Entering the business and franchise world can be an uphill battle. While franchising can open wonderful opportunities for you, finding the right development firm can be a bit of a search. While not as hard as finding the needle in the proverbial haystack, there’s still some footwork to be done. The trick is to find one that shares the same long-term interests that you do. The business world is built for people who make the long-term commitment, and choosing a franchise firm is just that, a commitment. 

Attributes to Look For 

When looking for the franchise firm that fits your needs, there are certain attributes to keep an eye out for. These will make or break your final decision. 

Brutal Honesty

One of the first things a franchise consultant should offer is to sit down and go over the potential of franchising your business. A consultant that jumps right to how they can franchise your business is most likely concerned with short-term results, rather than long term results. A great consultant will tell you the weaknesses within your business that might affect your franchising capabilities. If your business isn’t fit for franchising, a good consultant will let you know. Sometimes certain business models, products or services are only successful in limited or specific areas and broadly expanding would not be the best move. However, there may be opportunities to fine tune your expansion strategy and scale in the regions where you can be most successful.

Realistic Expectations

Franchise development consultants that try to get you to buy into their services by promising you easy money might not be the type of consultant you want to work with. You want to work with a consultant, not a salesperson; the last thing you want to hear is a sales pitch. When a development consultant talks about the process of setting up your business for franchising, they should set realistic goals and provide you with a realistic outlook.

A Good Reputation

How can you determine the reputation of a franchise development company? Do your research. Start with a simple Google search of the company and its principals. Read through the company  website, LinkedIn profiles of the leaders, but also look for third-party reviews or acknowledgements. Do they have a well written blog? Do their people speak at industry conferences? Are they well-respected among their peers?. Any franchise development company that puts effort into making sure that a business does great and doesn’t just care about selling a lot of franchises, will be able to provide a list of clients that they’ve helped and franchises they’ve helped launch. Keep an eye out for past or present litigation, a lawsuit filed for any reason can be a potential red flag. 

A Variety of Franchising Services

A good franchise development company won’t only try to sell franchises – they want to ensure that every part of your new operation is ready before you try to sell your first franchise. Make sure you understand the process and the components needed and ask questions about the timeframe and cost to create what’s required. For example: 

Franchise attorneys will create all the legal documents you will need to assure your new franchise is on solid legal and financial footing to smoothly sail through the state registering and filing process. This includes creating your Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), franchise agreement and more.

You will also need to create a top-notch, comprehensive, easy to use Operations Manual and develop an effective training program so your new franchisees can replicate your brand in new markets.  And don’t overlook the value of a strong branding and marketing strategy to support the launch and ongoing promotion of your emerging brand. 

Further Information