Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Key Takeaways
- Strong franchise sales start with a clear process everyone actually follows every day.
- Educated prospects buy faster, which makes your website and sales conversations critical.
Like building a house, building a strategy for selling a franchise requires a blueprint. You need a logical plan that takes you from laying the foundation (gathering leads) to sealing the roof (closing the deal).
If you’re struggling to sell, it may be time to stop and take a hard look at whether you have all the pieces in place. Asking two strategic questions can help you structure the plan more effectively.
What are you selling, and how are you selling it?
This is where it starts. You need a franchise that is profitable, that offers a product or service people can get excited about. Look at your franchise disclosure document and the revenue reported in item 19. This is important for people buying a franchise; for many, it’s the first thing they look for.
A critical part of sales is the sales process; everyone has one, but not everyone has one that makes sense or is used consistently. Yours must be one that everyone understands, agrees to, and sticks to. It should have some specific channels that you use regularly to attract leads you can convert. For instance, at United Franchise Group, our brand websites are the most effective channels for us, followed by industry trade shows, targeted advertising and public relations.
Your website can be your top lead producer. The more educated a prospect is, the more likely they are to buy. Your website should tell your business story in a clear, engaging way, but always with the focus on your customers and how you help them. Every element should lead the reader to the decision that this franchise business is just what they’re looking for — now, how do they get in touch to learn more?
Trade shows give you the face-to-face contact you need to turn prospects into buyers. It’s hard to say no to someone who’s standing right in front of you, showing how your product can meet their needs. But you can’t just wait for the leads to show up at your booth and ask questions; you have to prospect as actively as if you were cold calling back at the office. (And you are cold calling at the office, right?)
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In our company’s beginning days, we discovered the trade show crew was not bringing in as many sales as before. No one knew why. So, I hired a film crew and recorded the booth from across the hall. When I played it back, they were in shock that I had recorded them, but the video clearly revealed that they were letting people walk past the booth without engaging with them.
They just weren’t working diligently in the aisle, working to get the right people at our booth. Once they understood that, they turned it around and our sales were back on track.
From the time you meet a potential franchisee to the time you close the sale, what are your steps, and do you have them down? Does everyone know their roles? Does everyone play their parts in the steps correctly?
Who’s on your team?
Look at the team and make sure each member is in the right position. For instance, in staffing the phone room in our franchise development team, we look for younger people with outgoing personalities who want to learn and get experience — people we can work with and promote when the time is right. We use it as a breeding ground for employees for the whole company as well.
Their role is to get information from the prospect and educate them so that when we pass the information down the sales pipeline, they are ready for the next steps. When the prospect reaches one of our regional vice presidents for closing, we need relationship-building and closing skills for that role. You’d be surprised at how many people just don’t ask for the sale!
If you’re at the top of your company, you should be aware of what your sales team is doing. That’s part of our job, isn’t it? If I go to a trade show, I’m not just there saying hi to old friends and colleagues; I’m making sure everybody’s working and we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing there. I see a lot of my peers who don’t even come to trade shows anymore. That’s a mistake: They’re disconnecting from the whole industry. You have to stay up to date with trends and the people to keep a current pulse on what’s going on.
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Blueprint for success
Everybody’s blueprint is not going to be the same, because every company is not the same. But the basics apply to everyone. It’s still a numbers game; it’s still about building relationships and it’s still about the face-to-face. If your blueprint follows those principles, you’re on your way to building strong sales and success.
Key Takeaways
- Strong franchise sales start with a clear process everyone actually follows every day.
- Educated prospects buy faster, which makes your website and sales conversations critical.
Like building a house, building a strategy for selling a franchise requires a blueprint. You need a logical plan that takes you from laying the foundation (gathering leads) to sealing the roof (closing the deal).
If you’re struggling to sell, it may be time to stop and take a hard look at whether you have all the pieces in place. Asking two strategic questions can help you structure the plan more effectively.
