Turning Sales Skills into a Franchise Opportunity

You were a successful salesperson -- until recently, that is. One day, your boss called you into the office, sat you down and, just like that, you became a laid-off former salesperson. Now what do you do?

If you’re like many people, you’ll polish your resume, start networking with your business contacts, and hope you get job leads, turn them into interviews, and ultimately get a great job offer. But in today’s economy, there’s another option that could be far more profitable: buying your own franchise business.

Sure, sales skills are always in demand -- and that gives you a better-than-average chance of getting hired, even in tough times. But instead of looking for a job, why not look for a franchise opportunity that lets you put those valuable sales skills to work for yourself, in your own business?

There are many franchise businesses specifically tailored to the experience and skills former salespeople possess.There are companies that specialize in promotional products, online advertising, direct mail, outdoor advertising, and more. Such opportunities can be a great fit with someone who has knowledge of sales, advertising, and marketing principles.

But even beyond advertising-related opportunities, there are many types of franchises in which sales abilities are a major plus. To match your sales experience with the right type of franchise opportunity, first consider whether you have mostly sold business-to-business (B-to-B) or to the consumer.

If B-to-B is your specialty, you’ll find options such as business consulting, janitorial services, management training, and more. If your experience has focused on selling to the consumer, this can be applicable to many General Service,Home Service, and Children’s Franchise opportunities, just to name a few. For example, if you buy a child care franchise, you’ll need to be able to market your services to local parents.

No matter what type of franchise you’re interested in buying, your sales experience will give you an edge in the eyes of the franchisor. When franchisors are asked what characteristics potential franchisees need to succeed, one of the qualities that they cite most often is “sales skills” or “sales experience.” Why? Several reasons:

1. Compared to operations and other nuts-and-bolts elements of running a franchise, sales skills are far more difficult to teach. It’s easier for a franchisor to sell a painting franchise to an experienced salesperson and train him to run it than it is to sell the same franchise to an experienced painter and teach him how to sell. And because many people are intimidated by the idea of selling, those with proven sales ability are in high demand as franchisees. 
2. People who are good at selling also tend to be positive, energetic and enthusiastic. That means they’re generally good at motivating and energizing their employees. 
3. Good salespeople are goal-oriented and persistent. Starting any business, even a franchise, takes lots of hard work. Successful salespeople are up to the challenge -- they’re used to working hard to surpass their quotas and know that they must put in effort to see results.

No wonder franchisors are sold on salespeople-turned-franchisees. Are you sold on the idea of buying a franchise yet?

