4 Hours to Franchise Success

Isn't it time you learnt the secrets of…

4 HoursFranchise

To Re-energise Your

SUCCESS


Passion leads to persistence which in turn will lead to profits & most

importantly lead to fulfilment.


Every franchisor faces this issue at some point. Your business hits a plateau and it just lacks that “focus & energy” it used to thrive on.

Your competitors are stronger than ever and the only way to keep ahead of them is to rediscover your “secret sauce”. To do this you need to take stock and build a realistic picture of the current state of your business. You need to have an objective picture of your strengths and weaknesses so that you can develop a strategy that uses each to best effect.

To help you with this I have developed a half day process that will get you thinking differently. It will break the cycle and allow you to rediscover the magic.

REDISCOVERY


BE PREPAREDFirst step is to set the scene for change. In order to get the right answers to your questions you need to be in the right frame of mind. Use these techniques on the day to get you ready to rediscover the magic:

• Get up 30min earlier and change your morning routine; If you shave before showering, do the opposite. If you have coffee before breakfast, have it after. Swop it all around for the morning…This is a well known technique used by hypnotherapists when preparing their clients for big changes e.g. quitting smoking.

• Call in to work and tell you will not be in until that afternoon - Don't pre-arrange this with staff or managers… you have to shake things up and prepare them for change too.

• Get in your car and drive to a nice hotel/Starbucks where business people frequently meet. You want to be in a high activity environment with free WIFI. Do not go to a place that you are very familiar with.

• Get a coffee, open up your laptop, put your earphones in and put some rousing “focus music” on.. The genre is your choice - my go-to-guy is Hans Zimmer… the man is a genius!

• At the top of a new document write the following. ………………(Name of your most impressive competitor) Competitor Analysis.

• Turn up the volume… this is where the fun starts.


ROLE REVERSAL IS KEYNow that you have written down the name of your most impressive competitor, you need to mentally remove yourself from a “defensive position”. Write a 3-5 page summary on your company but but write it as if you were writing about your competitor and were assessing their strengths and weaknesses! Write it in the 3rd person.

You do this because it will be a bit confusing. It will force your mind to think in a different way and you will very quickly find yourself spotting some pretty obvious “wins” that you never saw before.


QUICKFIRE Q&AAnswer the following 25 questions as quickly as you can. Keep things factual and specific. Be determined not to sugarcoat any weaknesses or forget to acknowledge key strengths. You are answering questions about your company but you are thinking of it as if it is your “Impressive Competitor”.

1. What do they do?

2. On a scale of 1-10 how progressive are they at the moment?

3. What is currently the most impressive thing about them?

4. Is it quite an exciting company or not?

5. Based on their look, who are they targeting from a customer and franchisee point of view?


6. Are they expanding rapidly or quite slowly?

7. What is the one thing that keeps customers coming to them. Is it unique?

8. What is their leadership team like? Are they progressive, innovative, lucky etc?

9. Is the business run as an autocracy, meritocracy or democracy?

10. When you see their store/office/vehicle what would you describe as the “first impression” it leaves you with

QUICKFIRE Q&A CONT…


11. What does their franchise cost compared to other similar franchises.

12. Does it offer more value for money than the competitors

13. What type of franchisee do they tend to take on?

14. Is it a rigorous process or does it basically boil down to having a good attitude and the right amount of money?

15. What training do they offer their franchisees?



16. What type of support team do they have? Is it pro-active or re-active? Describe their attributes

17. Do their franchisees generally have a positive or negative attitude? What is that down to?

18. What marketing are they doing to support their franchisees sales efforts?

19. What about their actual franchisee appearance? How would you describe the “first impression”

20. If you were made redundant tomorrow why would you join their franchise v.s. another competitor



21. What type of franchise sales team do they have? Is it pro-active or re-active?

22. Is it a bit of a “hard sell” approach, a box ticking approach or a “do you qualify to join” approach?

23. Where do their leads come from?

24. Do they consistently recruit great franchisees or is it a bit hit & miss

25. Do you find yourself wishing “they” were your franchise sales team or do you feel that they some how lack the x-factor?



THE HUMAN ELEMENTYou have spent quality time looking at your franchise through the eyes of a competitor. If you did a good job, you will already be kicking a few ideas around about how you can improve things.

