Five Fundamentals of Franchise Sales

What are the basic foundations of any franchise sales system?

SPONSOREDUpdated 11:11AM • 01/13/16

Compare, contrast, and make the modest decision of where to invest your life savings.

For many franchisees, this is the reality when considering the impact of new business ownership. This isn’t only in terms of monetary contributions, but also in terms of time, stress and upkeep. It takes an ROI that speaks volumes, top-notch branding, confidence in the corporate team and a number of other qualifications for entrepreneurs to sign on the dotted line.

As a corporate team, it’s important to understand how your brand image is conveyed to potential franchisees who are looking to cut through the clutter.

No Limit Agency*’s Chief Development Strategist Sean Fitzgerald and Mosquito Joe*’s Director of Franchise Development Jodi Ramoino offered their top five fundamentals of franchise sales for corporate teams looking to hone happiness from discovery day to signing day.

Utilize your website

“Your website is often the first impression of your company. It is critical to make sure that your website is impressive, dynamic and has a clear call to action,” Fitzgerald said. “Recently, it’s become important to offer multiple formats for delivering franchise information. For example, some people don’t like sitting in front of the computer to read. These potential candidates want the option to print out a PDF version so they can read at their leisure. Other potential candidates will want to be able to remain anonymous as it is becoming more common for people to do their research before reaching out. For this, making sure your website has enough content to inform, but not too much because the goal would be for them to inquire about more information. Giving multiple formats allows greater outreach and the potential for more leads.”

Have a good CRM program

“Many people look at the job of a CRM (Customer Relation Management program) and think that all CRM's will do the same thing, but the franchise sales process is extremely complex,” Fitzgerald said. “Traditional CRM's are good for sales but the franchise awarding process is much longer and more complex than many other sales processes. Having a CRM built for the franchise industry is ideal for both the sales team and the candidate. FranConnect is a great tool for all aspects of a franchise system. They not only manage the lead process but also help set the stage for the candidate and explain how information can be delivered through email campaigns. FranConnect really keeps candidates engaged in the process which generally provides a greater outcome.”

Item 19 needs to be very strong

“In franchising we are allowed to share financial earnings claim numbers through our FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document) in Item 19,” Ramoino said. “Here we provide our candidates with various numbers and metrics that help them evaluate the opportunity. Our Corporate Team is constantly evaluating franchisee and system performance on every level. Therefore, we like to provide potential franchisees with as much data as possible up front to help them in their research. Beyond that they are encouraged to speak to existing franchisees who are also free to discuss their performance and results.”

Validation is everything

“In the beginning it can be tough for a new franchisor to bring new franchisees on board, especially when they do not have a large pool of experienced franchisees to call on for testimonials or validation,” Ramoino said. “In this situation, it is important for the franchisor to demonstrate the strength of the corporate team behind the brand, from the experience they bring to the table to the support that they will provide. A strong corporate team, combined with a well thought out brand and support system will definitely help to overcome this obstacle.”

Communication is key to success

“We make a concerted effort to ensure our franchisees have plenty of avenues to communicate with the corporate staff (and each other) for support and that we are responsive to their calls and email,” Ramoino said. “Every franchisee has a direct line to their Franchise Business Coach and really anyone here at the corporate office. Our Franchise Advisory Council gives our franchisees another opportunity to share ideas, suggestions, and concerns with the leadership team. We also have a variety of online resources through our franchisee intranet to provide support 24/7, whether through formalized documents, customizable design templates or discussion forums where franchisees can post questions. Lastly, we host an annual National Convention where we all get together to share best practices, lessons learned, and opportunities for continued education and training. Everyone benefits when the lines of communication are flowing freely."

*This brand is a paid partner of 1851 Franchise. For more information on paid partnerships please click here.

Five Fundamentals of Franchise Sales

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