Revving Up for the New Year

It’s that time of the year once again, when millions hit the road and celebrate the holidays with their loved ones. In preparation for those journeys, most, first take some time to check out their vehicles to be certain that they are properly tuned and road worthy. And, with the New Year just around the corner, there is yet another journey fast approaching, that you should also be preparing for. Yes, the 2017 Franchise Development Season is about to kick off and that means now is the time to prepare for that journey as well. Here are a couple of things to consider:

• Are your available markets and prospect qualifications properly identified and defined?
• Is your messaging fine-tuned and will it resonate effectively with your targeted audiences?
• Are you marketing and showcasing your opportunity in places that will attract and reach your target audiences?
• Are you properly staffed and equipped with the tools, processes and systems, to effectively manage and measure the results of your efforts?

Whatever vehicles you choose for advertising or exhibiting your opportunities, know this: Your candidates will have already begun vetting you, long before you even know who they are. Whether you advertise in print, digital or trade shows, like the upcoming Franchise Expo South in Dallas, all of your potential candidates, no matter the source, will drill deeply into your websites, prior to ever identifying themselves to you. (They will also quite likely, be doing the same, on the websites of your direct competitors.) It is safe to say that in most cases, they will have done a good bit of research on your brand and its offerings, long before ever expressing their interest directly or speaking with members of your team. This is a basic, fundamental fact, time-tested and proven. So, take a moment now to consider how well your website(s) represent your opportunity. Is your website tuned up and ready to handle this traffic?

• Do you actually have a separate, dedicated web presence for franchise development, apart from your consumer-facing website?
• Is your franchise development website responsive, rich in content, informative and engaging?
• Do you monitor your traffic and track its sources?
• Do you offer on-demand, instant gratification to your visitors?
  • White Papers
  • Instant Chat
  • Reasons for them to self-identify?

• Are you effectively driving traffic to your franchise development website?
• Are you effectively converting those leads into opportunities?
• Are you effectively converting those opportunities into sales?

When it comes to budgeting for Franchise Sales, don’t be penny-wise and pound foolish. Think about your lead generation spend as you would fuel for your engine. That said, with all that you spend for that fuel, challenge yourself to take a closer look at how road worthy your vehicle is. In this case, think of your vehicle as the tool, process and system that you use to drive leads through the funnel. Just like a well-tuned car on the road gets more mileage per gallon than a clunker, be certain that your franchise development engine is precision tuned too and ready to go.

I hope to see you in Dallas, as FRM Solutions proudly sponsors Franchise Expo South and joined by Rebecca Monet, (Chief Scientist and CEO of Zoracle Profiles, I teach The A-Zs of Buying a Franchise. Class time is Saturday January 14, from 9am-12:30pm.

C-ya in Big D…