Tag: Franchise Sales

Social Media to Franchise Sales: Fantasy or Reality?

· 2 Comments ·

Let’s assume you’ve followed the advice and quidelines in the first three segments of the series on Franchise Development via Social Media. You’ve established your “Virtual Meeting Room” as a Facebook group page and requests to join are submitted everyday. Customers of your franchisees are joining and posting comments about how much they enjoy the experience at the franchise locations. Franchisees have posted some testimonials that really do complement the Founder’s video about his passion and vision for the business. You’re even surprised at how many corporate and franchisee employees have participated and posted comments and photos. All-in-all, you’re proud of the Facebook page and proud of the effort put into developing and maintaining the page.

You’re now looking at you’re social media strategy and you preview the company blog. You feel the content may be all over the board, touching on franchise development, expansion into the Southeast, a new franchisee in Santa Fe, community activity at the franchise location in Seattle and even an article submitted by one of your franchisees about one of his long-time customers, but then you stop a realize how much this menagerie of topics, text, graphics and photos portrays the true face of the franchise concept. You make a note to have your social media administrator issue a press release on just that thought.

twitter imagesA quick review of Twitter puts a smile on your face as you see the number of people following the concept increasing everday. Then you recall the blog stats revealed a sharp increase in visits from Twitter. Wow, there’s a positive trend here we need to watch. Come to think of it, you’ve noticed an increase in franchise inquiries and wonder if there’s a correlation here. You then look closely at the new people following on Twitter and you backtrack to the company’s recent posts and discussions in several LinkedIn and Facebook groups that just so happen to consist of educators, and realize many of the new franchise inquiries have educational backgrounds. Hmmm, you decide to cross-check the names against LinkedIn profiles and smile again as you notice they’re members of LinkedIn, are in the specific groups you’ve targeted, and many have actually participated in the group discussions where the social media administrator posted some very interesting discussions about careers after teaching and about moms returning to the workforce or exploring career alternatives. It sure is coming together.

You note there are some qualified candidates frequently visiting your Facebook group page, checking out the same information repeatedly and posting specific questions about your franchise opportunity. You’ve even noticed some candidates posting comments about the customer testimonials and some personal messages about the Founder’s video. Now what? Certainly this social media thing isn’t magical that it’ll actually close a few franchise deals, right?

personaltouchJust like you’ve integrated traditional marketing strategies with social media strategies, you need to be integrating personal interaction as well. However, instead of an aggressive, focused sales approach, the interaction should be subtle and guiding. Use the social media tools to make your points and make the experience enjoyable and interesting. Your candidates will most likely marvel at the new technology and feel comfortable learning about the technology AND the franchise concept. And yes, they’ll be more comfortable with you and be fully at ease working through disclosure and the finer points of the concept itself.

The rest comes down to guiding your candidates towards making a decision as it will now fully be an informed decision that has been validated by the social media experience AND the franchisees the candiates have contacted. Hmmm, your franchisees actually feel more part of the franchise sales process than ever before. You smile again as you realize it did make the process easier than in the past. Yes, it’ll be very nice to achieve your franchise development goals once again. Maybe next year, you’ll actually exceed them!

Fantasy or Reality? Achieveable or Not? Easy or Hard? That’s up to you and your team. It comes down to personal accountability, diligent execution of your strategy and plan, professional handling of franchise candidates at all times and above all, NO SHORTCUTS!

Personal accountability is necessary in monitoring your social media activity, updating blog content and keeping things fresh. Nobody will stay at a dull party, right? Putting off things for tomorrow that should be done today is just not acceptable. It becomes a reflection of how you handle even the simplest things and the a lack of urgency and poor attention to detail will translate into how you’ll handle the franchise sale and ultimately, your franchisees.

