Growing a Franchise
A responsible franchise development pipeline starts with a clear profile of the ideal franchisee, builds trust through storytelling, and focuses on guidance over pressure.
Attracting franchise prospects is one thing, but building a pipeline filled with qualified, aligned, and motivated candidates is another altogether.
In Phase 3 of “The Ultimate Guide to Franchising Your Business,” we focus on franchise sales strategy, including how to build a pipeline, nurture leads, and guide the right candidates toward signing on the dotted line.
According to Peter Eberly, vice president of brand development at Strategic Franchising Systems, it all starts with being intentional about who you’re trying to attract. “As a franchisor, we want to find the right people, not just anybody,” Eberly said. “They are representing the brand, so growing responsibly is really critical.”
Rather than casting a wide net, smart franchisors focus on creating detailed candidate profiles. At Strategic Franchising, that means identifying high-fit personas based on experience, goals and alignment with each brand’s mission.
“There are certain industries where we will target and try to recruit franchisees in because there is a logical fit with their experience level and their background and the brand we are working with,” Eberly said. “As an example, real estate agents and folks in the real estate industry — we’ve had a great deal of success with Caring Transitions because it is a super great fit with their current business. We develop content and target agents with that specific story.”
Once you know who you’re targeting, the next step is to reach them through authentic, relatable storytelling. That starts by putting current franchisees front and center.
“Prospective owners don’t want to just hear from the franchisors; they want to hear from franchisees,” Eberly said. “We use a lot of content and videos where franchisees are the stars of the show. Folks who are making a big decision like this want to see people they can relate to who are in the same situation as they were.”
Paid social media is also a major part of the content distribution strategy.
“It’s super targetable, so we can get much more narrow and identify the types of people we want to reach,” Eberly said. “Video is really our key vehicle as part of those ads to really capture the attention of that audience. Increasingly, we all consume content and video much more than even blogs or written ads. Video is really critical for us because we have 10 or 15 seconds to grab someone’s attention. We need to quickly tell the story of who we are as a franchisor, but also highlight how this can be a great vehicle for a franchisee.”
It’s easy to sell the dream of business ownership, but Eberly emphasizes the importance of also acknowledging the concerns that weigh heavily on candidates’ minds.
“There is always an undercurrent around the negatives or the fears of it,” Eberly said. “We’ve tried to be much more transparent to alleviate the fears that people have. Are you nervous because you’ve never run a marketing campaign? Are you nervous about hiring a crew? We really try to lay out the fears and also talk through how, from a support standpoint, we can help address those fears and alleviate concerns.”
Being upfront and empathetic about those concerns builds trust and also improves close rates with candidates who feel truly supported.
Once a prospect enters the sales pipeline, the focus shifts from marketing to qualification and relationship-building. Strategic Franchising takes an open-book approach.
“It is as much about us trying to sell as us trying to evaluate if someone is the right fit,” Eberly said. That means pairing prospects with franchisees who share a similar background, to facilitate real validation. “We want them to have those conversations,” he said.
It also means allowing the prospect to set the pace. “We want to ensure we are moving at the pace that the prospect wants to move at,” Eberly said. “Not only are they writing a big check, but it’s a big life change, so we want to ensure folks are comfortable about that.”
Throughout the process, Eberly’s team makes sure to address key concerns like marketing, lead generation and whether candidates feel confident enough to run a business. “We also want to ensure we are addressing the common fears that they have, such as: How will I get business? How will I create leads? How will I grow?” he said.
When franchisors prioritize responsible growth and meaningful conversations, they build a system that expands the right way.
Franchising your business is a major step, and the right guidance makes all the difference. Learn how 1851 helps brands build strong foundations and grow with confidence at www.1851growthclub.com.
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