How to Select the Right Franchisee?

If you have made up your mind about franchising, you might be wondering how to select the right franchisee. This can often be a tedious process — much like dating — where you have a lot of options but do not know which one to pick. 

Here is how you should go about picking your franchisee:

Step 1: Start a Formal Process

It is nice to have a formal initialized process so that you can keep track of what you are going through at all times. If your business does not have a website yet, I urge you to spend quality time and build a website (it will be useful for marketing later on as well). On your website, you should have a section where you talk about franchising and have a formal process laid out for it.

Step 2: Firm Description

I know this sounds absurd that I am asking you to think about what you do. You might be thinking, ‘Ahh, of course, I know what I do, why is he asking me to think about it?’. Yes, you do know what you do, but you need to be able to convey it as accurately as possible so that your franchisee knows you do — precisely. One of the reasons business owners end up choosing the wrong franchisees is that the franchisee misinterprets what the business is about, and this has serious consequences. You want to protect your brand name, image and culture, so make sure you spend worthwhile time thinking about portraying it the right way. You should then upload your description in your website.

Step 3: Advertise

Now that you have spent time describing what you do on your beautiful website, you want to ensure that people know about you — only then you will have more options to pick your right franchisee. In this case, the more the candidates, the better it is. By advertising the fact that you are franchising, your brand’s name will be out there, and more people will know about you, and hopefully apply to be a franchisee. An easy way to advertise would be to hire a consultant to do the same for you. SelectDine advertises your brand for free until you receive a customer! Be sure to check them out, as their help will yield you insane results in your advertising endeavors.

Step 4: Be Selective

After you receive a list of franchisees to choose from, I encourage you to be as selective as possible. Your primary filters should be to screen for criminal records and whether or not the franchisee is financially adept to expand your brand. Negativity in any of these two aspects could be disastrous to your brand, and remember that you want to protect your brand name, image, and culture at all costs. After an initial filter, you should look for ‘fit’. What I mean by ‘fit’ is that your franchisee should a person who represents your brand’s name, image, and culture well. You do not want your franchisee to get your business a bad reputation. Have multiple rounds of interviews if you wish to talk to franchisees more but you should ensure that this franchisee will be a good representation of your brand.

I wish you the best in this process. If you find this process perplexing, be sure to reach out to SelectDine, who specialize in making this process easier for you!