Next step is to really look at the people within your organisation. Once again you will be doing this in the third person because you do not want to be influenced by relationships at this point. Remember this is all about understanding your strengths and weaknesses and how to use them to best effect.

Try view these people as the staff of your most impressive competitor. Of course it is harsh - and it will be really tough. But as a franchise owner you have a responsibility to your franchisees, your staff and yourself to make decisions that are unbiased and for the greater good.


STRATEGIC QUESTIONS.

1. What are the characteristics of your competitors current Franchisees. • What is their general attitude

• What is their most glaring weakness

• Are you impressed when you see their vehicle/shop/office

• Are they pro-active and constantly networking/marketing

• Are they generally old, young, male, female, white collar, blue collar etc - is this right?

2. After studying your competitors franchisees: • What are their best characteristics?

• What are their worst characteristics?


STRATEGIC QUESTIONS.3. If you wanted to recruit superior franchisees to your

competitor, who specifically would you be looking for? • Give him/her a name• Give him/her a career and a family• What car do they drive and how long is the commute• What are their fears and anxieties• What drives them to keep focused on success (excl. earnings)• What would make them join a franchise (excl. earnings)• What are they looking for in a franchise (excl. earnings)

4. What are the two most important characteristics of great franchisees to seek out and to avoid?

• To seek out e.g. ambition, determination, perseverance, experience etc • To avoid e.g. bad attitude, low drive, too Innovative (wants to change

everything) etc.


STRATEGIC QUESIONS.5. How would you characterise your “competitors”

website and marketing• What kind of franchisee would find it appealing• Does it focus on the features or the benefits of joining the company• Does it speak to the head or the heart of the potential franchisee• Is it fresh and exciting or a bit dated and boring. • Does it look like a progressive company that is growing?• Is it a brochure or a well crafted call to action?• Does it leave you wanting to know more? • How would you improve it to ensure you attract the perfect franchisee?• In general, does it leave you feeling “wow, where do I sign up”?


STRATEGIC QUESIONS.

6. If you were have superior Franchise Support to them• What would the franchise support team look like?• Would it be a reactive or proactive department?• What kind of culture/attitude would the ideal support team have?• What would the characteristics of the perfect “head of support” be?• What would the ideal mix of support and training be?• Would support become a profit centre rewarded on franchisee success?• How could you free up more time for the support team to be proactive?• How much support would be out in the field v.s. in the office or online?• What type and/or frequency of support would leave franchisees feeling

they had the best support team in the country.


STRATEGIC QUESIONS.7. If you were to have a superior sales team to them:

• What would the sales team need to look like?• Would it be a reactive or proactive department?• What kind of culture/attitude would the ideal sales team have?• What would the characteristics of the perfect “head of sales” be?• What would the sales process look like?• What would the ideal mix of salary and commission be?• Would commission be paid on a sale or on franchisees 1st year success?• How involved would they be in the marketing for franchisees?• Is your competitors current sales team, the right team to take the

business to the next level?


STRATEGIC QUESIONS.

7. What about your “competitors” Management team:• What are their strengths and weaknesses?• Are they reactive or proactive?• Are they motivational leaders or just opinionated administrators? • Do they help drive new ideas or do constantly resist change?• Do they inspire achievement in their staff or suppress it for fear of being

replaced?• Are they the right people to take the business to the next level


STRATEGIC QUESIONS.7. What about your “competitors” Marketing team:

• What are their strengths and weaknesses?• Are they reactive or proactive with their marketing initiatives?• Are they constantly looking at new and better ways of communicating? • Are they great Franchise Marketers or just designers doing Marketing • Is their marketing goal/outcome orientated i.e. Is it designed with a

specific purpose in mind or is it just designed to fulfil a general goal?• Is there an integrated communications strategy that ensures all marketing

communications work in concert or is it ad-hoc. • Do they have a fantastic social media presence that is constantly

interacting with their clients and developing relationships.• Do they take advantage of the new mediums of podcasting, webcasting,

webinars etc. • Are they the right people to take the business to the next level


STRATEGIC QUESIONS.

