Best Franchise Broker Groups

In a piece for the International Franchise Association, Don Daszkowski, founder and CEO of International Franchise Professionals Group, wrote that, when asked how many of their franchises are sold by brokers, the majority of franchisors answered “over 50 percent.” Franchise brokers work to connect franchisors with appropriate franchisees and serve as an avenue between the two to ensure a smooth experience for everyone involved. In many cases, franchise brokers will choose to belong to a broker group or network that will facilitate additional connections and even put on learning events.

“Without a broker network, this would be almost impossible to do,” said Bill Luce, president of Transworld Business Advisors. “A broker network qualifies, researches and adds new opportunities that are in the market that, without a network in place, would be hard to even research those opportunities.”

Broker groups also allow access to information like territory availability, provide tools and documents to assist in the franchisor-franchisee matching process, manage contracts between franchisors and franchisees, and much more. Further, “A lot of networks will coordinate networking meetings, lead generation groups and yearly conferences to provide additional training and support,” Luce explained.

Though there are many networking spaces for brokers, there are a few groups that rise to the top.

“IFPG is definitely a huge one and getting larger all the time. They just had a big private equity injection, and it’s a really solid group,” said Brent Foster, franchise broker and owner of BSLK Consulting. 

IFPG currently includes over 1,300 franchisors, consultants and vendors who work together to guide prospective franchisees through the process of selecting and investing in a franchise business that will be a great fit. 

“We’ve worked closely with IFPG for over 10 years, and it’s been a very fruitful relationship,” Luce added.

Franchise Brokers Association is another prime choice. FBA is an option similar to IFPG in that membership allows brokers access to a large inventory of brands. 

“I think if you’re thinking about joining one of these networks as a broker, it would probably be between one of those two,” Luce explained.

Other broker groups like FranNet and FranServe work a bit differently. “You actually buy a franchise for that model, then you’re only able to sell to someone that is in the territory that you’ve purchased,” Foster said. 

He explained that, because he wanted to be able to connect with people nationwide, groups with this model were not the best fit for him. However, a 2021 report found that the market for franchise resale brokers and consultants was $94 million. Though the resale model may not be the perfect fit for all, there is certainly value within these types of groups.

Franchise broker groups have proven to be incredibly helpful; like Luce said, the entire process would be nearly impossible without them. Not only do they provide access to people and technical resources, but the educational opportunities and community support that comes from these networks is invaluable. Brokers should, however, consider their unique scenarios when looking to join a network. Perhaps something like IFPG or FBA would be a good fit, or maybe a more geographically controlled option like FranNet or FranServe is more attractive.