How To Pick a Franchise Consultant

Franchise consultants are people who understand the franchising industry and can provide guidance for less experienced individuals as they work their way through the franchising process. Both franchisors and franchisees can work with consultants to achieve the shared goal of launching a new franchise unit with a capable businessperson in place. One of the most important things to remember when choosing a consultant is this very purpose. 

“A franchise consultant’s job is to help entrepreneurs navigate their journey to franchise ownership — they’re not salespeople. They’re coaches and assistants,” explained The Entrepreneur’s Source.

A consultant must have proper motivations — beyond simply achieving a sale — in order to facilitate a franchise opportunity that truly is a good fit for everyone involved.

“The biggest function the franchise consultant serves is to weed out the noise. A lot of times, people who are looking to buy a franchise generally don’t know exactly what industry they’re looking for and certainly don’t know what specific company they’re looking for. And the search, frankly, can become pretty daunting,” explained Bill Luce, president of Transworld Business Advisors.

Aiding potential franchisees in finding a brand that they truly fit with ultimately benefits everyone. 

“In these systems, you see top producers and bottom producers, and they all have the same playbook,” said Corey Elias, founder of Franchise Captain. “Top producers are just really good at following what’s in that playbook.” 

When a new franchisee can mesh with a brand seamlessly, they become a successful business owner, and this naturally contributes to the success of the franchise as a whole. 

Finding a consultant who has the time and concern to discuss and consider how a potential franchisee will or will not fare with a certain brand’s playbook is critical to the success of the working relationship. Of course, there are other, more technical details to consider as well.

Luce said that, when considering which consultant to work with, the interested party should look at the consultant’s experience, how long they have been in the industry as well as who they are networking with. For example, “Transworld has been in the business brokerage industry for over 40 years, and we’ve been doing franchise consulting for about 15. We have a great network of people representing over 500 different franchise opportunities,” he explained. 

Identifying a specific consultant who will have access to such a network greatly increases the likelihood that a strong match will be created. If a consultant has a smaller number of connections and opportunities available to them, there is a smaller pool of franchisors and franchisees available when working to make a match.

“Ultimately, it’s like working with any other professional. Personality, fit and how a process works with a consultant all should come into play,” Luce explained.