How to Sell Franchises in 2026 Guide — Territory Planning: Don’t Over-Sell Your Map

No development leader wakes up intending to oversell. It happens slowly, often under pressure from aggressive growth goals. But the brands that win the next decade of expansion are the ones that protect their maps with discipline, transparency and defensible modeling.

For Mark Treptow, vice president of franchise sales and development for the Americas at Gong Cha, territory planning starts with one foundational truth: You cannot sell what the market cannot support, no matter how excited a candidate may be.

“There are a couple of assumptions here,” Treptow said. “Is this a brand-new market, or do we already have a presence? If we don’t have a presence, to me, it’s critical: real estate. That is your number-one marketing aspect. We have to be real-estate driven.”

In other words, territory planning is not a sales exercise. It’s a location science exercise.

Start With the Customer, Not the Candidate

Treptow and his team rely heavily on data to determine where Gong Cha can realistically succeed in any given market. Before a single territory is promised, they examine where the customer already lives, works and spends discretionary dollars.

“When we look into a new market, we use Placer.AI,” he said. “Through heat maps, I can determine where my customer is at certain times. We can target where customers live, where they work or go to school, where they shop and where they go for entertainment or food.”

From there, the question becomes: Where is the hub that connects all these consumer spokes? That hub becomes the focal point for a realistic, defendable territory map.

Even in established markets, Treptow leans on benchmarking and common denominators across Gong Cha’s highest-performing units.

“We already have 240 stores in the U.S.” he said. “We’re looking for commonalities and attributes on the real estate side — what are the common denominators that make these stores higher performing? We create benchmarks and guardrails. Our AI software can then rank areas by unique visits, total annual visits, population density and more.”

The outcome is a territory strategy grounded in consumer reality rather than franchisee ambition.

Set Boundaries With Data, Not Hope

Territory friction almost always originates from vague expectations. Candidates believe they are buying “the whole city.” Franchisors know the market needs multiple operators. That gap sets the stage for conflict.

Treptow avoids this by grounding every territory conversation in data from the start. “The conversation needs to start with the prospective franchisee,” he said. “They may want to control an entire market — but can they? Is it realistic? There are some gentle but honest conversations that you can have with prospects.”

The key, he says, is right-sizing expectations before commitments are made. “Maybe not all of Phoenix — maybe just Tempe and Mesa,” he said. “It might be better to control a smaller area so you can penetrate that part of the market. You can always add territory.”

Gong Cha also uses cannibalization reports to prevent over-saturation.

“Sometimes two trade areas are separated by a large river or railway,” Treptow said. “On a map they may look too close, but with the right data you can see they are two separate trade areas. The numbers don’t lie.”

Pressure To Grow Creates Blind Spots — Safeguards Prevent Them

Strong development years often invite the greatest risk of overselling. With leads coming in and candidates ready to sign, it becomes tempting to push maps beyond their realistic limits.

Treptow says the solution is discipline, modeling and a long-term view. “What is the maximum market potential? Let’s look 10 years down the line,” he said. “That is very hard to predict. Whatever that number is — after using best-in-class real estate brokers on the ground and our data — and then let the market naturally fill in.”

He also stresses that territory protection is inseparable from franchisee qualification. “You have to make sure you are picking the right franchise partners,” Treptow said. “You can’t just pick people who are excited. You have to be honest. If you aren’t planning, you are going to oversell.”

And the consequences are severe. “You hear horror stories of franchisors selling the same territory to two people. That just cannot happen,” Treptow said. “Being honest and upfront is so important.”

Sometimes that means telling a great candidate no. “We had one candidate who really wanted to grow in one area, but we weren’t available,” Treptow said. “You can’t win all the time, but you have to be honest in every aspect of franchising.”

Key Takeaways and To-Dos for Development Leaders

• Build territories around consumer behavior — not franchisee ambition. Use tools like PlacerAI, heat maps and demographic layers to define real trade areas.
• Define territory boundaries before discussions begin. Clear rules, benchmarks and guardrails prevent conflict later.
• Use cannibalization modeling to defend decisions. Rivers, highways, rail lines and traffic patterns often create natural separations.
• Have honest, early conversations about candidate capacity. Right-sizing a territory up front reduces long-term failure and dissatisfaction.
• Protect the long-term map, even under growth pressure. A disciplined 10-year view is the difference between sustainable expansion and oversold chaos.

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.