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Recipes For Success: Attracting Great Franchisees


As a franchisor, understanding that your brand and its growth depends largely upon not only attracting LOTS of franchisees, but also attracting the RIGHT franchisees is essential. Simply letting anyone who has the capital available to become a member of your franchise system jump onboard is a recipe for disaster and has doomed many a franchisor to failure and irreparable damage to their brand.

 

First, let’s take just a moment to discuss the key “matching criteria” that you should be looking for in your franchisees and then we’ll discuss methods that you can use to market to them.

 

1.) The prospective franchisee should be financially qualified to be a part of your brand. You, better than anyone know how much money it takes to get this opportunity off the ground and profitable. You did, after all, start it and have to blaze your own trail, and because of your mistakes, your franchisees should be able to benefit from far lower start-up costs. Setting rigid financial requirement guidelines should be a priority and you should stick to them in order to set your franchisees up for success!

 

2.) The prospective franchisee should carry some experience that would help them in your industry. Someone, for example, who has spent their life breeding salamanders may not be a good fit for your gym franchise but since salamanders are nearly impossible to sell, they may be a fantastic fit for your real estate franchise! Different people carry different life and business experience and you should have a good general understanding of what skill sets work well within your business and then target people who have that experience!

 

3.) Here’s a big one! Are they entrepreneurs in the truest sense of the word or are they coachable? If you believe the prospective franchisee is going to try to alter your systems and processes and do it “their way,” they may not be a good fit. The entire point of a franchise system is for the franchisee to use it to their advantage. If they’re going to want to blaze their own trail, no franchise would be a good fit for them and perhaps they need to go learn on their own the perils and pitfalls of going it alone. If, on the other hand, they seem committed to learning and growing as a part of an established community of businesses that grow alongside each other while using systems that are put in place to protect them and ensure their growth, they may be a perfect fit! You can generally get a great feel for this in the opening few conversations with them and again at your discovery day. Go with your gut on this one; it will serve your brand well!

 

Now that we’ve covered the 3 most important matching criteria for a franchisee and franchisor, how in the world do you go about marketing to them? There are so many ways to do this but we will cover a few of them here.

 

1.) Franchise portals – Many business for sale and franchise websites have “franchise opportunity” sections where prospective business buyers can view your opportunity. While these can be effective, they are far less effective than other methods of marketing because your franchise is put up alongside 1,000 other franchises and typically when they choose to click on yours, they’re clicking on at least 10 others. For that reason, while we do use the portals, we focus most of our marketing efforts and budgets on non-portal advertising techniques.

 

2.) Non-Portal Internet Advertising - This method includes your pay-per- click and social media advertising and is extremely effective if done well. Unlike the franchise and business for sale portals, this type of advertising draws interest on your brand only and doesn’t put you up against 1,000 other brands in competition. If they click on one of these ads, they’re interested in YOUR BRAND. For that reason, this type of advertising can be some of your most effective.

 

3.) Franchise Shows – This is one many neglect when getting started, but it can be a very lucrative addition to your overall marketing strategy. While franchise shows are similar to “in person portal based advertising” because you are competing with another hundred or so brands in the same venue, this can actually work to your benefit. Unlike portal advertising online, you can create a completely unique area and booth space that exemplifies your brand,

and, most importantly, you have the opportunity to talk with prospective franchisees face to face and impress upon them the benefits of your brand, which is something that is completely lacking in faceless online advertising. If you put the right people at your booth, you will outshine everyone at the show and should gain many a franchisee in this manner!

 


4.) Local Networking – In areas that you’re trying to grow in, going to and sponsoring local networking or business association meetups can be a cheap and effective way to get in front of groups of like-minded and well qualified prospective franchisees. Sending in a well-trained franchise sales rep to do some public speaking on your behalf, or going in to do so yourself, can go a long way to getting your target territory sold!

 

5.) Direct Mail Advertising - Is direct mail dead? The numbers say absolutely not! Utilizing a strong direct mail strategy that targets individuals in an area within a certain net worth and age bracket amongst other criteria can and should be an outstanding piece to your marketing puzzle!

 

While these five ideas cannot comprehensively cover every advertising or marketing method possible, they are good core marketing strategies to begin considering. For further direction, feel free to lean on our marketing team by contacting us at the Learn More button below. We work with franchisors individually to help develop an effective marketing strategy utilizing their specific budgets and our marketing partners and affiliate companies. From putting together an award winning franchise show booth to spending your dollars effectively online, we can help you accelerate your growth using less advertising dollars while increasing your reach!


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