7. What about your “competitors” PR team:• What are their strengths and weaknesses?• Are they reactive or proactive with their PR initiatives?• Are they constantly looking for ways of ensuring their company is in the

news for positive reasons? • Do they work closely with franchise support and franchisees to ensure

any achievements are being properly covered • Is their PR goal/outcome orientated i.e. Is it designed with a specific

goal/outcome in mind or is it just designed to fulfil a general goal?• Does their PR work in concert with the larger marketing strategy or is it

completely ad-hoc. • Are they the right people to take the business to the next level


WRITE A QUICK REPORT.

Now quickly write a one page document based on your “assessment” of your competitor and its staff.

Start the page with the following words…

IF I WAS WAS IN CHARGE OF GROWTH IN THAT COMPANY I WOULD IMMEDIATELY…

Be quick, use bullet points and be decisive. Don't edit this page - if you do, you would have totally wasted hours of your life for no reason.

Write what your gut tells you and don't dilly dally. That is what got you into this position in the first place.

Isn't it time you learnt the secrets of the….


OK, SO WHAT’S THE GOALYou have now done hours of work and have created your assessment, now you need to have a clear vision of what your goal is.

I know that this may come as a shock, but crew never like an indecisive Captain that has no clue where he/she is going. You need to be the leader your staff and franchisees deserve. You need to be decisive and clear in your vision so that you can rouse the troops into a frenzy of solidarity and common cause. But to do this you personally need to know what the goal is. This is often the most difficult thing to prise out of the mind of an entrepreneur. So here is what you do.

• Keep it simple. If you want to recruit more franchisees then put a number on it. Be clear that you want to recruit e.g. 10 new franchisees by the 1st of January.

• Once you have identified the goal, if you want 10 new franchisees, tell your team that 16 is your absolute rock bottom number. Do not ever waver from this number or ever indicate that there is some flexibility in this number. Don't be scared to push them - many people excel when the pressure is on.


THE DEPARTMENTS

Your research would have given you a fairly good idea as to how your departments need to change.”Look at the structure of each department. Is it set up to deliver the type of service you need them to deliver?

• What size should the departments be • What skills-set should be in place in each department• Has each department got the right tools for the job. • How should departments interact with each other in order to ensure maximum

effectiveness

Think clearly and make decisions based on achieving your vision. The structure of your departments can have a great impact on how effective they are both individually and as a whole.


THE TEAMYou have your personal vision, you have your one page report, now you need to have the right people with the right skills to “make it happen.”

You need to choose a success team. You need to choose your team in the same way every sport chooses it first team. Based on merit, skill set, and ultimately their likely contribution to securing victory.

You might need to bench some people but if they are not contributing to success… they are holding it back. I know its harsh. But “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” etc…

You have to build a lean success team that have a common cause, a common vision and that are on a common mission. Work closely with them but trust their judgement.

Allow them the freedom to make decisions as well as mistakes. A firm hand at the tiller is required but let me assure you…micro management is not going to work.


DELIVER THE VISIONNow it is all up to you. You need to whip up a fire of enthusiasm in the hearts of each and every one of your staff members. You need to deliver your vision in such a way that every person in the company feels integral to the success of the team.

Understand that your vision is not just some great cause that everybody is automatically going to hold to their hearts like a long lost son. NO… Your vision should be a carefully crafted sales pitch to your team which allows them to emotionally buy-in to a common cause.

When planning and preparing your delivery ask yourself - What would Churchill say? Would he stand in front of his staff and say: “Ladies and Gentlemen we want to reach 150 franchisees by 2016! You all know your duty and what is expected of you. Thank you, carry on!!

Or do you stand in front of them and say: “Ladies and Gentlemen, We have a hell of a task ahead of us. If we reach 150 franchisees by 2016 we would have done something nobody thought possible. Not only would we have expanded our company beyond our wildest imagination, we would have helped secure the future of 150 franchisees & their families. We will have made a real and positive difference to the lives of thousands of customers. I know each one of you. You have extraordinary skills and are at the top of your game. I would like to ask you to dig even deeper, work even smarter and get out there and kick some butt.!”


NEED A HAND?

If you would like my help working through this exercise or its implementation please feel free to

contact me. I am only too happy to assist.

OR

If you are interested in Consulting, coaching or mentoring services for your Franchise please feel

free to contact me via LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/sgoldsmith/

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/sgoldsmith/

Leadership & Management

4 Hours to Franchise Success