Source: www.allbusiness.com

Mom and Pop vs. Franchisees: Pros and Cons

By Liza Porteus Viana

There are many advantages to opening up a franchise versus an independent store. But there are some disadvantages, as well.
When it comes to owning a small business, not everyone goes the route of starting up their own mom-and-pop shop. In fact, if a hopeful entrepreneur has no clue how to write a business plan and likes the idea of having a bigger “parent” company at their backs, opening a franchise might be the better option.
But does one really feel the same sense of ownership with a franchise as an independent small business? It is possible - under certain conditions, that is.
“I think what you find in the most successful franchise systems is a group of franchisees who feel completely integrated into the culture of that business, who feel completely part of the fabric of the way that particular company operates,” said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the International Franchise Association. “For franchisees to really feel integrated into that culture, there needs to be a very strong sense they’ve got ‘ownership’ over the brand, over the units – ‘this is really our thing’ … It needs to be a collective sense with the franchisor.”
In the United States, there are about 900,000 individual franchise units -- that includes the total number of franchisors AND franchisees (ie Jamba Juices, McDonald’s, Wendy’s and the like) across the country. The number of franchisees is significantly less than that, as many franchisees own multiple units. This may be because once a franchisee knows how to “work” the franchise system, he or she often then will open multiple franchises in different areas. For example, a Burger King owner may have 10 of the company's franchises, as well as a car wash.
There are many advantages to opening up a franchise versus an independent store, including: the franchisee can operate under the parent-company’s business plan, name recognition, corporate logo, trademark and can utilize all its training and support resources in exchange for an initial franchise fee plus ongoing royalty payments; national marketing is up to the franchisor, so the franchisee can focus more on being the direct “face” of the company to consumers; franchisees also can minimize the amount of financial risk involved in starting their own business; landlords and property owners may be more likely to give a franchisee prime space knowing the track record of the franchise; and franchisees also often benefit from volume purchase agreements.
“They do see themselves as independent,” said Giovanni Coratolo, vice president of small business policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “They know how to operate within that system. They’re entrepreneurial within that franchise system. … They know how to expand and invest within that system.
“There’s a dynamic relationship” between the franchisor and franchisee, he said, and it is to the advantage of both to see the individual businesses succeed.
But there are some disadvantages, as well. As, for one, franchisees don’t have total control over what they can do with their own store.
“There are give and takes – sometimes it’s not a totally harmonious relationship,” Coratolo added. “They [franchisees] don’t consider the parents a boss – it’s a contractual relationship.
The business plan often will specify hours of operation, colors of the corporate logo and other details. Some franchisees may be required to purchase from certain distributors or to offer certain promotions, and to agree to termination clauses, which essentially say the franchisor may have the right to terminate the franchise agreement if certain items are not met.
Franchisees may face other stipulations in the franchise agreement, according to the American Franchisee Association, including a waiver of legal rights and freedom of association with certain organizations, obligation to purchase supplies from certain entities approved by the franchisor and non-compete clauses.
Franchisees “may feel somewhat constrained by some of the terms of the franchise agreement and they may want to make some changes, but it’s important for them to understand that the branding and the power of brand is consistency. You need to understand that going in,” said Bill Allen, a counselor with the Orlando, FL, chapter of SCORE, which is affiliated with the Small Business Administration.
Given all these pros and cons, experts agree it takes a certain type of person to be ready and willing to run a franchise versus an independent startup.
“Some entrepreneurs are so independent-minded they don’t want to give up control of any aspect of the business,” Shay said, noting that the decision should be based on one’s personality type. “For those business people, fitting into the structure of the corporate business” isn’t for them.
While a different dynamic than that for a typical mom-and-pop shop does exist, experts said there isn’t a total loss of identity as a franchised-business owner.
“The franchisee owner tends to feel himself very independent within the parameters of the franchise,” Coratola said. “They don’t look at themselves as a less of an entrepreneur just because they’ve elected to go within a structure.”

Source: http://www.foxsmallbusinesscenter.com/strategy/2010/01/28/mom-pop-vs-franchisees-pros-cons/

Franchising in 2010

Following a tumultuous 2009, what is going to happen to franchising this year?

This is a question that tinkers in many enthusiast minds...

Each year, some companies prosper and others fail, but 2009 was definitely the year that tipped the scales in franchising—and not in a good way. We watched as more companies experienced their toughest times with lead generation for franchise sales, difficulties with franchisee relations, tougher supplier negotiations, and negative consumer sales. Franchise companies were hit from all sides, and no one was exempt.

That brings us to the biggest question about franchising: What is really going to happen in 2010?

For us to really understand or predict what is going to happen, we could poll many opinions. These thoughts could come from the banking and lending companies, the franchise companies, industry executives, brokers, or consultants in the industry. Yes, each may have valuable opinions and substantial data to make such comments. But I ask you, are they the real source to learn what will happen to franchising?
I encourage you to look at a different source for information this year. Why? Because we no longer have the luxury to sell franchises or support franchisees as we have in the past. 2009 proved above all that the old ways do not work anymore.
So who is it that can tell us what is going to happen, and provide guidance on how franchisors need to evolve and improve? How about the franchise owners? As last year unfolded, I felt that we had to hear from franchisees, who hold a direct lifeline to growth for all franchise systems.
Since I actually spent more time with franchisees in the early part of my career than I did my corporate partners, this past summer I went back to the land of the franchisees. Instead of attending some industry meetings or spending time speaking at conferences, we went to smaller meetings and locally organized meetings, traveled, and had fun with franchisees. We connected again with small, mom-and-pop owners and large, multi-unit developers. It was clear that to truly understand what was going to happen this year, the answers could no longer come from the sources that we had leaned on previously.

