One Mistake Franchisors Continue to Make

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It’s well known that the primary goal of franchisors is to grow their franchise system. Yet, there is one issue that absolutely befuddles me and should arouse the same reaction from franchisors. The issue is how poorly some franchisors process and manage their franchise leads. When working as a franchisor executive for a number of franchisors my mantra to my franchise sales staff was to treat every franchise lead with TLC. I found myself constantly speaking with my intake coordinator and sales staff in order to obtain updates on franchise lead flow and status. I’d remind them to treat each lead like gold.

Some franchisors simply do not get it!

While attending the Franchise Update Media Muti-Unit Franchise Conference several years ago I was surprised to learn how poorly some franchisors dealt with their franchise leads after seeing a Mystery Shopper presentation.?However, I recently found that the problem has continued. An article by Art Coley in Franchise Update Magazine Issue 4 in 2021 revealed that:

Nearly two-thirds (63%) of franchise brands mystery shopped either did not call back; didn’t have a phone number listed on their website; told the mystery shopper to call someone else; or simply did not respond within one business day.

Out of the 37% of mystery shopper calls of participating franchisors:

·????????22% didn’t call back at all.

·????????20% didn’t call within 1 business day.

·????????12% had no phone number listed.

·????????6% had a bad number or no VM set up.

·????????2% instructed the caller to dial another number.

The importance and value of proper and timely lead management was indicated in a webinar by franconnect in their State of Franchise Development on May 18th, 2022:

·????????Franchisors that responded to leads in 0 to 4 hours completed 64.5% of deals.

·????????Franchisors that responded to leads in 4 hours to 1 day closed 10.4% of deals.

·????????Franchisors that responded to leads in1 day to 7 days closed 13.8 % of deals.

·????????Franchisors that responded to leads in 7 days closed 11.4% of deals.

This information indicates how some franchisors may be missing a major opportunity to grow their system.

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How to improve franchise lead management and close more deals:

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·????????Utilize a top CRM system to manage leads. There are number of quality CRM systems available.

·????????Focus as much attention on managing your leads not just on generating them.

·????????Design a franchisee candidate profile that can enhance the lead intake process.

·????????Have a person available to intake leads. Its surprising how many franchisors fail to have a person receive calls from franchise prospects. Getting a VM message can be annoying.

·????????The person who handles initial calls from a franchise lead should be able to answer a few simple questions about the franchise.

·????????Make the intake lead process a top priority and follow through.

·????????Don’t disqualify a franchise lead too quickly. I could cite numerous examples of someone who initially appeared to be an excellent franchise prospect but lacked the financial qualifications. Yet ultimately they were able to secure a partner or obtain additional capital.

Franchisors should treat every franchise lead as a true potential opportunity, engage them as soon as possible and employ an effective CRM system to track and manage leads. ?