Diligent execution of your strategy and plan is essential. Certainly, you’ll make adjustments along the way. But your plan is your roadmap. Follow it as closely as possible. Allow extra time and resources as necessary for roadblocks and detours, but stay on course. Monitor your progress. How fast did you get from point A to point B. How fast did a candidate get from point A to Point B? Is the process slowing down or speeding up? Why? Do you need to do some system maintenance to the social media vehicle? Maybe your videos aren’t playing correctly? Maybe the photos aren’t laoding fast enough? Maybe it’s time to bring in a technician so you can get back on the road as quickly as possible?

Professional handling of candidates means working with each candidate as you would want to be worked with and treated if you were the one on the verge of making a substantial investment, maybe putting your life savings on the line! It means converying a sense of urgency when asked for information. It means paying attention to detail in something as simple as pronouncing their name correctly all the way to something complex such as full disclosure of the franchise concept. And, it means having the right attitude and conveying the same at every moment of working with the candidate at every point of “contact” including by email, on the phone, in-person, and yes, in the virtual world. Keep in mind, at all points of contact, your attitude will shine through so make sure it shines bright and your franchise future will shine bright as well!

Thank you for travelling with me on this exciting, eye-opening journey. It will be an experience you should be able to relive everytime an individual expresses interest in your concept. At that point, it’s time to smile, focus on the resources you’ve invested, the time you’ve dedicated, and the vision and passion you had when you first started in franchising, and share it with your candidate just as you would share your life with a new addition to your family.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to submit them in the space below. If you would like to contact me directly, my email is segreto.paul@gmail.com. In any case, I will respond promptly.

Local Franchise Lead Generation Q & A

· 1 Comment ·

question-mark3aA few months ago, there was a discussion in one of the LinkedIn franchise groups about local franchise lead generation. The discussion was initiated by a franchise professional specializing in franchise sales and consulting. As we have done in the past when posting comments from a social network discussion, we will identify the individuals that submitted comments according to their social network profile.

The discussion opened with the following post:

Ideas for Lead Generation Sources. Anybody have suggestions for local lead generation? Looking for ideas from zors, zees, consultants & brokers on how to generate leads local to a specific area.

Here are some of the responses that were posted including my own which just so happened to be the initial response:

“[Name], I usually explore social networking groups specific to the area such as the inHouston LinkedIn group if I’m trying to generate leads in the Houston area. This type of group is realtively easy to target and expand beyond based upon member recommendations and suggestions. Work the crowd as if you were in a room.

In addition, I focus on networking groups that include individuals that best fit my franchise candidate profile. From there I drill down to individuals in the local area. Let’s say teachers fit my candidate profile. I would search out networking groups spefic to teachers, education, etc. I may participate in discussion groups to get a feel for the group and to be recognized within the group. There’s always a spin you could use. Next, I seek out members from the specifc area I’m targeting and communicate what I’m trying to accomplish. It’s been amazing how many times I’ve wound up with a candidate in California that is willing to jump at an opportunity in Texas. It happens.

I also focus on groups that can provide me with referrals such as insurance agents, realtors, financial planners and attorneys. Again, if you’re proactive within networking groups it’s realtively easy to enlist support and gather information.

Lead generation through online networking takes time and effort no doubt. However, once you’re proactive within the groups, you almost windup with a snowball effect as the leads come in bunches. Some leads start out as simple as posting a thought provoking discussion, some back and forth interaction with a responder and the responder saying,”what is it that you do?” Next thing you know, you’re discussing an opportunity and the door is wide open.

Most times it takes considerably more effort but I’ve found people are networking online and participating in discussion groups for a reason. They’re all looking to expand their business, improve their position, seek out opportunities and make money. It sure beats running an ad in the local paper and waiting for the phone to ring.”

An executive of a national franchise concept responded as well.

“Other sources of local lead generation include – classified advertising, seminars, the local business journal, and chambers of commerce. I also use industry specific sources (trade publications, trade associations) depending on the franchise. My favorite is PR. If you can can a story published at a local level – it tends to generate a good deal of buzz.

As you are finding – it is a bit more challenging to put together a local or regional campaign, than it is to promote a national effort.”

