10 Tips for Positioning Your Restaurant Franchise for Prospective Owners

The restaurant franchise marketplace has never been more competitive than it is now. Not only are there more concepts for investors to choose from than ever before, development teams have powerful new tools to find qualified leads. Each year, franchisors are dedicating more money and resources to franchisee acquisition, but the pool of qualified prospects remains the same size. As a result, many development teams are engaged in an arms race to reach the best candidates. But reaching candidates is only half the battle. To convert a qualified candidate to a successful owner, a franchise has to appeal to the candidate on a personal and professional level.

1851 reached out to development professionals from seven fast-growing restaurant franchises to learn how a restaurant franchise can effectively position their brand to attract and convert prospective franchisees. Here are their top 10 tips.

1) Know that prospects are consumers

Most prospects are going to become aware of the brand as a consumer before they ever consider becoming a franchisee. The best candidates are going to have a strong personal connection to the brand, so careful consumer marketing is an invaluable component of the franchisee acquisition strategy.

– Rob Elliot, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Hungry Howie’s

2) Speak to the lifestyle

The franchisee has to be able to think about their day-to-day work with the brand and know that they’ll be able to get up and every morning and believe in what they are doing and enjoy doing it. On top of that, they have to be secure in the knowledge that, if run correctly, the business is going to provide the income and support to accommodate the lifestyle they want for themselves. Of course, that may not come in year one, but the franchisee has to see a clear path to that goal.

–Tom Monaghan, Chief Development Officer at Philly Pretzel Factory

3) Speak to the culture

The most important thing that drives a prospective franchisee to sign up is the culture of the franchisor. The culture has to appeal to the franchisee on a personal level, and they have to be able to see themselves playing a meaningful role in that culture.

–Greg Vojnovic, Chief Development Officer, Arby’s

4) Define your brand

Discipline is extremely important, especially for a growing franchise. You have to have patience and a clear, practical long-term vision of what your brand is.  You have to define exactly what your brand is to yourself, to the corporate team, to consumers, and to franchisees. If you are saying your brand is one thing but it looks like another thing to prospects, you are going to lose them.

–Philip Schram, Chief Development Officer, Buffalo Wings & Rings

5) Show that you can support the franchisee

An existing passion for both the industry and the brand is very important, but franchisees are also looking at what kind of support the franchisor can provide. If a brand demonstrates to a prospect that they can provide a high level of training and support, that can assure the prospect that they are not going to be on their own and can often be the deciding factor when a prospect is selecting a brand.

–Terri Harof, Director of Franchise Development, Shoney’s

6) Know that every franchisee is unique

It’s important to remember that every franchisee is unique. Development teams need to recognize that fact and know that there is no one way that a good franchise is going to look or act. At the same time, they have to know what traits are going to work for their system. You can’t market to just one type of personality, you’ve got to make your brand attractive to all types of people, and then try to find the ones who are going to be successful.

–Philip Schram, Chief Development Officer, Buffalo Wings & Rings

7) Highlight the brand equity

The number one intangible asset I think people subconsciously look for when investing in a franchise is the reputation, or the brand equity of that brand among not just consumers, but also current franchise owners and the franchise and business community. Their research can take the form of seeking validation among existing owners, friends, investors, landlords, lenders, trade publications, brand’s website, Google searches, social and traditional media, and even on consumer review sites, such as Yelp. Great reputations are earned over time through a lot of hard work and the commitment to doing the right things, in the right way, at the right time, with the right people. Once earned, it acts as a magnet to other high-quality potential owners and investors looking to join a truly great brand. These brands have the ability to attract the best owners, get the best sites, and inevitably obtain the attention and admiration they deserve.

–David Bloom, Chief Development Officer, Capriotti’s

8) Take excellent care of your existing owners

When you have a system full of happy owners, the brand will sell itself. I devote six to eight weeks to walking a candidate through the franchise sales process. I conduct face-to-face meetings, host dinners, and more. None of my efforts matter if the franchise owners are not sharing positive experiences during the validation process. We have amazing owners in our system and we are grateful that each one of them has chosen to be a part of the Chicken Salad Chick family.

–Carrie Evans, Director of Franchise Development, Salad Chick

9) Show your brand's Today and Tomorrow

Every business needs to have a strong sense of two things: their Today and Tomorrow. Today is defined largely by execution—how well are you doing the things you are trying to do. Tomorrow is your vision of the brand and where you see it going. Those are two things every prospect is going to be looking at, so you need have them clearly defined.

–Philip Schram, Chief Development Officer, Buffalo Wings & Rings

10) Promote strong referrals

Strong referrals and validation from existing franchisees are essential. It’s no secret that franchisee referrals are the best lead source. This has a lot to do with the fact that you’re getting a prospect from someone who has already seen success in our system. Franchisee validation carries a lot of weight because it’s a meaningful conversation with someone living and breathing the business daily. Anytime you can get someone to speak about your brand positively from an insider’s perspective, that’s ultimately better than any print advertisement can buy.

–Todd Peterson, Vice President of Franchise Development, Twin Peaks Restaurants