How Lindora Provides Support for Its Franchisees' Success

Lindora, the medically guided weight management franchise under the Xponential Fitness umbrella, has made a name for itself with its innovative approach to weight loss over its 50 year history. However, now as a franchised concept following its acquisition by Xponential, the brand has also come to be known for the comprehensive support it provides to its franchisees. From the moment franchisees join the Lindora family, they are introduced to a robust network of support designed to ensure their success and facilitate their growth. 

1851 Franchise spoke with Senior Vice President of Operations Martin Balcaitis to discuss how Lindora supports its franchisees from the initial stages of real estate selection to ongoing training and development. 

Support from Day One

As soon as franchisees come on board, they can expect support. This starts with being connected to a real estate team — including a local recommended broker — who will help support them in finding the perfect location for their Lindora. 

“We are a fantastic opportunity because we need just 1,500 square feet, and those sizes of retail outlets are readily available,” said Balcaitis. “We will also ensure we are doing test fits once you find the location and help you evaluate if everything fits and if it’s the perfect location. That’s the support we start providing right away to get you on the path to opening.” 

Franchisees are also invited to the Lindora corporate office for a two-day immersive franchise training session. Here, every department head will deliver an initial training presentation and make sure the franchisees have all the information they need about real estate, construction and design, marketing, operations and sales. 

Grand Opening and Initial Marketing

Lindora has a strong team of experts who are there to help franchisees through their grand opening and get their marketing operations up and running. In addition to Balcaitis, this team includes Chief Marketing Officer Cheri Tennill and Senior Vice President Jeff Stokes.

“Combined, the three of us have probably opened close to 1,000 studios very successfully,” Balcaitis said.

A major part of Lindora’s opening support involves setting up the franchisee’s initial marketing efforts, which includes creating social media accounts and providing content for posts.

“Since we know that Lindora is going to be a brand-new brand in these new marketplaces, we make sure that we're training not only our franchisees, but their general manager and their staff,” said Balcaitis. “This includes learning how to talk about the Lindora opportunity to prospective clients, and then helping them to effectively market their studio opening on social media, over email, text and digital advertising.”

Ongoing Education

Lindora also provides support for its franchisees by providing them with ongoing training and keeping them up to date on developments in the industry. The brand aims to ensure that all staff within the studio's four walls can answer clients’ questions appropriately, guiding and educating people on why Lindora is the best opportunity to achieve truly transformative results.

“We are a medical-based service, and so there will always be different updates to new potential medications,” said Balcaitis. “We have a medical team here at Xponential that works on the Lindora side of things to make sure that we're providing continuous education updates — not only to our franchisees, but to their nursing and clinical staff as well — to help answer all those questions.”

Additionally, with numerous state-specific rules and regulations, Lindora sources and trains the necessary medical directors and clinical staff to ensure full compliance with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and other industry standards.

Support for Long-Term Growth

In order to help franchisees grow their business long term, the corporate team supports them in everything from inventory management to finding vendors and a medical director. This training and support is ongoing, so new hires can be easily brought up to date through Lindora’s e-learning system.

The franchisor also handles the sourcing of medication, along with all of Lindora’s retail products and food, so owners can focus on growing their business.

“What Xponential really does is take as much off that franchisee's plate as possible,” said Balcaitis. “You do not have to have a medical background. We love franchisees that just want to help people help transform their lives.” 

To find out more information on the costs of buying this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/lindora/info.