A franchise executive of a national foodservice franchise concept posted the following:

“I like to target existing multi-unit operators of non-competing brands in the same industry. For example, if I am selling full-service restaurants, I would seek out multi-unit fastfood operators in the area. Or if I was selling windshield replacement franchises, maybe I’d target muffler or brake franchisees in the area. Get your hands on some UFOC’s that list franchisees by state. It’ll give you the franchisee’s name, address and phone number and you can go down the list contacting the owners. You must size up the target market to your product. For example, you probably wouldn’t have much success targeting Subway franchisees for a TGIFriday’s franchise, as it’s a big leap from a $50,000 investment to a $3 million investment. But maybe the Subway UFOC would provide good leads for someone selling Baskin Robbins franchises. Get the idea? Last thing, by focusing on existing franchisees in someone else’s system, those prospects already understand franchising, know that fees are due and payable weekly, understand they must operate according to the franchisor’s standards, realize they must undergo training, particpate in the marketing co-op, etc. Hope this helps.”

Next, the foodservice executive and I exchanged the following comments:

Me: “[Name], excellent points. I utizilized a similar strategy with great success. Other key factors include the current franchisees’ knowledge of franchising and their lender’s knowledge and experience with the franchisee may be just the edge needed to secure financing in today’s tight credit markets.

Foodservice Exec: “Paul, you mention an important point in today’s economic market. Successful existing franchisees should already have relationships with lenders who have seen them perform over time. A well-funded prospect is worth his weight in gold! Any contracts that are “contingent on financing” may as well be thrown in the trash, as lenders are not willing to take the risk with an unknown, untested, unproven franchisee.

Me: “I absolutely agree with you. Just the mention of a brand new candidate exploring a franchise concept without the candidate having any experience sends a lender running for the hills. It really doesn’t matter how proven the franchise brand is and how long it’s been around. To that end, I see primary growth in franchising coming from current franchisees looking to diversify their business portfolio, adding new revenue streams and streamlining redundant expenses.”

It was an interesting discussion and I believe several good ideas and thoughts were presented. I know the information reached an audience that did not actually participate in the discussion because I received over thirty emails from individuals asking me to expand upon my responses, and those of the other participants. In addition, we shared ideas and thoughts, and discussed our own experiences. I’m proud to say that I also learned a few things myself. Proof again of the benefits of social networking!

Franchise Development via Social Media: Let the Journey Begin!

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This week, a great deal of time will be spent on this site focusing on Franchise Development via Social Media. I’ll address the basics and identify how to integrate Web 2.0 technology and tools with traditional franchise marketing and development methods. The ultimate goal and objective to be achieved by these efforts will be to provide franchisors an effective way to generate franchise sales in today’s economic environment and beyond.

Now, before proceeding on our exciting journey, let’s not lose site of basic sales skills and the fact that franchise candidates must be treated professionally and with a sense of urgency. To that end, as a primer to this week’s journey of Franchise Development via Social Media, I am reposting below, the recent article posted on this site that referred to Franchise Update’s mystery shopping of franchise companies. Let’s keep the results focused in our minds and understand, regardless of what methods generate interest in a franchise concept, it still takes personal attention to detail, extreme professionalism, and diligent follow-up to successfully move any interested party from franchise candidate to franchisee.

Your participation is greatly encouraged and will certainly be appreciated. Please submit all comments and questions in the appropriate section at any time during the journey and I’ll respond as quickly as possible but definitely before the next day’s segment. I anticipate four segments in all, with one each evening through Thursday of this week. That will provide more than enough information to ponder over the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

Without further delay, let the journey begin!

lagging-salesWhy Are Franchise Sales Lagging?
originally posted on this site March 24, 2009

Besides the obvious factors of economic uncertainty and tight credit, what other factors are contributing to dismal franchise sales across the industry? Are we contributing to the problem? Are we doing a disservice to franchise candidates, the very people exploring options for a better future?

Recently, Franchise Update’s own mystery shopping (posing as a qualified buyer and phoning in and emailing to 148 franchise companies who represented 57,000 units) revealed such fundamental flaws as:

no callback within 48 hours (58%);
not taking a name (24%);
not taking a phone number (45%) or email address (40%); and
not asking for a time frame for buying/opening a franchise (67%).

