Franchisor Stories
The first franchisee plays a crucial role in the foundation of the brand. Identifying someone who will be a culture-add and not just someone who “checks the box” is required for long-term success.
The first franchisee plays a crucial role in the foundation of the brand. Identifying someone who will be a culture-add and not just someone who “checks the box” is required for long-term success.
Transitioning from founder to franchisor can feel like starting a new business. You know your core business and how to run it, but once you start franchising, you’ll find yourself in the business of helping other businesspeople find success. You’re selling a brand, system and promise of support. So, while finding the first franchisee is a major milestone for a new franchisor, the work to get there starts long before the franchisee search launches. It’s a game of preparation.
“The change is that you’re communicating outwardly about what the opportunity is beyond the brand itself,” said Kyle Gordon, co-founder of Dillas Primo Quesadillas, the 11-unit QSR+ quesadilla brand. “Maggie and I have been in this business for 13 years, and we didn’t start franchising until year 10. From a foundational perspective, we always thought about it like building a skyscraper. If you’ve ever seen a skyscraper get built, they go down first. They don’t start going off of the top layer [of dirt]. They go down really deep into the ground and build these really big concrete supports. To us, all of the work, vision, purpose, mission, core values and SOPs we developed over the years represented these supports. With all of those, we then could start layering on top of that with new units.”
So, really, while the official process of finding your first franchisee may start with the launch of franchise opportunities, your first owner should be on your mind much earlier in the process.
Having the right documentation in place ahead of time is crucial. Maggie Gordon, co-founder of Dillas, warns against having someone else write your SOPs in a vacuum.
“It’s a lot of content creation or repackaging,” she said. “We had a full operating entity, and we had to take all of the documentation, training tools and SOPs we had built and put them into a format for franchising. But you have to create the franchise operating manual, which is a super in-depth document, but you’ve got to be super confident that you’ve built an incredible playbook.”
For Kyle and Maggie, having been involved in the daily operations of the business as they built it allowed them to create a business playbook that actually represented the demands of ownership and could serve as a reliable guide for new owners. During the due diligence process, potential owners can often pick up on whether a founder really knows and understands their business, and having all of these processes well documented adds another layer of preparedness and protection to the franchise sales process and beyond.
Once the foundation is laid, you can announce the opportunity. At this point, the focus should be on getting your name in the right places and catching the attention of the right prospects.
Today’s prospects will research for over six months before reaching out to a brand directly. They’re looking at your data and reputation before they even fill out an inquiry form. So, to find them, you’re not just looking for lead generation. You need to build a conversion machine.
This starts with a mobile-friendly, easy-to-navigate franchise development site. It should be transparent and immediately answer the question a candidate is asking themselves: “Why would I invest in this brand?”
“After creating the operations playbook, it’s like, ‘Okay, well what are you really selling?’” Kyle said. “What’s our story? What’s the hook? Why Dillas? Without that, we’re just selling Dillas as a great brand with excellent food. But we really have to tell the story of the opportunity.”
It never stops with the site, though. In an era of AISEO, candidates are asking AI about the “blind spots” they may have as it relates to your brand. They’re going to ask why they shouldn’t buy. And when the AI can gather data from all over the internet in seconds, it’s very possible it will find something. Make sure your digital content is optimized for AI search and will be served up in a way that highlights the positives.
Beyond this, you should also take a look at where your ideal candidate spends their time. Once you’ve identified your avatar (which you should certainly do, rather than blindly pursuing any and every potential owner), think about where they spend their time. Are they reading trade magazines, or are they more likely to be influenced by an ad on Facebook?
Get the content right and deliver it in the right places. This way, when a candidate does finally reach out, it’s likely they’re already educated and truly interested.
Once a candidate reaches out and makes themselves known, rather than just researching from behind a screen, you should continue to tell the brand story and highlight your “Why,” but you also need to evaluate the candidate. This shouldn’t just be about whether they want to buy a franchise from you. You need to make sure they align with your brand and long-term vision, too.
The temptation to sell the first franchise is real. You want the growth and validation. But the wrong first franchisee can be detrimental to the system. After confirming the candidate has the practical experience and financials necessary to succeed in your model, look at the intangibles. Do you get along with this person? Do they show signs of having the grit necessary to run a business? Do they seem like an innovator, or will they likely follow the franchise framework as it’s laid out for them?
“Someone feeling and resonating with core values is really important. Are they someone who is patient and respectful? Are they someone who is asking good questions, not just ‘How much money can I make?’” Kyle said. “Those things are 90% of it. But this person could open a location that does insanely well, or they could struggle, and we have to support them either way.”
“We want to be in a relationship where, no matter the current business outcome, the relationship is great,” he continued. “It’s a marriage. A franchise agreement is really long-term, and they’re sometimes harder to break than a marriage. So it’s very relational. Do you want to have a conversation with this person twice a month for the rest of your life? Those factors should go into the decision-making process as well because money comes and goes. Someone needs to qualify financially, but they also need to be well-aligned.”
This may also be when you have to consider saying “No.” You can’t only chase the unicorn investor, but you have to be willing to turn someone down when you know something just isn’t right.
Finding your first franchisee isn’t about filling a vacancy. It’s an opportunity to bring a powerful partner into the fold and lay the foundation for your brand’s next chapter. The thrill of a new franchisee is exciting, temporarily, but the integrity of the first few layers of the business will directly influence the health of your “skyscraper” long-term. By prioritizing alignment over a quick paycheck, you can ensure your first franchisee represents the start of a thriving, multi-generational brand, not just the successful collection of a franchise fee.
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