No matter what your line of business, every business has somehow been touched by some form of software automation. In franchising, it could actually represent the difference franchisors gaining attracting and recruiting great franchisees or losing them completely to their competition. This could be due to a lack of organization or possibly the lack of proper information served up to candidates in a form or fashion that is in keeping with how THEY choose to receive and consider information. Here are three reasons your concept cannot afford to miss the boat on technology:
- Not all Franchisees are Created Equal
- It’s Not Necessarily a Numbers Game
- Information is Everywhere
Also see: Navigating Franchise Sales Technology
“No, should become your second favorite word.”
The sooner you can separate the wheat from the chaff in your pipeline and determine which of your candidates are your best potential “fits,” the sooner the word NO becomes important to you. You see, when technology assists with fleshing out your best prospects and flushing the rest, the faster you can move on to spending most of your time courting the ones that are your most likely to say yes! Don’t waste precious time and energy with those that will never arrive at either a no or yes, but are typically the ones that suck most of your time from you.
Ask yourself the following:
- Do you have a structured licensing system that consistently moves people who are the same caliber through a similar process?
- Do you have the right tools in place to manage lead flow and timely prospect communication?
- Are you communicating with and tracking text, as well as phone calls and emails?
- Do you have a defined, consistent method of measuring or segmenting the quality of your leads /candidates and measuring their behavior?
If your answer was no to any of them then it may be time to start thinking about leveraging technology.
It’s Not Necessarily a Numbers Game
As a veteran franchisor, I’ve heard and seen it all. I’ve learned a lot about how to engage people and identifying which leads are actually worth my time. It can start to feel like a war of who can get the most leads. Most of it’s not about how many leads you generated but how much engagement you received and how you were able to move them to a yes or no. If you’re relying on people or manual process to keep up with engagement level things will be forgotten.
That process actually becomes much more efficient, if not easy, with the right systems in place.
1. Streamline your processes – Be certain that your information is presented in an orderly and aligned process: Early on, you must enable your candidates to identify what appeals to THEM about your organization and simplify how you enable them to identify with your opportunity. Are you properly tracking and scoring your touchpoints with each candidate? Simplifying the process for the candidates, as well as for you and/or your salespeople, will make the process much smoother for everyone.
2. Track engagement – How well your candidates process information, respond to deadlines and fit your culture, is every bit as important as their financial and geographical qualification. The ability to monitor and score timeliness, responsiveness, and compliance to your structured licensing system is as important to you, as understanding your offering is to them.
3. Fall in Love with “NO!” – Make “NO,” your second favorite word in the English language. In fact, figure out how many “NO’s” it will take you, to reach your next “YES.” Then, celebrate each and every “NO,” because it will have brought you one step closer to your next YES! Simply stated, you must separate the wheat from the chaff, as quickly and efficiently as possible. Your goal is to spend MORE TIME, with your potential yeses, less time wasted getting through the NO’s and almost “NO Time” wasted with those who will never reach a decision, one way or the other, in addition to phone calls and e-mails?
That process actually becomes much more efficient, if not easy, with the right systems in place.
Information is Everywhere
This little thing called the internet has empowered consumers more than ever. Simply put, a potential franchisee is a customer. They’re shopping for the best in class franchising opportunities that align with their financial goals and lifestyle, among other things. They have options and you want your franchise to stand out among the best ones. If a potential franchisee looks and your franchise site and your competitor has a form or even a portal they can log into and you don’t – who do you think looks more buttoned up to them?
When you can prove to candidates that your process and experience is seamless, consistent, and well-organized they’ll be more likely to view you as a real opportunity. Don’t place your leads to chance – make sure they know you’re the very best.
With FRM Solutions, Franchise Relationship Management becomes a breeze. From lead management and candidate tracking to efficient, action driven communication, (including TEXT) FRM Solutions enables and tracks focused communication and engagement. With our solutions, you’ll know which of your candidates “WILL ACTUALLY MAKE DECISIONS” and with whom to spend more time. To see a demo of FRM click here.