The ironic thing is that the industry routinely pays out 20-30-40% commission on franchise sales.

In light of recent poor performance and, high expense in actually awarding a franchise, can the franchise industry continue its franchise development efforts in the same manner as it has for the past ten or so years AND expect to grow?

Social Media and Franchise Lead Generation

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Mark Siebert, Chief Executive Officer of the iFranchise Group, one of the leading franchise consulting companies, recently wrote an excellent article about Social Media Marketing, and how it can be used to generate franchise leads. Mark explores the world of Social Media Marketing while defining it as the fourth part of effective franchise lead generation strategies. I believe Mark is spot on in his thoughts and views of Social Media Marketing. For the benefit of all that may not have read the article as of yet, I have listed the article below.

Enter the Fourth Horseman
Social media is the next lead generation site
By Mark Siebert
As published in: Franchise Times – April 2009

franchise-timesBy virtually all accounts, the Internet represents the single biggest lead source for most franchisors. Yet despite its dominance of the franchise lead generation market, a significant number of franchisors simply do not use it effectively.

It is little wonder. The traditional troika of Internet lead generation – organic search, Pay-Per-Click, and portals – are all designed to keep us off balance. Organic search engine optimization techniques change almost weekly, as the major search engines try to improve their search algorithms and SEO companies strive to catch up. Pay-Per-Click advertising, by the very nature of the competitive bid process which serves ads, can require frequent strategy changes in an effort to stay a step ahead of the competition. And franchise portals, which now number more than 100, represent the primary focus for most franchisors’ Internet marketing strategy.

Read more…

Franchise Sales & Space Mountain: An Odd Comparison?

· 1 Comment ·

social-networkingThe great thing about social networking, that has been missing from online franchise lead generation, is the “meeting place.” It’s a place where a candidate gets to know the people in the know as well as on the fringe; the concept’s customers. So, let’s define the “meeting place.”

The “meeting place” is anywhere online where cyber identities gather. Ok, it’s where people network on social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, just to name a few of the most popular sites. I just wanted to be geeky cute so forgive me for the humor.

Anyway, in these social networks, individuals meet with others, share information and learn new things. In this process, if they’re looking for a franchise or business opportunity, they’ll seek out information that may assist them in the process. Through referrals and discussion groups they may be exposed to “experts” in their particular field of interest. Experts that may have the answer to what they’re looking for.

But, would they trust a direct push right to a website full of information? The answer is no because they’re only “hearing” it from one source. They need to have full understanding which the website may help provide. But before that, they need to “see” and “hear” what others have to say. Others that know what’s going on. Others that have experienced the service or product as the end user. Others that are the “operational” people. Where does the candidate find that online? Is there a place online that is not intimidating and so one-sided that it creates a level of discomfort as opposed to excitement to proceed?

Yes, there is such a place. For one, a Facebook fan site of the concept, could be just the right place. A landing zone so to speak before being launched to the company website. This non-intimidating site may have a cross platform of many different individuals “talking” about their views, positions and experiences with the company as a candidate, a franchisee, a corporate executive or a customer. It’s in this zone that the franchise candidate learns about the practical side of the concept, the pros and cons as they are conveyed from different individuals, and they get to “see” the experience of the concept itself through the “eyes” (comments) of others.space-mountain2

It’s kind of like standing on a line for a ride at Disney World where the time up until the ride takes off is the Facebook site and the ride itself is the concept a franchise candidate is considering. On the long line for the ride, you kind of know what to expect and the anticipation builds as you move along. But, you just don’t jump on the ride, right? You first go through the info stage. You read the general signs at the entrance. You hear directions and watch videos along the way. Sounds a lot like Social Media, doesn’t it?

