Franchising Step 4: Choosing the Right Franchisees to Fit Your Plan

If you haven’t read our first blog post, then you’ve missed the quintessential key to the best chance of franchise success, get  that step right and finding the right people becomes relatively straightforward. Here are 5 elements for you to contemplate as you search for the right people to carry out your franchise dream.

System & Process, System & Process

Feel like these words just keep getting repeated over and over? Well, you are probably right! If you are serious about becoming a franchisor, then you have to nail this concept above any other, and recruiting the right people is no different.

Two women in a meeting

You must not only create a turnkey system and process that they can follow to become successful, but also a system and process around your method to finding them. Have you written a plan? The same questions, application form or process need to be delivered to every potential franchisee so that you are able to have consistency in the results to make informed comparisons. Think 2 franchisees, 1 location – how do you choose?

Are you clear?

Before you can choose anyone to replicate your franchise systems, you need to have established your own clarity.

  • What is the fundamental service you want delivered?
  • Have you established the initial investment they require and what will it cover?
  • Will there be ongoing fees?
  • Will they be required to buy product or ingredients from you?
  • What locations do you believe are suitable for your type of business?
  • Will you require to split up territories?
  • What training will they be provided?
  • Is your advertising detailed, clear and appealing to attract the best possible candidates?

What does your system support them to do? 

Two women using iPad

Not everyone can do everything, identify what gaps can safely exist in their skills because your system supports it. For example, if you are running a retail business and they aren’t so familiar with point of sale computers – is this a deal breaker or have you got a step by step system with pictures that makes learning it a breeze?

Your franchisees’ own crew isn’t just their problem, they reflect your brand and if recruiting is something franchisees have never done before can you support and train them or are they on their own?   But if you are looking to start a licenced plumbing franchise and they don’t know silicone from silly putty then that’s not a fit.

What kind of personality should they have?

A good bedside manner in a doctor can make the world of difference to the outlook you adopt on your recovery; different industries need different personalities – what bedside manner do you need your franchisees to have to complement your industry? Remember the adage – “hire attitude, train skills”.

Where will you look?

With a vast range of advertising mediums available to promote new franchise opportunities, which truly fit your end goal? Will it be a local or national campaign and is the local paper and social media enough or will you need to branch out into expos and TV advertising? Which sources do you think your potential franchisees tune into?

One of the most important phases in the journey is to begin with the end in mind. Entrepreneurs are often visionaries “big picture people” – a good starting place, because if you know where you are headed you can engage support to help fill in the details. So, live the dream and feel free to pick up the phone and talk to us about bridging the details gap – after all that’s our expertise!

We believe in doing business… …for good

Our quest is to continue to help business owners who want to grow their business into a more valuable asset.

We do this through a number of our enterprises.

Through Franchise Simply® we help business owners who want to grow their business into a more valuable asset through franchising. The team of expert advisors at Franchise Simply® does this this through our simple three step Franchise Success Path which can be delivered in many different ways to suit you. We work closely with our team of leading franchise experts to provide the full range of services to the franchise industry, from carefully crafted legal agreements and operations and procedure manuals, to expert advice on corporate structures, fee structures, territory planning, franchisee support, recruitment and much more…The result - our members implement fast and get everything they need to succeed all in one place. Click here to join our inspiring community of entrepreneurs and you can be our next success story.

We believe in giving back and so a percentage of every program is given to MicroLoan Foundation Australia to help women in Southern Saharan Africa to build businesses and take their families out of poverty. To date we have helped provide over 60,000 loans impacting on 355,000 impoverished people.