How To Choose the Right Franchise Broker: Advice and Considerations

Working with a franchise broker is a big decision. This professional will be guiding you toward the franchise opportunity that is — hopefully — the best possible fit for your experience, passion, resources and goals. With countless brokers ready to help prospective franchisees in their journeys, choosing the right one might be the most crucial step in the journey to franchise ownership.

To help you navigate the process, 1851 Franchise spoke with Lisa Welko, founder and CEO of Integrity Franchise Group, and Cliff Fostoff, a franchise consultant at The Franchise Consulting Company, for insights on how franchisees can find the right partner.

Experience and Expertise

Choosing the right broker starts with finding someone who is dedicated to building a true relationship with someone who has firsthand experience in the industry.

“The franchise broker-franchise candidate relationship should be a bit more personal. You’re trusting that person to guide you through a very important decision, and relevant experience in franchising is important,” Welko said. “If I’m going to invest several hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of hours of my time changing my life, I want to speak with someone who is understanding of what I’m getting myself into.”

Welko elaborated by saying that someone who has been successful in real estate or pharmaceutical sales before becoming a franchise broker, for example, is not always going to be the best choice. While franchise brokers are ultimately selling you something, that should only be a part of the equation. They should also be interested in helping you find the best fit. Someone who has been involved in the franchise industry for a period of time can likely do a better job.

“Franchises that we talked about three years ago have changed,” Welko said. “Brokers have to be constantly researching and talking with brands to ensure that what’s going on behind the scenes is going to help the people we’re working with find success.”

Often, brokers who have experience in franchising beyond just a role as a middleman, so to say, can be more discerning with these conversations.

“The best brokers are those who have owned businesses themselves,” Fostoff said. “They can relate to the challenges and responsibilities of business ownership which is crucial for guiding potential franchisees.”

Alignment on Decision-Making Styles

The path to franchise ownership is different for everyone. Some franchisees may inquire about a brand a day after hearing about it while others may ruminate on the decision for years. Neither approach is patently wrong, but finding a broker whose research process aligns with your preferred timing and methods will make the entire process much smoother.

“A good broker’s job is to make sure you don’t make a hasty decision,” Welko said, explaining that the franchise selection process typically involved four-to-eight weeks of careful consideration. For slow movers, finding these “good brokers” ensures you won’t be unnecessarily rushed to a decision by someone positioning themselves as the situation.

On the flip side, if you do tend to jump to decisions, finding a broker to mediate that urge can be just as valuable.

“If you know that you are a quick decision-maker, ensure that the broker you choose will help you navigate the process without rushing,” Fostoff said.

A Personalized Experience

Possibly most importantly, choosing the right broker should leave you feeling like you’re going to get the help and support you need to make an informed decision. You can easily cherry pick franchise opportunities from the Franchise 500 or a quick “franchise opportunities near me” search, so you need a broker who will do more than this.

“When people find out what I do through networking, the obvious question that people ask me to engage in conversation is ‘What’s the best franchise?’ I’ve gotten to the point where I smile, put my hands up in the air and say, ‘I don’t know,’” Fostoff said. “A lot of people don’t know how to take that reaction, but it all depends. What may be good for me may be terrible for you. What I do is help you find the best franchise by learning about your goals, your skills, your interests and your financial criteria … Buying a franchise is a process, and it’s a very big decision, and you need to do just as much research on the person helping you make that decision as you will on the brand you ultimately choose.”

For more information on franchise brokers, check out these related 1851 Franchise articles:

• Top 8 Franchise Brokerages for 2024 - Industry Leaders Reviewed
• Franchise Brokers: What To Expect
• What Is a Franchise Broker? Understanding These Key Industry Players