FINALWORD
The long game
I
am very honoured to be chair of the British Franchise Association’s Scottish Franchise Forum. All the bfa forums are a fantastic opportunity to sit with your fellow franchisors and discuss the hot industry topics of the
day – but this isn’t a pitch for bfa membership. I mention it because I can’t remember the last time that franchisee recruitment wasn’t top of the list of things franchisors said they wanted to talk about. This doesn’t come as a great surprise, I hasten to add; businesses become franchises to fi nd franchisees. I rather suspect though, that the main reason the issue is so relentlessly raised for discussion, is that franchisors genuinely believe somebody out there knows ‘the secret’ – and nobody wants to miss out on hearing that do they? Well, I’ve recruited a lot of franchisees over the years, for my own franchises and now for clients, and the closest thing I have to a ‘secret’ behind successful recruitment, is not to make the process all about ‘a seller’ and ‘a buyer’. Now, don’t think for a second that I’m part of the ‘sales is a dirty word so let’s call it something fl uffy instead’ brigade; I’m just saying that the focus of a franchisee recruiter should not be as a seller looking for a buyer, but to facilitate the right person buying the right franchise, and that relies on a fairly
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unique style of marketing and communication, which differs from the traditional sales cycle. A franchise isn’t a fashion accessory that you can sell all your stock of in a single day by using a clever celebrity advert, or offering it at a great ‘one time only’ price. Those types of sale appeal to our sense of fun and our sense of ‘oh why the heck not; it’s only £20?’ That’s about a seller and a buyer – the seller doesn’t have to get to know the buyer nor could he care less about what the buyer will do with the item once he’s handed over the money. If you ever attract a great franchisee by using those tactics, I can promise you – it will be dumb luck! Nor is it a high-volume sale, where the
secret is simply to hit the phone all day calling anyone and everyone and trying to convince each person that they simply must buy your franchise as they’d be a fool not to. Your franchise isn’t six months of half-price broadband so don’t try to sell it like that. I wonder how many of us will forget this at the next franchise exhibition?
So when does this begin? It starts with your
very fi rst piece of marketing. It’s there when you compose the copy for the franchise page on your website; when you write your profi le for Business Franchise; when you produce your prospectus; when you respond to an enquiry by phone or email. It’s there because you should have a really clear picture of the franchisee you
Suzie McCafferty on how to approach franchisee recruitment
want for each of your territories, so what’s the point in diluting and confusing your message by trying to appeal to everyone? Every piece of language used needs to be talking to that person, not every person. Also, don’t make them jump through dozens of hoops to get the information they need – if your marketing is right then you will only be hearing from suitable people so you want them to have the info – why delay the process? Equally, don’t make them guess how much money it will take them to get the franchise up and running – tell them right from the off; it won’t put them off because you’re only engaged with the right people remember? And besides, hiding the costs until the end is just crazy, what on earth is the point of taking someone through your recruitment process who ultimately won’t be able to afford your franchise anyway?
Every conversation or communication in
your recruitment process is helping to build a partnership. It should be scrupulously honest and move at an agreed pace. It should focus on education rather than sales. Once you learn to use the right tools to
approach the right people, as opposed to casting an enormous net on an ineffi cient fi shing exercise, you’ll see benefi ts and you’ll be amazed at how enjoyable the whole recruitment process can be! n
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