Presented by Mario Altiery, CFE President and Founder, Upside Group Franchise Consulting
Top Post-Franchise Sales Problems COMMUNICATION If you share information franchisees can use to help or protect their businesses, then it s always good. But even if it s too much, I d rather be accused of saying too much than too little. Craig Dunaway, president of 225- unit Penn Station East Coast Subs INCLUSION IN LONG- RANGE BRAND PLANNING When franchisees are involved, you increase buy-in and are less likely to get into debates. Aziz Hashim, a 40-unit franchisee of Checker s, Rally s, Subway and Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen concepts SETTING EXPECTATIONS FROM THE START I think the best way to resolve franchise relationship problems is to stop them before they start whenever possible. Larry Tate, chairman of the IFA s Franchise Relations Committee and Senior VP of franchise sales for the 500-unit Golden Corral Buffet and Grill chain You can t have a successful franchisor without successful franchisees and you can t have successful franchisees without a successful franchisor. Bill Rosenberg, founder of Dunkin Donuts and co-founder of the IFA
How the Sales Process Can Affect Your Franchisees Success Determining your ideal franchisee Setting expectations Sales software Automated email systems Lead generation/branding
How the Sales Process Can Affect Your Franchisees Success Determining your ideal franchisee Setting expectations Sales software Automated email systems Lead generation/branding
Expectations What is setting expectations?
Common Important Expectations May Include Your culture Customer service ideology Franchisee marketing responsibilities Division of duties What franchisees receive for their initial investment What franchise receive for their ongoing fees such as royalties and advertising fund
Exercises How do we determine key expectations to focus on in your franchise system?
Exercise Examples Top post sale issues Key tasks to be performed by franchisees day-to-day Bullet description of your ideal culture Top post sale issues Key tasks to be performed by franchisees day-today Bullet description of your ideal culture
Exercise Results Following distribution to key staff, this is an example of what you can expect returned: Top Post Sales Issues: 1.Franchisee failure to market locally 2.Improperly trained staff 3.Not aggressive enough with customer service follow up 4.Under-motivated staff Top Post Sales Issues: 1.Poor employee training 2.Failure to promote staff 3.Local marketing shortcoming 4.Lacks customer service follow up Top Post Sales Issues: 1.Marketing and promotion failure 2.Lack of community involvement 3.Not following proven system methods 4.Undertrained staff
Exercise Results Staff responses are analyzed for consistencies Top Post Sales Issues: 1.Franchisee failure to market locally 2.Improperly trained staff 3.Not aggressive enough with customer service follow up 4.Under-motivated staff Top Post Sales Issues: 1.Poor employee training 2.Failure to promote staff 3.Local marketing shortcoming 4.Lacks customer service follow up Top Post Sales Issues: 1.Marketing and promotion failure 2.Lack of community involvement 3.Not following proven system methods 4.Undertrained staff
Exercise Results Staff responses are analyzed for consistencies Top Post Sales Issues: 1.Franchisee failure to market locally 2.Improperly trained staff 3.Not aggressive enough with customer service follow up 4.Under-motivated staff Top Post Sales Issues: 1.Poor employee training 2.Failure to promote staff 3.Local marketing shortcoming 4.Lacks customer service follow up Top Post Sales Issues: 1.Marketing and promotion failure 2.Lack of community involvement 3.Not following proven system methods 4.Undertrained staff
Exercise Results Then used to create the consolidated and weighted list Top Post Sales Issues: 1.Failure to market and promote 2.Improperly trained staff 3.Poor customer service follow up 4.Lack of community outreach 5.Inability to promote or motivate staff
Exercise Results So you can see how we created the weighted list, but this is only one list example. Generally, a minimum of 10 list requests are distributed to a minimum of 10 key staff members bringing back a minimum of 100 lists.
Exercise Results So you can see how we created the weighted list, but this is only one list example. Generally, a minimum of 10 list requests are distributed to a minimum of 10 key staff members bringing back a minimum of 100 lists.
Exercise Results Say your company has 35 employees filling out 10 lists, which totals 350 lists! An easier way to organize this is to consolidate by department Sales Team Marketing Operations Executive Team Administrative Staff Training Staff Field Support Ten Reports Per Person 350 Lists!
Exercise Results 350 Lists Sales Team Marketing Operations Executive Team Admin Staff Training Staff Field Support 70 70 Lists Lists 10 10 Lists Lists
Exercise Results Lists are analyzed, sorted and used to create a weighted list for each question then, ultimately, one master list which reflects the culture and core aspects of your system will be created. Consolidated List 1.Willingness/ability to market and promote consistently 2.Dedication to hire and train the right people 3.Previous management experience 4.Financially sound 5.Strong computer skills 6.Previous P/L responsibilities 7.Upbeat personality 8.Highest quality products 9.Top customer service 10.Long business history
How Do We Use the Information We Have Garnered From Our Exercises? Initial Macro Marketing Materials/Advertising Sales Materials Pre-Launch Collateral and Systems Post Opening Reinforcements
Initial Macro Marketing Materials/Advertising
PR Public Relations
Web Portals
Company Websites
Company Websites
Sales Materials
Sales Calls
Sales Calls
Franchise Information Packets
Profile Questions
Pre-Launch collateral and systems
Manual Suite
Manual Suite
Training POS System. Additional software training. INITIAL TRAINING PROGRAM MANAGEMENT TRAINING DAY SUBJECT HOURS OF CLASSROOM TRAINING HOURS ON THE JOB TRAINING LOCATION DAY 1 Orientation 1 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles Kalologie Philosophy 1 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles Treatments 3 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles Customer Service 3 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles Marketing Intro 1 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles DAY 2 Marketing and Promotion 8 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles DAY 3 Marketing and Promotion 5 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles Unit Management 3 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles Human Resources and Staffing 2 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles Insurance 1 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles DAY 4 Point of Sale Software 5 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles Financial Reporting 2 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles Credit Card Processing 1 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles DAY 5 Advanced Customer Service Standards 8 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles DAY 6 Advanced Marketing Technique 6 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles Client Sales 3 0 Phoenix or Los Angeles DAY 7 Practice Sessions 0 8 Phoenix or Los Angeles
Post Opening Reinforcement
Newsletters
Intranet Communication Keep your team informed of upcoming changes through the company intranet.
Interconnected Systems
Conclusion Identify your key expectations Corporate employee buy in Review and revise your collateral as necessary within: Initial marketing materials/advertising Sales materials Pre-Launch collateral and systems Post opening reinforcement Retrain Staff
Questions? How the Sales Process Can Affect Your Franchisees Success Mario Altiery, CFE Upside Group Franchise Consulting (480) 219-2395 mario@upsidefc.com www.upsidefranchiseconsulting.com