Capturing Multi-Unit Franchisees Is Tough, However, There are Solutions

The aha moment many franchisors have is the aha moment when they discover that multi-unit franchisees are easier to work with, grow with, and sell with.?

“By gosh, I got it,” said the Franchisor. “We will only market to multi-unit franchisees – the biggest, the brightest, the best. And they will come in droves. They will desire our brand and grow with it. We will take over the franchise world, (dark laugh) ha, ha, ha, ha.”

Then the tires screech, as they pull up to the franchise parking lot full of others who have figured out their aha moment.

“What are all these franchisors doing in this franchise marketing and sales parking lot,” the Franchisor screams. “How did they figure out our secret plan?”

Well, unfortunately, and unfortunately again – franchisors have been going after this elusive group for quite some time. Area Developers, master franchisees (can we just retire that name), multi-unit owners – the name of the game/target has changed, yet the actions have stayed on course.

So, here’s the thing. You are absolutely not wrong to want a multi-unit franchisee – especially one who came from another brand, has built up wealth, understands franchising, etc. But where you will be challenged is there is no magic to the sales process – they are hard to move. And then, the biggest challenge is the amount of franchisors who are marketing to this exact same target – there are hundreds of them (just look at the multi-unit conference).

Thus, just like anything else, you need something to snag their attention when they are ready to diversify their portfolios. You need to stand out. You need to differentiate your offering.

This is likely when the, “there is no way I can do that” comes into play. Royalty relief, marketing support, turnkey development – things that drive cash back to the buyer…now the ears listen.

So, when you pull up to the park full of franchisors looking to sell to franchisees, remember that this is still a big investment, still comes with risk, still has challenges – and then after all of that, you have to really showcase a clear why you/why now.