What did we hear? In 2010, franchisees are not going to do business as they have in the past, either.

Here are our top three thoughts about changes to franchising in 2010:

New franchisees will enter the market through transfers of ownership. The legacy and older franchisees with no generation behind them will split up their units (if they have a high multiple) and sell to newer franchisees. Traditionally, the focus has been “the new franchise sale”—new restaurant growth. This is always a good strategy. However, the resale was basically ignored for the most part. In many companies, the team handling transfers of ownership (selling a current restaurant) was not part of the franchise sales team and not trained extensively to handle these types of transactions. In order to sign the best franchisees, franchise companies must be not only ready for this, but proactive about it. An example: Burger King has put a key person in place to oversee these types of sales.

A higher level of education will be demanded (and needed for future success). It will not just be about what support the franchise offers. The franchisees that stay in the system are going to push companies to revamp their training and support. The new franchisees want this as well. Both types of franchisees are more technology savvy than ever before, and will be more abreast of the latest developments and how to e-communicate to other franchisees. They will demand more business training. An example: Our company had an increase in 2009 of over 150 percent in requests to conduct our Educational Programs to franchisors and franchisees as an outsource vendor versus conducting these in-house.

The marketing jobs will be back—in a new way. Companies will need to focus on increased marketing activities and new areas of marketing. More experience (and I mean real experience) in social media will be needed. An example: One vendor to the industry (not a marketing company) held free conferences in 2009 for their clients and non-clients about social media issues.

Actually, 2010 is shaping up to be a great year. We may truly be back to the focus being about operations in the restaurant industry, and not just selling franchises.

Source: http://www.qsrmagazine.com/articles/outside_insights/138/2010franchising-1.phtml

Using the Power of Social Media to Grow a Franchise

Communication is powerful. Whether it’s through social media, speaking engagements, media relations, or contributed columns, the way we interact with one another to build and maintain relationships is an extremely powerful skill to master. This article is about "how you can use the power of different communication strategies to boost your brand and your bottom line".

Let’s begin by striking while the iron is hot and discuss using the power of social media. Immensely powerful right now, social media tools are changing the ways franchisees communicate with customers and the ways customers communicate with brands. With Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Google Wave, Wikipedia, Slideshare, FriendFeed, Posterous, Delicious, WordPress, oh my!, it’s hard not to be overwhelmed and wonder how in the world you’re going to keep them all straight, let alone start using them.

But take a step back for one second. I’ll help you get a grip. There are 10 advantages to using social media. It:

1. Provides international exposure
2. Attracts like-minded people
3. Speaks directly to audiences thousands of miles away
4. Helps put out fires
5. Helps start fires
6. Beefs up your knowledge
7. Enhances partnerships
8. Exposes you to different ideas
9. Allows you to test or get feedback
10. Lets you meet and converse with new audiences

As if those reasons weren’t enough, according to the Cone Business in Social Media Study, 93 percent of Americans expect companies they do business with to have a social media presence. And 85 percent believe a company should not only be present, but also interact with its customers via social media.

The one secret about mastering communication that no one ever tells you is you must spend most of your time listening. Great communicators ask a lot of questions. They really listen to what you have to say. They inquire deeply into the answers you provide.

Social media offers another way to engage in conversation. To be a master at social media communication, you must spend most of your time listening.

Following are some tools to do just that so you can get started today.

