Who Should be Involved in a Franchise Discovery Day?

Once a prospective franchisee has completed their due diligence and zoned in on a few strong franchise opportunities, the Discovery Day can be a make-or-break point in the process. Not only is it a time for the franchise candidate to take a deep dive into the brand’s inner workings and meet the key corporate players, but it is also a time that the corporate staff will use to identify if this person is truly going to be a strong franchise partner.

It is likely that by this point in the franchising process that a candidate has spoken to the brand’s franchise development representatives. Discovery Day is an opportunity for the candidate to have conversations with the corporate and support teams as well.

Moving franchise TWO MEN AND A TRUCK* begins Discovery Day by offering prospective franchisees a chance to spend an hour with all the executives from the director level and above. 

“First of all, our executives want to meet the new candidate face-to-face. They’ve read over that person’s business plan and competitors analysis, and they want to just have a conversation with the candidate,” said TWO MEN AND A TRUCK Franchise Development Specialist Cheryl Ackley. “And the second reason we begin our day with the executive team is because our CEO Jon Nobis and President Randy Shacka are very good about laying out the vision of where the company is now and where it’s going. The feedback I’ve received from people that have come into the system is that they’re just blown away that they get to have a personal, candid conversation with and exposure to the executive team.”

Similarly, Sylvan Learning* also incorporates its executive team into the Discovery Day agenda. 

“Discovery Day is often a candidate’s first in-person meeting with the franchisor they’re considering, and it’s important to have an interaction where they can meet the people behind the scenes who are running the organization and who are going to have a significant impact on their business both from a long-term contract perspective and as a day-to-day support network,” said Sylvan Learning Franchise Development Manager Courtney Wells. “Discovery Day is likely their first in-person meeting so it’s an opportunity to look someone in the eye and get a sense of why the corporate team is committed to the brand and they could commit themself to the brand.”

In addition to spending time with the executive team, franchise candidates should often expect to be able to meet with and learn from their support staff.

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK also brings in their First Gear team who works with the franchise partner from signing through their first year and they also bring in the centralized consulting team for their region with someone representing each department for that territory, such as HR, marketing and finance, as well as their franchise business consultant.

Sylvan Learning also brings in representatives who will be key support staff once the prospect becomes a franchisee. 

“Franchise Development representatives can certainly share a lot of wonderful information about the brand, but after a candidate signs the license agreement, it’s likely they’ll transition over to support services and other departments focused on either creating, maintaining or improving their product line,” Wells said. “Having representatives from each of the departments come and interact with a candidate at Discovery Day allows them the opportunity to better understand the structure that is behind the product they’re investing in and it can also provide insights into the depth of experience that each of those presenters brings to the company.”

When getting to meet with a variety of teams that provide support, candidates should expect to interact with IT, finance, marketing, national accounts and more. A prospect should leave Discovery Day feeling like they have all the information they need and have met everyone that will provide support and drive the company forward.

TWO MEN AND A TRUCK, like many other brands, even incorporates a visit to a franchise location as part of its Discovery Day. There, they get to see new product lines, including storage and container storage, as well as the operations. If a truck is coming back, the candidate can see the organization and how the truck is cleaned; they can also listen to how the customer service representatives handle incoming calls.

“I think it’s very helpful for the candidates to go to a franchise,” Ackley said. “They can see the trucks on the GPS, and they can hear how the customer service representatives are talking to customers and positioning our services, which include packing, unpacking, packing supplies and boxes. The other cool thing is for them to be able to see the possibility for additional revenue streams. When buying our moving franchise, that’s one line of business, but this franchise location we take them to also shows additional streams of revenue that can increase their business, like storage and container storage. There are always good questions during this portion, because it opens a whole new way of thinking for them.”

No matter who is involved, candidates should plan to meet with everyone who will be a main point of contact and who can provide a playbook to find success. Attaining an agenda ahead of time should help franchise prospects best understand what to expect.