This is not a test. This is a real franchise lead:

“My first visit to BRAND HIDDEN was 6 months ago and I have to say I’ve been back more than 20 times. I love the service, the food, and the ambiance. I Believe this could be a very healthy investment.”

This is what a perceived quality lead wrote on a franchisor’s website as they filled out the inquiry form. Let’s diagnose what the lead is saying:

1. Six months ago, I visited your brand: Too often, we don’t look at franchise development as a holistic approach that is touched by all aspects of the brand. We look at it as the franchise sales marketing activity we create and the direct, and often, immediate gratification it delivers – leads. Yet, for this lead, the journey began six months ago at one of this brand’s locations. They decided to walk in the door to solve a need – hunger – and what followed impacted this lead greatly.
2. Six months ago: I have written about this topic many times, but leads take six months to mature – in most cases (some longer, some shorter). Six months ago, this person was a customer. Six months ago, that impression started turning their wheels and making them interested in the prospect of owning a business for themselves. I didn’t create this lead or fake it. I pulled it directly from a franchisor. Six months + lead + discovery + discovery day + validation – there are many more days/weeks/months that will go into this lead turning into a deal. What does that mean for you in 2019? The activities you are putting in place now should show results in April/May of next year. What will most likely happen is that you will credit that lead to the activities in April/May versus November/December. This will put you on a pathway of constantly chasing that silver bullet.
3. I’ve been back 20 times: Let’s say the average ticket at that restaurant was $10. That means that lead spent $200 figuring out the consumer positioning. That lead needed 20 impressions at the local level. That lead may have been impacted by advertising and content, too. The truth is, at this point, we don’t know what brought them into the restaurant in the first place, but we do know that awesome service and operations kept them engaged. That’s another example of franchisees selling franchises.
4. I love the service, the food, and the ambiance: Belief in a product is essential in selling brands. This is where the quality of your food, the quality of your building and the quality of your operations are essential to lead generation. The buyer needs to see the consumer positioning and they need to envision themselves in the shoes of the owner. This lead is sold on all – 20x over.
5. I believe this could be a very healthy investment: They saw it. They saw the opportunity. They saw the “like me” opportunity, that they too could be successful as a franchisee. What sold them to this point? Not a sales guy. The brand, the experience and this brand’s franchisee and that franchisee’s operation. How many times do sales processes include activities within the brand’s four walls?

Real leads can teach us a lot. Real data can show us even more. Are you examining your whys? Do you look at the sales process as an entire brand touchpoint? There is a lot to learn from leads if you simply look at the data they are providing you.