How To Sell Franchise Opportunities: A Step-by-Step Guide for Franchisors

Selling franchises isn't just about getting deals signed — it's about thoughtfully awarding franchise agreements to the right people. To do this effectively, franchisors must implement strategies that generate high-quality leads, nurture those leads and ultimately match them with the right opportunities. 

Generating High-Quality Franchise Leads

Generating high-quality leads today requires a strategic approach that blends transparency and education. "Things have changed a lot over the past 10 years when it comes to how we generate leads," said Erica Tarnowski, franchise development director at Aroma Joe’s. "The best way I've found to help guide [candidates] on the brand is to make information readily available. By the time they get to the first call, they should be well versed with your brand and have most of the information needed to make their decision."

Nick Powills, chief growth officer at Mainland*, reinforces this by advising franchisors to shift their perspective: “Don’t think of this as ‘selling a franchise’ — look at it as awarding a partner. You will be in business with this person for a long time, so it’s much different than selling someone a one-off widget.”

Tarnowski emphasizes the importance of creating comprehensive, educational content, such as detailed franchise websites that clearly articulate what prospective franchisees can expect financially and operationally. “If you look at our franchise website, for example, it includes all the key details from costs to operational insights,” she said. “We also put information in the form of blogs and articles, which helps educate candidates effectively. It saves a lot of time and frustration for everyone involved.”

Nurturing Leads Through Effective Communication

Once leads are generated, the real challenge begins. Tarnowski points out that franchisors must strategically nurture leads to convert them effectively. “It’s usually not the closing of deals that’s the problem; it’s the initial conversation,” she said. “My goal is always to learn as much about the candidate and their motivation as possible. Understanding their motivation early can tell you everything you need to know about moving forward.”

Automated drip email campaigns are one powerful tool Tarnowski advocates. “We’ve implemented a 10-email drip campaign,” she said. “Prospective franchisees receive three emails over the first week, timed to reach people when they're most receptive. It’s amazing the engagement you can get from previous leads that initially went nowhere.”

Brent Dowling, founder and CEO of Spire Franchise Capital, echoes this importance, advising, “In this day and age, the proper way to manage a lead is through automation. Being responsive is probably the most important thing when you are managing leads.”

Optimizing Your Marketing Efforts

In addition to email campaigns, leveraging digital marketing tools effectively is critical. Tarnowski highlights the importance of consistently recirculating content across social media and other platforms. “Whether it’s blogs, news articles or other informative posts, you need to recirculate content regularly,” she said. “The algorithm behind that is key to driving consistent traffic to your site.”

Dowling provides additional guidance for new franchisors: “Typically, especially with a strong founder in place, you have a network of customers and folks in your business who will make great franchise owners. Those first franchisees will help you build that infrastructure and network for when you start working with brokers and consultants.”

Balancing Growth With Sustainable Expansion

Franchise growth should never sacrifice sustainability. Tarnowski cautions against aggressive expansion without proper support structures. “Growing a sustainable brand and footprint is slow and steady rather than fast and aggressive,” she said. “Brands that sign many agreements quickly but lack foundational support find they can't effectively open and operate those units. You need the right building blocks in place first.”

Setting realistic expectations with franchisees is crucial. “We don’t want to tell franchisees we can support them if we realistically can’t in a new market,” said Tarnowski. “Sustainable brand growth is slow and steady rather than fast and aggressive.”

Dowling emphasizes realistic goal setting: “So many brands come and say, ‘I want 30 deals this year, but I only did five last year.’ Without some really compelling and unique reasons for that 600% increase, you can’t expect that. You need to have a realistic expectation of what you are going to do in terms of budget, model and performance.”

Why Mindful Awarding Matters

Ultimately, franchisors should approach franchise development as “mindfully awarding” rather than simply selling franchises. Powills underscores the value of mindful awarding: “Successful franchisees sell franchises. Franchisees who make money make you money. This is not a difficult concept to understand, yet many franchisors are pressured to sell versus mindfully awarding.”

Tarnowski emphasizes transparency in the franchise sales process, noting that making the wrong choice can undo years of careful brand building. “Growing a sustainable brand requires finding the right people at the right time in the right places,” she said. “That’s why many brands sign numerous agreements but never open locations — they don’t have the building blocks in place.”

Growing and selling franchises is difficult. No great franchise did it alone. Want to learn more about how 1851 helps franchisors grow their franchises with confidence? Visit www.1851growthclub.com and see what we can do for you.