Powills: Franchises Don’t Grow On Trees – But You Can Grow Them

Franchising is clearly a significant driver of our economy, as the community consumes one-third of all consumer dollars spent in the United States. That’s pretty powerful. Consumers are not the challenge – nor is getting them to spend. The challenge lies at the franchisor level for brands of all shapes and sizes, and that challenge is finding the secret to growth. In an earlier column, I wrote about the Secret to Franchise Development. Again, there is no secret – more so a complete combination of multiple communication secrets tightly bound together (PR + Social Media + Marketing + Advertising + Digital). Too many brands spend too much time searching for this fountain of franchise youth. It doesn’t exist. I spend the majority of my days talking with brands; the bulk of those conversations center around growth. I am asked about how to find franchise leads and more importantly, qualified candidates. I wish I, or some other agency, had a secret list of ways to spend dollars to drive leads. It just doesn’t exist. I don’t claim to have the secret either. However, I am full of ideas on figuring out a budget and applying it to a development strategy. Is it guaranteed to work? Absolutely not. Could it give your brand a fighting chance for some at bats with qualified prospects?  Of course. Below are some ideas that all franchises, regardless of their growth stage, should try: Identify your candidate If I polled all the restaurant brands I’ve ever worked with, the standard answer to the ideal candidate is a multi-unit/multi-brand operator with a strong operations background. If I asked a service brand the same question, they would say someone who is passionate, self-motivated and business-minded. The challenge with both of these statements is that they are too broad and they are precisely the same thing everyone is seeking. Before you start your lead generation focus, identify your candidate profile. If you are an emerging system, find like-minded existing franchisees to serve as the basis for your profile. Research and understand their behaviors so you can know where to spend the dollars to find like-minded individuals. You will need a budget to drive leads Too often I hear of brands trying to throw all their eggs into one basket. That basket, unfortunately, is often just PR. PR can work to drive awareness, and it certainly works to earn you credibility, but it will not skyrocket you on its own (unless you budget a crazy amount of dollars for a monthly retainer). You must take your dozen eggs and put them into multiple baskets such as PR, expos, advertising portals, referrals, brokers and current customer marketing (along with a thousand other options). Most franchisees will on average pay between between $8,000 and $12,000 in marketing costs for each deal. This means that if you want 10 units, you should budget at least $120,000 over the course of a year to achieve your goal. When you spend dollars, advertise where others aren’t When you were single, would have rather walked into a room where you were the only male in a room full of single females (or vice versa) or walked into a room with a bunch of dudes and only a few female prospects? This is fundamental. If everyone is advertising in the special advertising section of a  publication, you are not competing for the same amount of prospects (readership doesn’t shift that much) with a other franchisors. Think differently. When you market, use people People sell brands. People read this column. People communicate. People build relationships. Use real people, not stock art. Use real stories, not fake words. Use your ammo (could be your founder story). And use your people across all mediums of communication – PR, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising and Digital. If something doesn’t work, try something else Look, I completely understand that franchise development is tough. Word-of-mouth will be a continuous engine so long as you continue to produce as a franchise. But you have to be willing to adjust your strategy. If you could flash back to conferences of the past, the talk may have circled more around portals. Today, it focuses on the basics. You wouldn’t believe how many franchise brands don’t call qualified prospects within 24 hours of inquiring. You wouldn’t believe how many franchisors don’t even have a sales process. Start with the basics, be willing to adapt and if something doesn’t work, try something else. The franchising world is not easy. You as a franchisor compete against 3,000 other brands for that special qualified lead. About 30 percent of all franchisees will not be the right match. Your brand will constantly have new competitors jumping into your arena. If you are afraid of change, don’t franchise your business. And everything that worked for you yesterday, might not work for you today.