Nov 24, 2015 | Blogs, News
Many franchisors jump in and allocate their franchise recruitment budget without taking the time to really understand their ideal franchisee profile, causing long-term problems.
Whether you have a brand new franchise opportunity or a 100-strong network, taking the time out of your everyday workload to research and compile an accurate profile of what your perfect franchisees are like and how they behave during the recruitment process is an invaluable exercise.
This will save you many problems in the future, as it will not only give you an insight into where your budget will be best allocated to generate franchise prospects for the best return on investment but also ensures that you attract the right messages and, therefore, successfully grow your network.
Build at least 3 perfect profiles for your franchise brand
There is never one perfect franchisee profile for each franchise brand so whilst a franchisor might think they know what they are looking for in a franchisee, these are likely to be general ideas rather than built on strong research and proof.
If you already have a network of franchisees, I recommend selecting your top 10 performing franchisees and undertake some research to find out a bit more about them; their skills, age, expectations, background, personal interests, media consumption and their journey to purchasing your franchise.
If you don’t have any franchisees yet or if you think you don’t have enough to obtain an educated set of results, you can extend your research to some of your hottest prospects who have been through a substantial amount of your recruitment process.
Based on your findings, you will be able to create at least three profiles of your perfect franchisees. These profiles do not have to be set in stone and some elements from profile three could be merged with elements of profile two (and so on) but getting them down on paper will give your franchise recruitment marketing strategy a focus.
What to do when you know who you are looking for
The profiles you create can help you with finding places to advertise and with what messages, to make your franchise attractive to people you already know could have great success with your company and who share traits or interests with your top performing franchisees.
If you uncover some similar traits then act on them within your recruitment process. Here are a few examples:
- Tailor your Discovery Days– if you have lots of franchisees who play golf then host a discovery day at a golf club in a region you wish to recruit. If your franchisees have to have great networking skills and need confidence in presenting your product or service, design specific tasks during the day to discover whether or not they possess these skills.
- Integrate case studies– prepare a bank of case studies of current franchisees so you have at least one that each of your perfect prospective franchisees can relate to.
The time you take in getting the basics right will pay dividends. Taking a couple of days to assess your perfect franchisee profiles every six months will end up saving you and your franchise recruitment team several hours each week in dealing with unsuitable candidates.
If you want to find out more about finding your ideal franchisees, contact us.
Nov 20, 2015 | Coconut in the Media, Coconut News, News
Here at Coconut Creatives, we’re well versed in hosting and attending franchise events. That’s why we’re helping the BBIC (Barnsley Business and Innovation Centre) to host two pilot franchising events next year. We’re looking for franchisors who would like to get involved in the Yorkshire Franchise Seminars.
These seminars are offering the chance for franchisors who are looking to recruit franchisees in the Yorkshire are to get in front of an audience of prospective franchisees. The seminars will be providing prospects with information on how to get involved in franchising.
Each franchise brand will be given 3-5 minutes to present themselves and their brand to the audience with an opportunity to network with prospective franchisees throughout the event.
These pilot seminars are free to be involved with and are a great way to get to know prospects in the Yorkshire area. If you’ve got any prospects in the area, why not invite them to come along? Meeting you in an informal, no obligation environment might help their decision-making process!
We’re only looking for 6-8 franchise brands to get involved so don’t miss your chance to support and benefit from two great events!
Contact rebecca@coconutcreatives.co.uk if you’d like to get involved.
Nov 14, 2015 | Blogs
This month, Sarah Carlile, Founding Director of Coconut Creatives, highlights a few tips for finding your ideal franchisees to grow your network.
A basic understanding of franchising
Firstly, your prospective franchisees should have some knowledge of the franchise industry already otherwise you are wasting valuable time explaining the ins and outs of a franchised business to ‘wannabe’ business owners rather than explaining the benefits of your specific franchise offering.
Identifying prospects who are well informed is the first step in determining whether or not it is worth spending valuable time and resources pursuing them.
I find there are two ways to ensure that you almost always attract a well-informed prospect:
- Concentrate your franchise advertising towards on/offline channels which are targeted specifically at franchise searchers
- Ensure that your advertising messages in other media channels clearly explain what a franchise is.
Driving Force
Once you have determined the level of knowledge that your prospects have about the franchise industry, it is important to identify the driving force behind their decision to buy a franchise. There are many reasons why someone may want to buy a franchise but I have found that there tends to be one overriding reason; they are dissatisfied with their current situation. All prospective franchisees are looking for some kind of fulfilment, whether it’s a change in career, daily routine, family life, relocation or simply the desire to be their own boss and run their own business.
Make sure that one of your key qualifying questions in the first conversation you have with your prospects reveals the reason they want to be part of your franchise network. Once franchisors find out they are dealing with someone who is dissatisfied, their approach towards them changes, along with their chances of converting them.
What can you offer?
I have seen many examples of good and bad franchise information packs or prospectuses but the general rule is to keep it short and simple. Ideally you want a prospect to be led from one trust-building contact to another, so try not to provide every intimate detail about your franchise in the post, over one telephone call or via email. To truly convince a prospect to part with their hard-earned capital, you need them to want more information and you want them to experience it first-hand. A face-to-face meeting at your pilot franchise is the best way to achieve this.
Do YOU want them?
Meeting face-to-face with a prospect is also a good chance for you to identify whether or not the prospects you meet are people you want on your franchise team. While it may seem a struggle to get the first few franchisees signed up, valuable lessons can be learnt from those franchisors who no longer pursue every single lead and instead take the time to evaluate whether or not a particular individual is suited to their franchise. These franchisors operate a selection process and only chase up those prospects who they feel really fits the bill. Be in control of your franchise recruitment process and you will grow a successful franchise network.
If you want to find out more about how you can attract profitable franchisees, contact us.
Oct 27, 2015 | Events
Are you a franchisor looking for franchise support services? If the answer is yes, look no further. Attending the Supplier Showcase event could solve all your problems.
This event will be held on Wednesday 4th November at Warwick University in Coventry. The day will give you the opportunity to find a franchise support service that’s right for you, to help make your franchise more profitable and successful.
The Coconuts will be in attendance so don’t miss another chance to meet us and find out more about the services which we offer.
Click here for more information.
Oct 27, 2015 | Events
This Women in Franchising event is for every woman in the franchise industry and any woman who is looking to grow a business, start a business or who just wants to network and learn from like-minded successful women.
This event takes place on Tuesday 17th November at Stratford Manor in Stratford Upon Avon. From this event you can expect inspirational presentations, a chance to take part in either an interactive workshop or roundtables and the opportunity to network with like-minded professionals.
The Coconut team will be in attendance so don’t miss another opportunity to come and visit us. Plus, don’t miss Sarah Carlile’s roundtable discussion on ‘Franchise Marketing: Planning for success and avoiding mistakes’ at 2:20pm.
Further information on the Women in Franchising event can be found on the bfa website.
