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RESALES


Start talking F


Successful franchise resales: the secret is to initiate the conversation early, says Derrick Simpson


ranchisees have a shelf life. The length of their lifecycle is influenced by various factors, including the span of the franchise agreement, their age, their profitability and – dare I say it – boredom, which will ultimately bring them to the selling decision. For the vast majority, however, the concept of planning for the final part of this lifecycle is alien to them.


It is important to recognise that most franchisees buy a business once in their lives – an emotional experience – and sell it once in their lives, which can be an even more emotional experience. The euphoria and energy exhibited when franchisees sign up, graduate from training courses and launch their businesses is often dissipated during their lifetime as a franchisee so it is hardly surprising that the same care and lightness of touch employed to bring them into the business should absolutely be used to help them exit.


When joining, they are taking that big step into the unknown and trusting you, their franchisor partner, with their futures. This is an ethical responsibility we accept as one of the joys of franchising. Going, however, seems to be a different kettle of fish. Some franchisors either abdicate their responsibility to assist with a sale or occasionally become so involved that it ends up costing them – in terms of both time and cash. Resales are, in many franchised networks, an annoyance that can cause friction, dispute and discord with franchisees as battle lines are drawn over topics such as valuation, sourcing purchasers, fees payable and all the other elements of the minefield that is the process of


42 | www.franchisornews.co.uk


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