1851

Franchise sales don’t just happen by chance; if you’re a franchisor looking to bring&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/franchise-lead-generation-how-to-find-your-ideal-franchisee-candidates-2724868#most-recent-stories">serious prospects</a> to the table, you’re going to need to put together a&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/the-essential-elements-of-a-franchise-marketing-plan-2722717#most-recent-stories">franchise marketing plan</a> with hard info on your budget, your location strategy, and your expansion goals.Easier said than done, right? Fortunately, franchise expert&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/markcsiebert/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=lead-generation-factors-to-consider-for-your-franchise-2725262" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Mark Siebert</a> has laid the groundwork for building a solid marketing plan. In his book,&nbsp;Franchise Your Business, Siebert offers up these seven lead generation factors that will, in his own words, “give you a baseline for the best chance of success.”1. Setting a BudgetThe proper budget for any franchise should strike a balance between its long-term goals and its available resources. Unfortunately, not many business owners give their budget the attention it warrants. Many have vague notions of “aggressive growth without sacrificing quality” (which is, of course, the dream); others throw out an arbitrary number of units they’d like to open without giving serious thought to *how* they’re going to make it happen.The key to developing a proper&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/chapter-12-franchise-expansion-strategies-2722563#most-recent-stories">expansion strategy</a>, according to Siebert, is to “set a long-term goal (exit, business value, cash flow, etc.) and time frame (five years), translate that goal into a hypothetical business that can achieve it (100 franchises paying $30,000 a year in royalties, for example) and work backward to a more specific short-term objective (selling 12 franchises in the first year).”Once you’ve set these growth goals, you can figure out an approximate marketing cost for each franchise unit by using industry averages. Finally, take that value and multiply it by the number of franchises you want to sell to come up with an annual franchise marketing budget.2. Targeting Geographic Markets for ExpansionMany rookie franchisors make the mistake of casting their nets too wide when they start expanding. They get a hot prospect from a market they hadn’t really considered, but decide to pursue it because they’re afraid if they don’t, they’ll lose the lead. “It’s easy to spot a franchisor that has not benefited from professional advice just by looking at their location strategy,” writes Siebert. “If they have locations all over the map, chances are they are being opportunistic and unfocused in their marketing efforts.”The problem is that franchisors — especially inexperienced franchisors — are worried that franchisees are in short supply, and so they aggressively pursue every lead. But when it comes to leads, you should be looking for quality over quantity. Rather than reactively pursuing isolated candidates in remote markets, you need to be focusing your lead generation efforts in targeted markets that you’ve already tagged for expansion. That way, you’re not just chasing leads — you’re chasing the&nbsp;best leads.3. Getting the Right Mix and Distribution of Corporate LocationsAnother factor to consider is your desired ratio of franchise-to-corporate locations. “For many new franchisors,” Siebert writes, “the best course of action is to put the further development of corporate locations on hold as they get established as a franchisor. This approach allows you to learn the business of franchising and concentrate all your resources and efforts on the new business.”That said, if your short-term plans are focused on franchise and corporate expansion, you’ll need to include that in your location strategy when you’re putting together your marketing plan. Here are some location strategies you can consider:<ul><li>The Home-Sweet-Home Strategy. You keep your corporate locations in markets that are close to home and focus on franchising in more distant markets.</li><li>The Spiking Strategy. You open corporate locations in distant markets that will serve as hubs for future franchise efforts.</li><li>The Cherry-Picking Strategy. You reserve the prime markets (or the prime locations within those markets) for your corporate locations.</li><li>The Reverse Cherry-Picking Strategy. You offer up the prime markets to the franchisees and focus on building your corporate locations in subprime markets.</li></ul>4. Narrowing Your MarketThe key to targeting leads is to narrow down the profile of your ideal prospect. This is done mainly through primary market research, although a little intuition definitely doesn’t hurt. Siebert explains, “If your target franchise audience comprises the entire universe of franchise buyers, you will be forced to use a very general message to attract them. More importantly, you will likely need to advertise in general business or franchise publications, where you will be competing with many additional franchise opportunities.”5. Playing the Numbers GameSales is a numbers game; it may be a cliché, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. The more money you spend on franchise marketing, the more franchises you will sell. Or as Siebert puts it, “Franchise marketing dollars generate leads. A percentage of those leads fill out applications. A percentage of those will come in for meetings. And a percentage of those meetings will turn into franchise sales.”6. Timing It RightTiming is going to play a role in any successful franchise marketing plan. Even franchisors that aren’t dealing with a seasonal business model should still focus their advertising efforts at certain times of the year.“Generally speaking,” Siebert writes, “franchise buyers go into hibernation in November and December. At that time of year, most of us are preoccupied with the holidays and are less concerned with making life-altering decisions. Likewise, there is a period of doldrums in the heat of summer, when prospective franchisees are more focused on family time and vacations than they are on buying a business.”Things get even more complicated when you’re trying to sell franchises for a business that’s highly seasonal&nbsp; — Christmas decorations, tax preparation or pool cleaning, for example. If you’re a seasonal franchisor, you’ll definitely need to take this into consideration when you’re putting your franchise marketing plan together.7. Mixing and Matching Strategies“Market planning is, more than anything, the art of allocating scarce resources effectively across unlimited uses for those resources,” writes Siebert. And complicating matters even further is the fact that you’re going to have to deal with conflicting information from all those professionals you’re working with to develop your franchise marketing plan. Public relations firms, print ad salespeople, internet marketers, and lead brokers are all going to be vying for your marketing dollars by insisting their approach is your wisest course of action. And while these are all awesome strategies for lead generation, you’d be foolish to rely exclusively on one approach to the exclusion of the others.When it comes to allocating media dollars, your marketing plan needs to take the following into account:<ul><li>How have similar franchise concepts (or franchises of a similar investment size) performed historically?</li><li>How have your marketing efforts performed historically?</li><li>What’s the profile of your ideal franchisee?</li><li>What is your value proposition? Your budget? Your desired speed of growth?</li><li>What is your message? Can your business model be explained simply or does your franchise require a more complex story?</li></ul>Generating leads is easy; coming up with a list of serious prospects requires a lot more planning and effort on your part. But if you do the heavy lifting up front by developing a realistic and workable market plan (taking these seven factors into account), then your expansion efforts will go a lot more smoothly.Growing and selling franchises is difficult. No great franchise did it alone. Want to learn more about how 1851 helps franchisors grow their franchises with confidence? Visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.1851growthclub.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=lead-generation-factors-to-consider-for-your-franchise-2725262" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.1851growthclub.com</a> and see what we can do for you.

