Common Mistakes to Avoid When Franchising Your Business Part 2
As a franchise consultant, a question I commonly hear is “What mistakes are frequently made when franchising your business?” In last month’s Blog, we listed some blunders to avoid when franchising your business:
- Selling too many franchises too quickly when first franchising your business
- Not requiring Franchise Owners to complete the initial training program
- When franchising your business, allowing a Franchise Owner to pick a substandard site
- Jeopardizing the brand, name and reputation when franchising your business
- Awarding franchises to the wrong people
In last month’s Blog, we discussed the first three mistakes listed above. This blog concentrates on mistakes (4) jeopardizing the brand, name and reputation when franchising your business and (5) awarding franchises to the wrong people.
Compromising the brand, name and reputation can be a huge misstep when franchising your business.
You are entrusting your brand to the new Franchise Owner; you hope the Franchise Owner will help you build the name, develop a new customer base and protect your image.
When franchising your business, you must remain diligent to ensure that all Franchise Owners are following your system, supporting the brand and conveying the desired message to their customers and communities. A Franchise Owner with a sloppy operation can undermine the brand and the revenues not only at the individual location but also at other franchises.
Awarding franchises to the wrong people can cause substantial problems when franchising your business. A Franchise Owner must meet your financial criteria.
But there are other considerations as well: does the person have the time, desire, drive, personality, skills, maturity and energy to properly operate the business? If particular skills or licenses are needed, does the candidate meet those qualifications? Does the prospective Franchise Owner support your company vision, direction and philosophy?
Experience, education, life circumstances, credit scores, criminal background, market knowledge, personal and business references and character will all impact the likely success of the individual Franchise Owner.
In order to obtain the most informed opinion of the candidate’s potential, we recommend the following steps: (a) a short form application to screen out obviously unqualified applicants, (b) a more detailed application to ensure the applicant meets your qualifications, and (c) spending time to get to know the potential Franchise Owner. These steps will ensure that when franchising your business, you entrust the future of your program to fully qualified people.
We hope that addressing in these two Blogs five common mistakes Franchisors make will help you get off to a more successful launch and avoid missteps that could undermine your success when franchising your business.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Franchising Your Business
As a franchise consultant, a question I commonly hear is “What mistakes are frequently made when franchising your business?”
Here are some blunders to avoid when franchising your business:
- Selling too many franchises too quickly when first franchising your business
- Not requiring Franchise Owners to complete the initial training program
- When franchising your business, allowing a Franchise Owner to pick a substandard site
- Jeopardizing the brand, name and reputation when franchising your business
- Awarding franchises to the wrong people
When franchising your business, avoid the rookie mistake of selling more franchises than your team can adequately train and service. While initially franchising your business, you have committed to helping your new Franchise Owners succeed, you have limited resources and their success will largely determine the ongoing viability of your franchise program. At this point, it is far better to over-deliver than under-deliver.
Plus, when you are first franchising your business, you are learning how to be a Franchisor. If you focus on your Franchise Owners when first franchising your business, you will ultimately sell more franchises.
When franchising your business, we strongly recommend you require all Franchise Owners and any applicable staff members to complete the initial training program. If you take this training program seriously, your Franchise Owners will as well. Schedule the training in advance; do not allow Franchise Owners to just drop in for a few hours. Having fully trained Franchise Owners will improve their individual bottom lines and the overall success of your franchise program.
Failure to enforce your site selection guidelines is another key error when franchising your business. Of course, no site will be perfect. However, you cannot let an untested Franchise Owner’s enthusiasm for a particular location unduly influence your judgment.
For example, if your business is more successful if it is located on the “morning” side of the street, do not accept a location on the “evening” side of the street without compensating factors. If you know the available parking cannot accommodate the franchise’s customers and employees, do not approve the site unless parking can be expanded.