Franchise Sales: Closing Sales On Emerging Brands Vs. Established Brands

A sales process means nothing if it’s not closing deals. While franchise sales are heavily researched, strategic and technical, they often come down to emotions. Most of the time, a single moment can forever shape a brand’s image in a franchisee’s mind.

1851 looked into two very different companies, one emerging brand and one established brand, to find a common thread: What made them buy. 

Buying The Emerging Franchise Brand

Ronak and Poonam Manek are experienced entrepreneurs who built and sold a few independent pharmacies in their day. The couple had capital, experience and tons of capability to manage a business. When it came time to buy a franchise, they had their pick of the litter. 

But the Maneks had young children. Ronak deeply regretted his work keeping him from witnessing important milestones in his children’s development. After all, your son only takes his first step once. 

The Maneks needed a winning concept. They were perfectly competent business owners but hadn’t had the stroke of genius to create a better mousetrap where their concept could challenge massive players in the industry. So for them, franchising made sense. 

Ultimately, the Maneks became the first franchisees of 810 Billiards & Bowling*, a family-friendly indoor entertainment concept that focuses on squeeze as much value as possible out of its innovative floor plan. Not only did they pick an emerging brand with no other franchisees, but they also picked a brand from across the country. 810 Billiards & Bowling had three locations in South Carolina. The Maneks bought a location outside of Phoenix, Arizona. 

So why did this prudent couple take the risk on a geographically distant concept? It’s simple, the budget worked and they believed in Mike Siniscalchi, the brand’s founder. 

810 Billiards & Bowling couldn’t woo the Maneks with dozens of satisfied franchisees validating the concept. It couldn’t point to a nearby corporate store that would guide them. So how could the brand win? What 810 Billiards & Bowling did have was a rock-solid concept in an in-demand industry and a founder that made the right impression. 810 promised a fun, profitable business with an innovative floor plan and style of service.

“Frankly speaking, we were very, very close on signing with another franchise before 810. We were just about to sign when I remembered I had a meeting scheduled with Mike,” Ronak said.

“I had already made up my mind that we were going to go for the other franchise, a preschool. Then when I spoke to Mike, I took a deep breath and I knew 810 was the one,’” he said.

That was the moment when everything clicked: the concept, the price, the owner and the opportunity all perfectly aligned with what the Maneks needed from a business. Here was a fun opportunity to provide the community with a place to gather and the Maneks a manageable work-life balance. 

“Budget-wise, it fit perfectly,” said Poonam. “In terms of the life we were looking for, everything just kind of matched.”

With emerging brands like 810, there is no validation. Yet, every franchise success story started with a single location or a single owner. The franchising industry is built on partnerships, and when a franchisee finds the right partner, they just know. Siniscalchi was able to win over the Maneks by completely devoting himself to developing their territory. He immediately got on a plane and gave the Maneks the attention and time they needed to feel great about their purchase. As for the brand being geographically distant and unproven in the region, Siniscalchi put both of those concerns to bed by opening a corporate-owned store nearby the Maneks in Arizona. 

“Something about Mike, we felt that he’d live up to his word and guide us properly in this endeavor. He flew to Phoenix first, scouted places and negotiated the lease on our property,” said Ronak.

Buying The Established Franchise Brand

For Sylvan Learning*, a supplemental education franchise with 750 points of presence across North America and 40 years in the business, franchisee Kristen Maines didn’t need any special convincing from the founders. 

For Maines, a former NCAA Division I tennis player and University of Buffalo athletics coach, Sylvan was able to sell her entirely on the strength of its brand. 

“Franchising wasn’t really on our radar; we were looking at other businesses to purchase,” said Maines of her and her husband’s search for the perfect business to buy. “The support on the backend was what was appealing to us. We can still have that business drive. We liked the potential for growth. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.”

While every brand likes to make a personal connection to its franchisees, an established brand like Sylvan has the benefit of focusing solely on the work. Sylvan offered Maines the opportunity to run a profitable, rewarding business that allowed her to give back to her community. 

Maines had money and opportunity but found franchising with Sylvan the safest bet for her family. When the Maines noticed their local center was for sale, they went for it. Maines had spent her life in athletics and education, so she leaped at the opportunity to coach her community’s children into higher learning. 

“My husband and I had been looking for something for a while, and the center had been for sale. Given our current economic climate and my experience in education, Sylvan Learning really stood out to me. After seeing how much they do for their franchisees, I was sold,” she said. 

In the case of Sylvan, the entire sale comes down to the franchise’s performance. No salesperson made special promises to go above and beyond or do anything outside the ordinary onboarding process.

But since Sylvan centers have such a proven track record, that was enough for the Maines. 

So Which Is the Better Bet?

The difference between Sylvan and 810’s approach highlights the wild differences between franchise opportunities and different approaches to closing on a sale. The salesperson’s hustle on a small brand won’t look like the hustle on a big brand, and that’s for good reason. 

Ultimately, both parties closed on their sales when they decided the brand would support them. For professionals in franchise sales, this is the message buyers need to hear before they sign on the dotted line.