Franchisors should never sell franchises!
Iain Martin - Director, The International Franchising Centre
Now I know what you’re thinking: he’s playing with words here – all franchisors sell franchises – they might talk about “awarding them” but that’s just semantics, isn’t it? - I don’t think so, because it reflects a mindset.
Have you got a real vision for what your network would look like, fully developed; the quality of relationship you would enjoy with your franchisees; the performance levels of the franchisees and the revenues which would flow both to them and to you? If you have, I doubt that your mental picture includes franchisees who are struggling, who are awkward to deal with, who are negative and critical. But the truth is that there are going to be lower performers in every network the only issue is going to be how many, and how low is the performance of the bottom quartile? The answer to that question depends largely on you and the recruitment policy you operate in your franchise.
Whilst franchisee recruitment isn’t a science (in the sense that there’s a formula which works every time), I think it can be described as an art. But the art is principle-based. I would suggest that the principles underlying successful franchisee recruitment include the following:
- Total transparency a full exchange of relevant information between candidate and franchisor
- A mindset that is looking for “best fit” “has the candidate really got what it takes to be successful with us?”
- A structured recruitment process which is designed to ensure that the information exchange takes place and the candidate “fit” can be accurately assessed
- An underlying attitude which communicates the following message to the candidate: “We’re determined to be the best in our market sector and we know that if we’re to achieve that, our franchisees must share our vision, passion and have the attributes which will enable them to be the best too; are you (Mr Prospective Franchisee) good enough to be part of what we’re building?”
I promise you, that if you do communicate in this way with your candidates, they’ll be the ones trying to show you why they’re good enough to be part of your network!
The issue of whether you’re selling or awarding a franchise has simply disappeared…
Iain Martin is a Director of the International Franchising Centre and specialises in helping international franchisors secure UK partners, and UK franchisors to develop successful franchise networks, through several brokerage businesses.
Encouraging women into franchising networking events
Franchise blog Nick Strong
Encouraging Women into franchising (EWIF) networking events focus on bringing women that are interested in advancing there careers by way of the business format franchising model.
There is no cost to attend the meetings and events. They are open to women that are interested in franchising or those that wish to give encouragement
The group is made up of franchisors, franchisees, franchise service providers, franchise banks, women support groups and national support agencies, with the aim of inspiring, educating and supporting women who are looking to franchise their business or women looking to become franchisees.
EWIF was formally launched in 2008 so has now moved into its second year. The meetings are Chaired by encouraging women into franchising ambassador Clive Sawyer of Business Options.
Franchising may be the perfect fit for women looking to balance work and family life and set up their own business, yet women are still in a minority in the franchising industry.
The next networking and educational event will be held on 16th December at the offices of Munday’s Solicitors in Cobham, Surrey.
Speakers at the event will include Alun Powell, an economist at HSBC, Simon Chicken from The Franchise Show and Nick Strong, Director and web strategist of FranWeb and SelectYourFranchise.com
Alun will be speaking about economic projections and how they may affect franchising for 2011.
Simon will speak about recruiting franchisees and his exhibition which will be held at Excel, London in February 2011.
Nick will give insights into social media and how it can be used to converse with clients and grow franchise businesses.
Encouraging Women Into Franchising has got enthusiastic members, some of whom also act as ambassadors to promote women in franchising. Its ambassadors network is linked to women in business groups set up by the Government.
Tags: Business Options, Clive Sawyer, encouraging women into franchising, ewif, franchise sales, hsbc, nick strong, Simon CHicken, social media, The Franchise Exhibition
Buying a Franchise Resale
Nick Strong, MD - Select Your Franchise
Buying a franchise resale is something that you might consider if you have some capital to invest and want to buy a business that is already established in its marketplace and has a track record.
In addition to the benefits already offered by a proven franchise system, franchise resales usually have an established customer base and trading history under their belts.
The only think to remember when buying a franchise resale is there will be differences to a conventional business purchase. You will likely have to sign up to a franchise agreement with the franchisor, or brand owner, so it will be important to get advice from a specialist franchise lawyer on how this might affect the operation of the business. It’s common, for example, for a franchisor to retain control of how your business will be branded and marketed.
Brand control could also be seen as an advantage because ensuring uniformity and solidarity of a brand, gives a consistent impression to potential customers. This especially true with well-known brand retail franchises or fast food franchises. Customers will go to branded store because they recognise it and know what to expect from it even if its their first time in that particular store.
Control of branding is just one example of what you might expect to find in your franchise agreement but there will doubtless be other points to consider. This retention of control in some areas by the franchisor could therefore be considered a hinderance to some buyers or a benefit, depending on your point of view and preference.
Overall, buying a resale can be an excellent investment into a business which already has profile and may already be successful within its existing community. Be sure to get all the necessary legal advice, and be aware of what being tied into a franchise agreement means and how it will affect the business as a whole.
