What "Undercover Boss" Should Teach You About Lead Generation

“Undercover Boss” is somewhat a unicorn.

It’s a unicorn in the fact that it can produce a great turnaround moment for companies—even though the CEOs are not necessarily on there just for a turnaround.

However, unicorns are not real. Thus, looking at the construction of the “Undercover Boss” unicorn can teach franchise lead generation specialists, a lot about how to actually create lead awareness.

A few weeks ago, our agency placed our third client, Buffalo Wings & Rings, on the show—in addition to Checkers* and Philly Pretzel Factory. Certainly, each moment was a key learning experience for our agency, not just in process, but in what “Undercover Boss” should teach all of us about lead generation.

For Buffalo Wings & Rings, the moment was quite an accomplishment, being that it was the smallest brand featured on the show (smallest, but very hungry to be the undisputed competitor in the space). For their CEO, he was interested in knowing more about the inner workings of the brand. He wanted to venture back into the barracks and find holes that needed fixing. What he saw, he knew needed to be corrected—that everyone be treated nicely and fairly as employees and as guests.

And, that’s where the unicorn begins.

As the show aired, leads came pouring in—like, really pouring in. While some were not necessarily financially qualified, they were certainly “heart” qualified.

Heart qualified?

Heart qualified in that they really resonated with the CEO. They saw his sincerity. They believed his message. They related to his vision.

Why?

Because brands don’t sell brands, people do.

The unicorn is made up of heart, sincerity and people. And when a CEO, a leader and a franchisee can be elevated to being the story, people believe it.

The unicorn is made up of people.

The messages attached to their leads were dialed in and connected. Much like the Checkers leads or the Philly Pretzel leads, prospects felt like they really knew the CEO—in a personal way.

“Undercover Boss” certainly teaches you the power of really knowing what is going on in your system so that your support team can help advise solutions—but it also teaches us that heart, especially in the sales process, goes a long way.

So, how are you delivering your franchise message? Is it first in category, or is it the “Undercover Boss” way—first in heart?

Perhaps your desperate search for the unicorn is sitting right inside of your chest. Perhaps the secret to sales is care, heart and sincerity. For those who inquired about owning a Buffalo Wings & Rings, they certainly felt connected and bonded with their CEO.