Why it all starts with sales for a franchise

The enthusiasm of a new startup is infectious. People are keen, full of energy and excited by the wealth of possibility ahead of them. However, it soon dawns on them that the reality is quite different. Particularly when starting from scratch with a lesser known brand, a franchise is no less work than a traditional startup. As with any new business, a few knockbacks and stumbling blocks can see your progress falter and initial enthusiasm start to decline.”

That’s why sales are essential – there is very little that can’t be cured by a busy order book. At Diamond Logistics, we insist that all our franchisees come to training with their first 500 target clients identified. This means they have a good chance of hitting the ground running. Our best start to date is Hon Leung of our Bournemouth site: he started at the right time of year, with a handful of clients ready to start trading on day one. He quickly reached his critical mass stage – where his revenue matched his outgoings – and this took the pressure off him so he could wholly focus on business development without having to get caught up in fuelling a deficit.

When buying a franchise, you are buying a formula for how to sell and the operational means to fulfil those sales. There are a few – namely the likes of McDonald’s and Costa – where your sales may walk in through the door on the brand alone. But most franchises are sales franchises first and operational franchises second. You have to prioritise the sales otherwise you have a very functional business with no revenue – and that won’t last long at all.

To stop the rot, it’s worth acknowledging what a typical psychological journey is, noting where the danger points may be in terms of motivation and where you need to address the key concerns. Front loading your sales pipeline will be the key to success – as well as acknowledging that after your first round of sales you cannot take your foot off the sales pedal. Again, looking back at our most successful franchise, it quickly added resources to deal with the operation arising from its first sales and kept its foot on the sales pedal – powering onwards and upwards in pursuit of its sales goals.”

The most successful franchises fully acknowledge their individual responsibility for the sales; they understand that the key promoter of a business is the proprietor. Delegating that core responsibility can be risky, so it’s far better to delegate the replicable operational elements so that you can focus on the sales and marketing. This will give you far more predictable sales revenues because you have taken control.

The path to success in business, whether a franchise or not, is never smooth. But the operational know-how provided by a franchise helps free you up to perform the key activity of any successful business – getting and keeping customers. Just remember they don’t walk in through the door. So go out and get them.”