In my over 30 years as a franchise consultant, working in franchise development and franchise sales, people frequently ask me, “Why does one company succeed in its franchise sales efforts while another doesn’t?”

Here I will explore one issue that can determine franchise sales success.

In business, there is a valuable catchphrase, “Fail to plan, plan to fail”. This saying is especially relevant in franchise sales. Without careful franchise sales planning, your efforts are unlikely to reach your goals.

You must always keep in mind that the success of your first few franchisees will have a tremendous impact on your overall franchise sales. If these franchisees are unsuccessful or discontented, it is doubtful that you will sell any more franchises.

Therefore, it is critical that you are meticulous in the recruitment and selection of your first franchisees.

Franchise Sales Planning Considerations

Carefully plan out the following issues during the franchise sales planning process:

  • How many franchises do we want to sell each year for the first five years?
  • What is the profile of the ideal candidate for our franchise?
  • Will this profile change over time, and, if so, how?
  • In what territories do we want to open our first few franchises?
  • What marketing campaigns will we need to generate franchise leads?
  • How should we present the reasons to purchase this franchise?
  • If there is established competition for our franchise in the marketplace, how can we best position our opportunity?
  • How can we track the effectiveness of our franchise marketing campaigns?
  • How can we evaluate the success of our franchise sales efforts?
  • What are the steps in our franchise sales planning process?
  • What must occur in each step of the franchise sales planning process?
  • How do we follow each prospect throughout the franchise sales planning process?
  • Who is responsible for accomplishing each step in the franchise sales planning process?
  • If a prospective franchisee loses interest, how can we recapture his or her attention?
  • How should prospective franchisees be qualified?
  • At what points in the franchise sales process should prospects be qualified?
  • Under what circumstances should we turn a franchise prospect down?
  • How should we turn a prospective franchisee down?
  • After we sell a franchise, what should we do to stay on top of the franchisee’s progress?

As you can see, a number of issues must be worked out in detail. However, careful franchise sales planning will lead to greater success in your sales process as well as your franchise program overall.

More on franchise sales next time…

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