Upside Group Franchise Business Consulting

I recently had the opportunity to take a long trip with my family using the method of transportation my father preferred during my childhood, the family vehicle. Of course, back then it was a wood paneled station wagon instead of a mini-van, but the results were the same.  I had a lot of time to take in the scenery and with a carload of children, it seemed as if we were constantly pulling off the highway into small towns for bathroom breaks.  It dawned on me that in every town there were commercial properties with signs advertising lease space.  Even as the economy shows signs of improvement, it validated for me that the commercial real estate market has yet to see any of that forecasted turnaround. For years, lease negations for a franchise location have always been a battle, and it still is a fight but franchisors are in a uniquely positive situation in today’s real estate market.  If commercial lease negotiations were a tennis match, it would be “Advantage Franchisor.”  We all need to remember that while the difficult economy poses challenges for any franchise system, getting a good deal on retail space is not one of them.  Remain confident and remember, if you don’t ask for it, you won’t get it.  However, in 2010, you have a good shot at it.

While I was attending the recent IFA convention in San Antonio, Texas last month, a popular word thrown around the discussions in the hallways was “networking”.  We all know what it means in today’s business or social circles but when I returned to my centuries old house, I realized the concept has been around forever.

Back in the 18^th century, when my house first appeared on the hill, if you needed something built you organized an old fashioned barn raising.  In order to build a barn in a day you needed a lot of manpower and you can bet that the best barns were built for the folks who knew the most people.  My grandmother was born in the 19^th century and lived to be 103. I can remember her telling me from as far back as I can remember, “It is not always what you know but who you know.”  Grandma knew a lot of folks and from a very young age was always introducing herself to strangers she would meet in everyday life.  After over a century of making contacts, in the latter part of  her life she had twice as many friends as I will ever have who were knocking each other over to help her with the daily chores of living alone at 100.

The word “networking” came into popular use during the late part of the 20^th century when I was already out in the working world.  I have been fortunate to have countless stories of opportunities gained through people I have met just by following-up on a chance aquantance.  I am starting to get calls from people I met at the IFA Franchise Convention while in line for lunch or at the bar or waiting for a session to start or at a stop light waiting to cross the street.  I will followup with everyone because you never know, which one will someday pass on a great franchise lead or which supplier will solve a franchisee problem.

In the 1700’s, they called it “being neighborly.”  In the 1800’s, they called it “meeting folks.”  In the 1900’s, they called it “networking.”  Fifty years from now, who knows what our kids will call it.  Who cares?  It works!

I have been enjoyed watching the Olympics this past week.  It dawned on me there are quite a few events in the Winter Olympics that rely on “partners”.  Normally, sporting events fall into the single category or the team category.  There are not too many pairs NASCAR races or 2 on 2 football games.  But the Olympics like to celebrate partnership with events like pairs ice skating, ice dancing, 2 man bobsled and double luge.  What makes a good partner in these events?  Some of the common characteristics would be committing wholeheartedly to work together, offering complementary skills and dedicating oneself to improving their individual skills and their teamwork.  The same holds true for partnerships in franchising, doesn’t it?  Having a partner is a great way to get a franchise up and running quickly because each franchise partner can concentrate on their strengths.  One franchise partner could be focusing on smoothing out start-up operations while the other franchise partner is simultaneously dedicated to marketing and sales.  Or in this tough financial market, two franchise partners can pool their finances to eliminate the need for a loan.  So if you are not sure a franchise prospect has all the skills necessary to be a successful franchisee, have them go get a franchise partner that fills in the missing pieces.  Just don’t expect them to skate or sled together!

Mario Altiery, President of Upside Group Franchise Consulting, was invited to a special private reception as a major contributor to FranPAC for former U.S. President George W. Bush during the International Franchise Association Convention on February 6, 2010. President Bush was the keynote speaker at the International Franchise Association’s 50th Annual Franchise Convention held in San Antonio, Texas from February 5 – 8.  During Mr. Altiery’s private time with the President they discussed baseball and franchising.  Following the private FranPAC reception, President Bush delivered his keynote address to the 2,400 International Franchise Association members in attendance on his experiences with other world leaders, the nature of public leadership and his candid insights on his eight years living in the White House.  The International Franchise Association Convention, in addition to celebrating their 50 year milestone, was praised by those in attendance as informative, educational and validating the vital role franchising has played in the initial stages of turning around the troubled U.S. economy.

