When you’re looking to invest in a franchise, it’s easy to get blinkered by glitzy branding, low license fees, and buzzword-filled promises of ‘success’. I know, because I did the late-night business browsing, back in 2011.
As a former home care franchisee turned franchisor, I’ve come to understand the best point of reference to a franchise’s quality: ‘closeness’. What do I mean by this? I mean, a franchise that meets its franchisees in the middle. Puts their learning first. A Senior Support Team that is only a phone call away.
Closeness feeds into support, into feedback, into communication, and, ultimately, creates a Thriving culture of gracious, driven entrepreneurs.
Forget the sales pitches; here are some indicators of whether a potential investment opportunity has the culture, charisma and the closeness to take you from surviving to Thriving.
They’re keen to show off their Support Team
If a franchise is avoiding introducing you to their support team, that seems like a bit of a red flag. A good franchisor should be proud of the team and the resources they have developed, putting them in the spotlight, for being the absolute rockstars they are.
Ever noticed a franchisor seem to be squirreling away their Support Team from you? It could indicate a lack of communication or poor internal retention. If a Support Team is constantly changing, it might not serve you as well as a dedicated, consistent team that you can get to know… but most importantly, gets to know your business.
The Franchise Support Managers come to you
Sometimes, a franchise gets too big, too quickly, and as a result, it can’t cater to its own franchisees. This leads to important meetings being crammed back-to-back online… dooming both sides to becoming disengaged. A clear indication of a healthy franchise is that the Franchise Support Managers come to you, especially early doors.
The best Franchise Support is done in the field, not behind a desk hundreds of miles away. They should be able to make regular in-person visits and dedicate their professional time to you.
That’s why, at Walfinch, we designed our Franchise Support Mangers’ roles to naturally go the extra mile. Julie and Richard regularly visit franchisees, support them with networking and marketing and understand the importance of answering that phone call, as it comes in.
It’s not just a rotating series of names in the same role. It’s not just another ‘e-meet’. It’s engaged support, helping franchisees to seize their opportunity to Thrive.
An engaged leader, with big visions
Another fantastic indication of a quality franchise is how engaged the leader is with their own organisation. You don’t want some faceless name, stuck behind a desk. You want a leader who’s putting the work in, just as much as you. You want a leader who wants you, as an individual, to be part of the franchise’s wider vision.
So, before you invest, check out who’s at the helm. Are they the kind of person that inspires or impresses you? Or could they be anyone; a vague professional. Their energy cascades down, so make sure it’s the kind of thing you want more of in your professional life… the kind of thing that will help you build better and quicker.
They invest back into you, instantly
In those initial conversations, you should already feel important to them. Maybe they respond to your questions quickly. Maybe they remember details about your family. Maybe they send specially curated resources, they think you would enjoy.
Having been a franchisee, I saw the ‘sales-pitches’ from the other side. But since becoming a franchisor, I’m adamant that don’t want to ‘sell’ Walfinch to people. I don’t want to flog my vision and my organisation’s mission, for the sake of investors. I want to meet like-minded entrepreneurs; the people who are the best fit for Walfinch’s opportunities.
That way, as a franchisor, we can maintain our culture of closeness, that sets us apart from so many large, out-of-touch franchisors. Because Thriving is better, done together.