7 Lead Generation Factors to Consider for Your Franchise

Franchise Lead Generation: 7 Factors to Consider

1851 Franchise

Franchise leads don’t just happen by accident; most franchises are sold on the basis of a solid marketing plan designed to attract the right prospects.

lead-generation-factors-to-consider-for-your-franchise

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen

Unlocking the Potential: How Much Can You Earn as an Onigilly Franchisee?

unlocking-the-potential-how-much-can-you-earn-as-an-onigilly-franchisee

Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions

DeWitts Ignite New Chapter for Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions in Reno 

Grease, Grit, and Growth: DeWitts Ignite New Chapter for Filta Environmental Kitchen Solutions in Reno, Nevada

grease-grit-and-growth-dewitts-ignite-new-chapter-for-filta-environmental-kitchen-solutions-in-reno-nevada

Layne's Chicken Fingers

Layne's Chicken Fingers-50 Unit-Wendy's-Franchisee-June-2025

Why This 50 Unit Wendy’s Franchisee Is Betting on Layne’s for His Next Big Move

wendys-franchisee-expands-with-laynes-chicken-fingers-texas

CapitalSpring

CapitalSpring’s Jim Balis Talks Growth, ROI and the Future of Fast Casual on “Rock My Restaurant”

capitalsprings-jim-balis-talks-growth-roi-and-the-future-of-fast-casual-on-rock-my-restaurant

Children's Lighthouse

Children’s Lighthouse Ramps Up Growth in First Half of 2025 With Strategic Expansions, Franchise Signings, and New Headquarters

childrens-lighthouse-ramps-up-growth-in-first-half-of-2025-with-strategic-expansions-franchise-signings-and-new-headquarters

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Development Website Builder

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

What June’s Jobs Report Means for the Franchise Industry

what-junes-jobs-report-means-for-the-franchise-industry

Drone Delivery Takes Flight in QSR: The Future of Franchise Operations?

drone-delivery-takes-flight-in-qsr-the-future-of-franchise-operations

Chick-fil-A Tops Customer Satisfaction Rankings for 11th Year as Challenger Brands Gain Ground

chick-fil-a-tops-customer-satisfaction-rankings-for-11th-year-as-challenger-brands-gain-ground

Technomic Releases Annual Ranking of the Top 15 Fast-Food Chains in the U.S.

technomic-releases-annual-ranking-of-the-top-15-fast-food-chains-in-the-us

Rising Jobless Claims Could Signal Challenges — and Opportunities — for Franchising

rising-jobless-claims-affect-franchising

Hooters Leans Into Franchising With Closure of 30 Company-Owned Stores - Agg - 1851 Franchise

Hooters Leans Into Franchising With Closure of 30 Company-Owned Stores

hooters-franchise-model-company-owned-closures

The Ultimate Guide to Selling Franchises: How To Create a Strong Incentive

how-to-build-strong-incentives-to-attract-prospective-franchisees

How Vishal Juneja Turned a Family Tradition Into a Paris Baguette Franchise

How Vishal Juneja Turned a Family Tradition Into a Paris Baguette Franchise Built on Heart and Community

paris-baguette-franchise-rockaway-new-jersey-vishal-junjea

Top 25 Franchise Marketing Leaders: Kelsey McManemin — Vice President of Marketing, HTeaO

top-25-franchise-marketing-leaders-kelsey-mcmanemin-vice-president-of-marketing-hteao

How This Franchise Consultant Turned a Love for Dogs Into a Business with Dog Training Elite

How This Franchise Consultant Turned a Lifelong Love for Dogs Into a Growing Business with Dog Training Elite

how-this-franchise-consultant-turned-a-lifelong-love-for-dogs-into-a-growing-business-with-dog-training-elite

Franchisee spotlight graphic with photo of Ricki Oberoi and Layne's Chicken Fingers logo

Multi-Unit Wendy’s Operator Signs 12-Unit Deal With Layne’s Chicken Fingers

ricki-oberoi-laynes-chicken-fingers-growth

Franchisee spotlight graphic with photos of Danielle Rosemond & Usman Khan & TruBlue logo

Family Members of Local Physicians Bring TruBlue Franchise to North Central Nassau, Long Island: A Health Care-Inspired Approach to Aging in Place

family-brings-trublue-franchise-to-north-central-nassau

7 Lead Generation Factors to Consider for Your Franchise

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS