How Brands Are Attacking the Question of Financing at the Beginning of the Process

In a world where franchisors are looking to bring new franchisees into their systems to increase unit count and expand into new territories at a record pace, franchise brands are increasingly thinking about the initial financing process to help make it as efficient and pain free as possible.

That’s why, more and more brands are implementing new programs to try to intercept leads early and help bring them across the finish line. 

“Brands are now introducing financial education around the same time a lead begins the research process,” said Mike Rozman CEO and Co-founder of BoeFly. “The idea there is if you can educate the candidate about financing options early on, they will be more engaged, have increased education, and they will be more apt to move forward with the brand.”

Rozman explains that this process is similar to checking if someone is financially qualified to buy a house. The program is called bQual, and it provides candidates with a consumer credit score and a Small Business Credit Score (SBSS by FICO). By completing this process at the onset of the research phase, the candidate can be better positioned to go through the entire franchise sales process.

One brand seeing success with bQual is Checkers* & Rally’s. On their franchise development website, you’ll quickly see the introduction of the bQual tool, showing potential franchisees that they’re committed to bringing the right-fit entrepreneurs into their system.

Brands are also starting to incorporate asset verification and background checks into the sales process through a different BoeFly service called bVerify. By outsourcing this process to BoeFly, the company is better prepared to engage with the candidate through the specialized financing process, while the brand can focus on more important aspects of the process—such as educating the candidate on the value of a brand. Some brands that are currently engaged with BoeFly for this service include Orange Leaf, Bruegger’s Bagels, Papa Murphy’s, and again, Checkers & Rally’s.

“We brought on a new CEO recently, and we’re all about growth in franchising,” said Sheryl Fox, Senior Director of Business Development at Le Duff America, Inc. and parent company to La Madeleine Country French Café and Bruegger’s Bagels. “We came across BoeFly and it seemed like their services were such a great fit for what our growth plans are.”

Fox commented on the dual-edged services that help concepts grow and enable BoeFly to handle the screening processes up front to help push only the right candidates through the pipeline.

“Franchisees are always asking for preferred lenders, and we can say, ‘Yes, we have a partner in BoeFly who are experts in this,’” Fox said. “It helps us work on the relationship with the franchisee and to move more franchisees faster through our process.”

Speeding up the lead to close process is ideal for franchisors looking to grow their presence. And that’s exactly what BoeFly has helped brands accomplish by matching prospects up with the right lender.  

“We’re helping the franchisee most efficiently prepare for the financing process,” said Rozman. “We give them a dedicated representative to hold their hand through, and we will match them up with the right lender who is a good fit for the brand and the franchisee.”

This process is known as bFinance, and it is all done securely through a web platform. Not only is it beneficial for the franchisee, but it also offers positives for the franchisor, too. If BoeFly can smoothly get the candidate through the financing process, the quicker the franchisee can open—it’s a win-win for the franchisor and franchisee.

“When all three of those programs come together – bQual, bVerify, and bFinance – we refer to that as the entire BoeFly franchise sales and financing system. The idea behind weaving them together is that financing is not some independent task that happens, but rather, it is at the core of the franchise sales process. More brands are beginning to think of financing as a critical piece to the sales process,” said Rozman.