Over the years I’ve had the luxury of speaking with a few franchise owners. One thing that is universal amongst them is their excitement about bringing on new franchisees. They know that it means good things for their company and for the new person coming to their team.
But there is a big caveat and that is the pressure to bring on a person that is the right fit. I had one franchise owner tell me that he has a weird job. He looks and looks for potential franchisees, but he feels that is job is to actually convince them not to become one. Now, he certainly wants to get people excited and interested, but it’s one of his filters for making sure he brings on the right people. Or at least does the best job he can.
One item that seems to be consistent with these successful franchisors is that they are really curious about what a potential franchisee wants from owning a franchise. Or several franchise.
Here is some insight into that question.
1. If They’re The Right Fit
It’s not just the franchisor that wants to find the right people. The potential franchisees want to make sure that they’re the right fit. It’s a bit of a myth that entrepreneurs are huge risk takers. I’ve actually met quite a few that really look to get their risk as low as possible.
Everybody wants a guarantee of success. But we know that’s not possible. But it is still smart to look for low risk and high reward. And that’s important to potential franchisees. They want to know that they have a really good chance of succeeding. They want to know that their personality and skillset fits well with your franchise opportunity.
2. That Others Have Done It Well
Building on the idea of lowering risk is the fact that these folks want to see proof of concept. They want to see that others have succeeding. They will be looking at and comparing themselves to others. They want to see if they’re the same type of person, but they also will be looking for that proof.
They know that just because others have succeeded that it doesn’t mean that they will. But they know that the more proof there is that their odds only go up.
3. Support
What will the support from you look like after this person joins your team? They know that they will be in control of much of their operation. They want that. But they also want support. They want to know that they have someone they can go to with questions. And not just from you, but probably from other franchisees as well.
Make sure you go through how the support operations work. It’s a big question potential franchisees are wondering.
4. Understanding Of Their Role
Will the franchisee be in charge of sales? Will they be in charge of operations? Will they be working directly with customers? Is there flexibility?
People want to know what their specific role will or should be with their franchise. This is part of figuring out if they’re the right fit. Maybe they are really good at sales and want to continue doing it. But maybe they want to work in another area of a business such as customer support.
Explain what successful franchisees typically do day-to-day in your organization.
5. Upside Potential
We’ve been talking a lot about decreasing risk. But that doesn’t mean that entrepreneurs aren’t looking for upside. They know it takes work. But they want to know that they’re putting their work and money into something with potential. Low risk and high reward is the name of the game for many successful people.
Talk to potential franchisees about what others have accomplished. This presents the upside picture. That will help to filter out those that are good fits and those that may not want what you’re offering.
Conclusion
Understanding what your franchisees want is very important. Obviously it’s your business. You are focusing on what you want and what is best for your business. But you also want to focus on the values and motivations of your partners. If they align with yours then you’re in a really good spot as it relates to future success.