• Go to Twitter Search and enter your name, your franchise name, any of your brand names, even your competitor’s names. You can subscribe to the RSS feed so you don’t have to do a search every day. 
• Or, if you’d prefer e-mail alerts, go to TweetBeep, enter the search terms, and set up your account that way. 
• Part of your listening should always include monitoring blog posts. But sometimes that’s not enough. What if someone is writing about your franchise (positive or negative) in a blog’s comments? Use BackType to search the comments and to search for specific people who might always try to bring you down. For instance, if “IMAJERK” always comments about you, you can set up BackType to track them. 
• BoardReader lets you monitor discussion groups and forums. This is great for knowing when a new group or discussion about your franchise begins. Likewise, if someone were to create an “I Hate Your Company” page or discussion group, you’d know it immediately through BoardReader. 
• I love Trendrr because it provides great charts and graphs. Trendrr allows you to track and compare the trend of any keyword, including your franchise, yourself, or your competition. You can then compare them to other keywords to figure out where the trends are and what you should be including in your communication strategy. 
• But if you do only one thing, use TweetDeck. This easy-to-download and free desktop application allows you to create searches. Just like you would do with Twitter search, this gives you real-time results right where you tweet. Anytime anyone tweets about anything you search, it automatically aggregates the tweets into columns in TweetDeck.

There is no right way or wrong way to get started using social media. If your corporate brand has already started a social media program, make sure you understand the company's policies and determine whether or not they want you populating your social networks with corporate information. If you’ve already started using social media on the local level, keep doing what you’re doing, but see if you can get your franchisor involved.

Source: www.allbusiness.com  

How to Boost Your Morale as a Franchisee

 It may have started slowly. A drop in sales as consumer confidence dipped, a disturbing absence when regulars stopped coming by. Then, the momentum began building as store closures made headlines; perhaps a franchise nearby closed its doors for good. No matter how it happened or in what order, 2009 was a tough year that left many franchisees feeling down and out. And while it is critically important for franchisors to maintain a gauge of franchisee morale, most franchisors either don’t do it at all or don't do a good job of it, according to John P. Hayes, a franchise consultant and author of several books on franchising.

So how do you give your morale a boost? You may be overwhelmed just thinking about it, but a little effort goes a very long way.

Put things in perspective in order to set realistic expectations. “Know what you can control and what you can’t control,” says Hayes. “Then get control of what you can and forget the rest.”

Reach out to other franchisees. One of the biggest advantages of being part of a franchise is that you have access to an instant network of people who are living through the exact same challenges as you. Organize a meeting of several franchisees or ask a franchisee who’s succeeding to evaluate your business and offer tips. Says Hayes, “Franchisees can be of tremendous help to one another.”

Find support groups in your community. Call your Chamber of Commerce to find out about local business support groups, advises Hayes. Sharing experiences and ideas can inspire and motivate you, and you may even find that you can form partnerships with local businesses to help market your own.

Talk to your franchisor. “Among the top franchisors, the executives are on the phone calling franchisees to find out how business is going and how the franchisees are holding up under current economic and social pressures,” says Hayes. However, if your franchisor hasn’t been in touch, don’t wait for the call. Instead, speak up. Tell corporate that you need some support and see what strategies they have in place to provide that support. It will benefit you as well as a whole network of other franchisees. Plus, your success as a franchisee directly affects the success of the franchise system as a whole.

Remember that you’re not alone and stay focused on the goal. You may feel, at times, as though it is a long, solitary journey but look around and you’ll see that others are sharing in the plight. Set achievable goals and keep moving forward.

What can franchisors do to help franchisees maintain their morale?

According to Greg Nathan, managing director of the Franchise Relationships Institute, an organization that helps franchisees and franchisors work together constructively, the most effective methods that franchisors have used to assist their franchisees to beat the recession are:

• Monitoring franchisee financial distress more closely. For instance, franchisor executives can visit franchisees in their businesses to discuss business health indicators such as debtors, product mix, and gross margin. 
• Collaborating more closely with franchisees and having more face-to-face contact with franchisees through forums and meetings. 
• Providing emotional support by maintaining an optimistic outlook when talking with franchisees about the future. 
• Providing franchisees with opportunities to share best practice with each other. 
• Coaching franchisees to engage in more aggressive local area marketing.

Source: http://www.allbusiness.com/franchises/13748667-1.html