Today franchise prospects are busier than ever and are often inundated with advertising, calls and information from various franchise opportunities.  This is why franchise salespeople must be experts at the nuances when speaking to interested franchise candidates, and one of the most important aspects is “Tone”.  Yes, each franchise salesperson must have exceptional skills on getting the customer on the phone, gathering information, building rapport, generating excitement and advancing the call and tone is a key factor in the process.  Keep in mind that most everyone is turned off by an in-your-face approach. Using personality matching and a consultative selling approach are the ways to become the kind of franchise development professional that can identify a customer’s personality type and match their rhythm, tone and style.  By implementing this techniques the franchise discovery process will be more pleasant for everyone involved.

It is important to know how to choose the right franchise portals. One of the most critical things to consider when choosing a franchise portal is their volume of traffic. You want to make sure that your ads are being seen by as many people as possible so one aspect to picking the correct franchise portal is researching the traffic to each site. If you contact each of the franchise portals you have identified as potential lead generation opportunities, they will be able to give you their latest statistics regarding the volume of traffic to their site.  A second critical factor is the division and accuracy of industry categories. You need to review the type of franchise prospect you are looking to attract along with how the layout and division of brands on the franchise portal site will affect who sees your ad. For example, if you are a green business that touts green as one of your key benefits, you don’t want to get lost in the volume of other like services that are not green. You would look for franchise web portals that have a specific green category.  All in all, franchise portals are still an excellent lead generation tool for franchisors in 2010.

Ask the typical franchisor to list the top five most important benefits of their franchise system and a safe bet would be that manuals are not included on the list.  Every franchise is required by law to have them but often franchisors do not understand their real value.  If you fall into that category and don’t use them as sales tools, you may be missing a great opportunity.

Potential franchisees are looking for a roadmap to build a successful business for themselves and their families.  They expect the franchisor to accurately explain the business model and show them how to duplicate it. The Operations Manual is that roadmap and used properly can be a tremendous sales tool.  Franchise candidates are about to take a huge leap when they purchase a franchise and a comprehensive, easy-to-use Operations Manual is their warm, fuzzy blanket to hold onto during the process. If impressed by the Operations Manual, they are saying to themselves, “I know I can follow this, this is how you replicate this business model.  I can do this.”  However, if the manuals look confusing and over simplified, no amount of sales sizzle will overcome their anxieties regarding business start-up.

Every franchise should have the following suite of manuals:

Operations Manual - it needs to be extremely detailed and comprehensive but written in easy to read language.  It needs to walk them through a task-by-task progression for each component of the business, complete with timelines and filled with every possible contingency but be so easy to navigate that answers to any question can be found within moments.  It needs pictures and examples that illustrate clearly the task at hand.

Jumpstart Manual - Every franchisor should have some type of Jumpstart Manual that takes the brand new franchisee step-by-step from the day after signing the franchise agreement to their first day of training class.  Every incremental task of starting their business should be covered so they don’t miss a thing and everything is completed before they step foot in their first training class.  They need to be concentrating on learning the business, not skipping out of class to talk on their cell phone with the guy installing the internet cable.

Grand Opening Manual - Grand Openings are vital to every successful business start-up and your franchisee should have a separate Grand Opening Manual that walks them through every detail of planning and executing a successful Grand Opening.
Now with a complete set of manuals, your Discovery Day can offer the prospect the opportunity to look through your manuals spread out on a table.  They will see no detail of the business has been left out and every aspect of building their successful franchise is at their fingertips. They may not verbalize it but this one act may be what seals the deal.

All franchise prospects have one thing in common; eventually they have to make the leap to get started no matter what kind of business they decide to pursue. If they are interested in the pie business, they may love the taste and look of the pie, they may be excited by how much money they can make selling pies, but if they don’t have confidence that the recipe is well written and easy to follow, they will never bake the pie.

Your manuals function like blood pressure medication prescribed by a doctor, they are not the sexiest pills on the planet and they are not miracle drugs, but you need to take it the rest of your life or eventually it will kill you.  Good manuals can close a deal, good manuals are essential to getting successful franchisees on the road to growing their business, good manuals can be just what the doctor ordered – when was the last time you checked your prescription?