Further along, you see the caution signs. You interact with other guests on line. You share what you have heard about the ride with others and them with you. You interact with the ride personnel as they usher you to the ride itself. There, you interact with the people who just finished the ride and you see the excitement and joy on their faces. Now you’re ready for the experience yourself. Hold on tight because as the ride leaves the station, YOU”RE COMMITTED!

agreementOf course, franchise sales are not quite as easy or simple as anyone who has ever presented a franchise sales opportunity can attest. But when you consider the building and infrastructure of the ride and the time spent developing the ride concept, the design of the structure, the projected ride experience and the large financial investment, it’s easy to see how both a franchise opportunity and a ride evolve the same and ultimately have similar objectives; to encourage participation, create a positive experience, instill a desire to do it again without remorse and to share their unique experience with others.

The one key thing that Disney has that may be lacking in many franchise organizations is “attention to detail.” It’s the little things along the way that create the desire, justify the value and establish trust that the Disney name brings to the experience. Is it ironic that key components of a sale are need/desire, value and trust? Are you ready for the Disney-ish way of selling franchises? If you are, then you’re ready to sell franchises through social networking, social media and all the other goodies that make up Web2.0!

Franchise Growth: Are Concessions and Discounts Necessary?

· 3 Comments ·

This article is based upon a recent discussion in a LinkedIn franchise group. The original discussion posted the question, “What kind of discounts or concessions are required now to get a franchisee candidate to move forward?” and generated many responses and different views. The following is my response when my view about getting back to basics was preceived to be fine during “normal” times as opposed to during more difficult times, such as the present. A subsequent response from another franchise professional implied there are too many franchisors. I’ve addressed that as well.

discountAlthough it’s certainly easier to accomplish franchise growth during “normal” times, the basics need to be in place even more so during tough times. That’s not to say we don’t need to think and act outside-the-box to make something happen. It just means we need to be extra prudent and diligent in our actions and not use the economy as an excuse for poor execution of skills.

If we are to offer discounts and concessions in awarding franchises we need to be extremely careful we don’t oversell or create the perception of desperation. By doing so, we’ll either lose the deal or create a situation whereby the franchisee will not have respect for the franchise system and feel if one or two concessions were made initially, why not more moving forward? And then, there’s the perspective of franchisees already in the system that paid full amounts without concessions. What’s in it for them?

Nevertheless, with reports like Franchise Update’s about poor franchise sales performance and practices, I can’t help believe franchise systems wouldn’t be in better shape if their sales basics were perfected. It has to start with the basics before changing direction or considering revisions to the program.

In any business, just like in any sport, when a slump is emminent, it’s the fundamentals that need to be worked on before anything else should be considered or entertained. Once that’s done, then it makes good business sense to consider other options. At the very least, it should be done simultaneously. If not, what’s going to be the excuse when concessions and discounts don’t work?

PS – Saying there are too many franchisors is akin to saying there are too many businesses of the same kind. What happened to free enterprise and entrepreneurship? Maybe, franchising could be better served by more regulation, licensing and policing, to weed out the weaker (for whatever reason) franchisors and make it more difficult to become a franchisor. Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening because the “big boys” of franchising will squash those efforts in a New York minute. I look forward to debating this topic in a different discussion or forum.

Why are franchise sales lagging?

· 1 Comment ·

lagging-salesBesides the obvious factors of economic uncertainty and tight credit, what other factors are contributing to dismal franchise sales across the industry? Are we contributing to the problem? Are we doing a disservice to franchise candidates, the very people exploring options for a better future?

Recently, Franchise Update’s own mystery shopping (posing as a qualified buyer and phoning in and emailing to 148 franchise companies who represented 57,000 units) revealed such fundamental flaws as:

no callback within 48 hours (58%);
not taking a name (24%);
not taking a phone number (45%) or email address (40%); and
not asking for a time frame for buying/opening a franchise (67%).

The ironic thing is that the industry routinely pays out 20-30-40% commission on franchise sales.

In light of recent poor performance and, high expense in actually awarding a franchise, can the franchise industry continue its franchise development efforts in the same manner as it has for the past ten or so years AND expect to grow?