Fran X | Tips & Tricks: Marketing to Franchise Brokers

The Next McDonald's (Big Idea)

Treat Franchise Brokers Like Your Franchisee Prospects

Franchise brokers are your customers. They are a critical franchise sales marketing channel that you need to market to brokers as if they were franchise prospects and customers.

The reason is simple. It’s not the broker's job to sell franchises for you. It’s their job to connect qualified franchise buyers with good fit brands. When a deal closes the broker earns a commission. When the franchisee succeeds, the franchise broker's business gains momentum, referrals, influence, and long-term value.

So, how do you market to franchise brokers? You help them achieve their goals. You close deals and you create successful franchisees. Your marketing should reflect your process and what a successful working relationship looks like when working with your brand.

See our Bottom Thoughts for specific Tips on how to supercharge your franchise broker marketing.

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Franchisees Kicking Ass: The Franchisee Is King

The Great Franchisee: Jared Taylor, Amazing Athletes, Charlotte, NC

The former college baseball player has opened the fast-growing youth sports concept’s 6th location in the state.

Since childhood, Jared Taylor’s life has largely revolved around sports. The former college baseball player understands the importance of introducing youth to sports and getting them active at a young age. Now, Taylor is turning that passion into a new career as one of the newest franchisees with Amazing Athletes, the children’s multi-sports concept from multi-brand youth sports franchisor Youth Athletes United.

Yo Broker, Sell My Franchise

Top Franchise Brokers: Amanda Berry, FranNet

Franchise matchmaker Amanda Berry helps uncover people’s hidden talents and skills to find the perfect franchise fit.

“Franchising is more than french fries,” FranNet broker Amanda Berry tells her clients. With more than 3,500 franchises in 90 different industries, a big part of Berry’s job is introducing budding entrepreneurs to all the possibilities out there while zeroing in on their own unique skills and personality in order to find a match.

This results-driven franchise specialist with more than 10 years of experience in employee development and coaching says knowing how to listen is what makes her successful. “It’s really about listening to what it is that they want, what is it that they need and what problem we are trying to solve,” she said.

An Army wife, Berry is very involved in the veteran community. “Sometimes our veterans don’t necessarily find the best transitions to the civilian world, and business ownership is a good model for them,” she added. “And I really dedicate a lot of time and energy into helping them transition into a successful business world.”

Watch the full interview with Amanda above, or click here to watch it on YouTube.

If you are a potential franchisee looking to invest or a franchisor looking to attract new candidates, contact FranNet at https://frannet.com/.

The Bottom Thoughts

Tips & Tricks: Marketing to Franchise Brokers

Franchise brokers need to be marketed to in a similar way to franchise prospects for very similar reasons as a prospect:

1. Education of your why you/why now
2. Support in understanding the value proposition of your franchise brand
3. News updates to create excitement

In many cases, franchise brokers don’t have a relationship with your brand. Even if they have placed a few candidates with your brand, they still don’t live and breathe your brand the way you do. So, as a part of your marketing strategy to the broker networks/broker communities, here are some things you should make sure are in your arsenal of communication:

1. Do you have a franchise broker landing page on your Website?
a. On this landing page, do you offer resources to the franchise broker -- like successful franchisees, press & news, content on your value proposition?

2. Have you built an email database of brokers who could push your brand?
a. Are you emailing them an updated newsletter?
b. Do you email them every time you close a broker deal?
c. In that broker deal announcement, are you interviewing the broker who placed the deal about why they thought you were a fit for your newly minted franchisee?
d. Are you emailing them an update on franchisees placed through brokers in the past -- who may be celebrating a milestone with your brand?

3. Do you send anything in the mail to the brokers -- swag, letters from the CEO?

4. Do you offer educational Webinars for brokers and their candidates?

5. Do you set-up special in-person experiences?

6. How do you celebrate brokers who have placements?

7. Do you have any special incentives to push brokers to introduce your brand?

8. Have you asked the broker community why not? Designed to gain insights into what you could do better in telling your story?

Once you have answered these questions, then, you can build out a marketing calendar/plan to help tell your story to the broker community.

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