What do your walls say about your brand?

On many occasions, your “aha” moment is staring you right in the eyes. Unfortunately, though, you can’t see it. Why? Perhaps you are too stuck in the moment or too much on the inside. Sometimes, though, that “aha” moment is as simple as returning to fundamentals and celebrating little wins. Last month, I spoke at a franchisor’s conference. The topic for their audience of development agents was how to get more leads through communications, clearly, a topic I enjoy entertaining. This being my third year speaking at their conference, I had to come up with some new material. Do I go overly emotional? What about overly progressive? Should I talk about 1851’s future? With 45 minutes to try to inspire, I decided a return to the fundamentals was the key. The punch line ended up being, “Nick, that was amazing”. The joke was that I didn’t say anything special. I looked at their growing brand. In our time working with them, they have gone from about 20 locations to signing their 100^th deal in December. They are opening locations and building a strong, loyal consumer base. But, like most franchisors, they want more: more franchisees, more openings, more customers, and more money. To land on the punch line I went back to the fundamentals. How, as a franchisor, can I identify the most prospective franchisees within the restraints of my current budget? Staring into one of their locations, I noticed a critical lack of franchise development information within their four walls. On any given day, they have 100,000 people coming to their locations and engaging for hours. But, as those people engage, they look at the business as just another business, not an opportunity. In many situations, opportunity could be staring you right in the eyes. You just don’t know it. I focused my speech on marketing within the base and four walls they already own. How many of their 100,000 daily visitors could be prospective franchisees? Even if that number is just 1, that will give them an at bat with 365 people and if they can close 1 percent, they will get 3-4 new franchisees without spending anything. ANYTHING. Franchise development is not hard. It’s really about doing the fundamentals really well. It’s about having a moment, building momentum and igniting velocity. In fact, every win in business or life can follow that clear, defined path. Want to win big this year, look at the basics. Websites are critical to success, as that’s where the prospect inquires. Within your footprint is equally important as it helps ignite the emotional connection. Think about the punch line and return to the basics.