How to Build an Impactful Virtual Discovery Day

There isn’t a single aspect of franchising that the coronavirus pandemic has failed to touch — from pipelines to projected royalties, franchisors and franchisees alike are attempting to figure out their “new normal.” However, just because things are changing doesn’t mean that progress needs to come to a halt. 

Take, for example, discovery days — events that were already on the calendar before the pandemic hit the U.S. don’t necessarily need to be canceled. Instead, they can be reworked and done virtually.

Eric Martin, Vice President of Franchise Development for Happinest, the parent company behind Lawn Doctor*, Mosquito Hunters* and ecomaids, learned this lesson on the fly. In just a few days, his team figured out how to host a scheduled discovery day from home.

“Four days before our discovery day, we sat down and asked ourselves, ‘Okay, how do we do this?’ It was really about adjusting the agenda and setting the ground rules,” said Martin. “It’s different when you’re in your house and there’s background noise and kids are running around. We wanted to make it clear to our candidates that this might be virtual, but it’s still a discovery day. It isn’t the time to be working on emails in the background.”

Once those ground rules are established, the next step to hosting a virtual discovery day is determining how to bring the intimacy of an in-person meeting to a computer-based setting.

“How can you virtually accomplish what you’re trying to do, which is showing them behind the curtain and showing the magic that makes a franchise special?” said Brent Dowling, co-founder and CEO of Raintree*. “That’s tricky when you’re not able to walk around a restaurant or retail center in person, but it’s still doable if someone can switch over to their phone and put the prospect in the point of view that they’re in the space. It still needs to be authentic and genuine.”

Recreating an authentic and genuine experience is critical when pulling off a virtual discovery day. According to Ronald Ens, Franchise Development Manager for Mosquito Hunters, it’s what ultimately led to positive feedback.

He said, “Our team did a really good job trying to create a sense of comfort throughout the process. There’s nothing that will replace a face-to-face meeting, but we were able to convey the value proposition of the brand as best we could to help potential candidates get to know the key people within the organization.”

Since virtual discovery days remove face-to-face interactions, franchisors can find different ways to go above and beyond. For example, Dowling suggests, “One bit of advice that our brands often don’t consider is involving key vendors in the virtual discovery process. Prospects find it interesting to hear from vendors themselves, and it shows the depth of your franchise brand. Our feedback is that prospects love it.”

Additionally, if your business offers any type of product or good, it’s worth the investment to get it in front of the candidate ahead of time. 

Dowling added, “If there’s a product you can ship each prospect, even if it’s ordering something on UberEats, that makes a difference. If you can, send something ahead of time so that when you’re talking about it, it’s tangible and in front of the franchisees.”

But introducing new things to your virtual discovery days shouldn’t take away from the main purpose of the event. Dowling continued, “One of the most important parts of discovery day is the one-on-one, heart-to-heart conversation with the founder, CEO or leader. That still needs to be there in a virtual discovery day, and it’s as simple as having everyone else sign off and assigning designated times for calls.”

Ultimately, the ability to change plans and move forward with a virtual discovery day has the potential to be a benefit for franchisors. 

“It’s good for prospects to see that they’re working with a company that’s nimble. Now they know that when there was an issue, we were able to move forward,” said Martin. “Putting this together in a matter of days said a lot about our ability to pivot and make a positive out of a potential negative.”