IFA 2017: If the Candidate Process Doesn’t “Wow” a Prospect, Why Would Franchise Ownership?

The journey from lead or initial contact to signing a franchise agreement is a long one. The biggest challenge facing franchise development isn’t generating quality leads, it’s then sealing the deal for these qualified candidates who are considering multiple brands.

Prospective candidates are putting their life savings on the line to invest with a concept, so providing them with a candidate process that engages while accurately representing life as a franchisee with your system is paramount. Because if you don’t, moderator Ron Bender points out, your competitors will.

At IFA 2017, a panel of experts including moderator Ron Bender, CFE, director of franchise development at Big Frog Franchise Group, as well as speakers Roxanne Rapske, franchise consultant with FranNet of San Diego, Clay Neff, managing partner of S&N Home Solutions, LLC, and Robyn Brewington, Big Frog T-shirts of Las Vegas franchisee, offered insight into executing a successful prospect process.

Setting Realistic Expectations of Franchise Ownership Sets Everyone Up for Success

As important as selling franchises is to a brand, it’s even more important to attract the right kind of franchisee. Hiding negative information about your company, or the challenges of franchise ownership can push someone to sign on the dotted line, but probably won’t result in a successful business and mutually beneficial relationship.

Transparency in your candidate process is the key to finding franchisees who will not only continue to grow your brand by opening units, but will also be successful within your system in the long run. Instead of hiding negative information the panel suggests reframing things as an opportunity for success. Have a franchisee whose unit is struggling? It could be a great resale opportunity for a prospect looking to cut time from the development process and jump straight into business ownership.

Transparency also ensures that both the franchisor and candidate are on the same page about everything from company culture to their growth priorities to the FDD. Demystifying the process and educating prospects is the best way to find franchisees who are passionate about your concept and are also a great fit to actually execute business ownership in your system.

Your Franchisees are Your Most Powerful Validation Tool

A wise publisher of this publication once said (and then said again, and then again, and again…) “brands don’t sell brands, people sell brands,” and when it comes to selling franchises, that couldn’t be more true.

Candidates looking to invest with a franchise concept are taking a huge risk. They are often investing their life’s savings and may be leaving other careers to open a business, so the most powerful tool a franchisor has to reassure prospects they’ll have the support, communication and success they need is their franchisees. In fact, the panel believes that the biggest contribution a franchisee can offer their franchisor is not revenue or growth, but validation.

At some point, every franchisee in your system has gone through the same candidate process your prospects are experiencing now. They provide brand validation and firsthand knowledge of not only the signing and opening process, but actually operating a business within your system. Candidates don’t want to feel like they are being sold to and having franchisees who can act as brand ambassadors in the most affective resource you have.

Franchises Aren’t Sold, They’re Awarded

Franchise development is focused on the growth of a brand through expansion, which means selling franchises is top of mind for franchise development executives, but what this panel pointed out is that success for your concept in the long run depends on more than the number of franchises sold.

The franchise model has continued to grow, thrive and outpace the rest of the economy for so long because it’s a mutually beneficial relationship. Franchisees get the support and name recognition of an established brand and the franchisor is able to expand more quickly with the investment of its unit owners. And because that relationship is mutually beneficial, franchisors need to ensure candidates are a match for their brand based on more than their liquid assets.

Company culture, an understanding of what it takes to succeed in the system and passion for the brand were all cited as additional criteria to take into consideration when a franchisor is meeting with a prospect. And weighing more than net worth can create a relationship that continues to grow your brand with multiple units for decades.

In franchise development, the candidate process from initial contact to signing a franchise agreement is the most essential time to vet if you and a prospect are a good fit. During this time, candidates are educated on just what it takes to be successful in your system and you’re educated on their priorities as a potential franchisee. If a candidate and a franchisor find that their passion for the concept and means to execute a successful establishment match, then a franchise doesn’t need to be sold, you’ll both be awarded a mutually beneficial relationship and brand expansion.