down before you start talking to people. If there is one thing that I know about franchise buyer leads, it is that they have a short attention span....get it quick or you get hung up on.

The third issue is that if you don't like making a lot of sales calls and "working the phones", you need to budget for a sales person to do this for you. Franchising is a sales business, don't let anyone fool you. People don't walk in the door and hand checks over, it is a contact sport and takes hundreds and hundreds of phone calls to land franchise partners. A good franchise sales person will make anywhere from 75-150 phone calls per day. In many instances, I have personally called a good prospect over 40 times just to get a meeting with them regarding the franchise opportunity. Get ready to get busy, franchising takes leg work and activity. I love activity....it's easy to monitor and 99 out of 100 times, the sales people who create the most activity are the ones who close deals. Burn up the phones and you will see revenue in your franchise system.

The fourth note is that it's okay to be "out there". It is important to remember that you are probably one of several franchise opportunities that any buyer is considering. If you do not leave an impression on that buyer, they will very likely forget about you. Be aggressive and tell them what you are good at and how it will benefit them! The thing I love about franchising is that it helps people become entrepreneurs, which is the most empowering thing in the world. The thing I hate about franchising, is that the people you are dealing with are not sophisticated and have not been empowered yet! So it is up to you as a franchise sales person....or franchise consultant, to lead that person through the decision making process. My shortest sales times with franchise buyers have happened in cases where my sales pitch turned into a counseling session. I found out more about the buyers on the first call, I made compelling comments about things other than what I was selling and I really personalized the relationship. The next time you call someone, try this and see what kinds of results you get!

Franchising is an effective and powerful way to grow a business. The key with any new business venture is to approach the idea and business strategy with as much information as possible. So when you approach the idea of how to franchise my business, be ready to market and sell you franchise when you get into this business and more often than not you will develop revenue streams from your new business venture.