Franchise Development Leaders: Tim Johnson of Zipwhip

Tim Johnson’s professional career has been largely based on his passion for inspiring and educating others on tangible, not-yet-mainstream solutions that can have a significant impact on the growth of their business. Johnson’s latest venture with franchise technology resource Zipwhip definitely hits that sweet spot—consumers prefer to communicate via text and the majority of brands do not yet understand how to effectively leverage this preference at the franchisee level. Zipwhip’s platform was designed to address this disparity and help franchise development professionals effectively utilize text messaging to award franchises and retain customers.

1851: How did you first get into franchising? 

Johnson: I joined a business coaching company, The Revenue Catalyst Group, in 2006 and after I was hired, they said, “We’re going to franchise the business model.” I hopped on board, and the rest was history.

1851: What do you love about the industry? 

Johnson: The things I love most are definitely the people, relationships and ability to implement sound processes and technology to scale rapidly.

1851: What do you wish that you could change about the industry?  

Johnson: First, the stigma that suppliers are out for themselves and don’t have a genuine interest in producing results. Second would be franchisors learning to say, “Not interested,” or “Not now” after investing time in discovery. And third, impressing upon franchisors that ghosting isn’t professional and isn’t found in any other industry.

1851: What is the biggest challenge franchisors are currently facing in franchise development and what are you doing to overcome it? 

Johnson: People no longer answer their phone or use email as a real-time communication method. Texting is proven, far and away, as the best method for getting initial engagement. Once you are conversing via phone, email and text, this behavior can be turned into a positive if able to successfully convey to the candidate that consumers text.

1851: What do you think will be the biggest trend in franchise development in 2020?

Johnson: Improving top-of-funnel conversion and maintaining engagement through text––not just because that’s what I do.

1851:  What makes a great franchisee? 

Johnson: A person that is crystal clear on what it takes to be successful and truly knows they have the right attributes and capital to execute because the franchisor vetted the hell out of them.

1851: What's the No. 1 thing that sells franchises?

Johnson: Effectively conveying that you do not sell franchises—you award them, thus making the right candidates want it as much as you do.