Franchise Recruitment

The fast casual space is one that continuously evolves to meet consumer demands. From restaurant design to ordering methods and digital advancements both in-store and online, brands are continually undergoing changes to keep their dynamic guest base happy... and full. We at Cousins Subs are no exception. But before I introduce you to the reinvented Cousins Subs, I must first set the stage as to how we got here.

Who we are
For those not familiar with Cousins Subs, our 40-plus year journey began in 1972 when my father Bill Specht and his cousin Jim Sheppard brought their favorite/ style of sub sandwich from the East Coast to their new hometown of Milwaukee. Setting out to serve "Better Bread. Better Subs." they began a legacy of meticulously crafting the finest sandwiches possible...

Editor's Note: As the year-end season of giving approaches, it's time to take another look at cause marketing. Giving back to the communities your brand serves takes many forms, and most franchise brands engage in this practice at some level. While giving back is an end in itself, it does build goodwill and attract customers - as well as franchisee candidates to expand the system. With so many of today's franchisee candidates looking not only at ROI, but also at making a difference (especially younger candidates), Steve Olson asked three franchises CEOs about how their brands' community involvement is engaging customers, building loyalty, and helping to grow the brand.

• Tony Lamb, CEO of Kona Ice. "We are truly proud of our year-round community outreach programs, which to date have generated $35 million to help those in need," says Lamb...

In today's environment, franchise buyers continue to require more from us. And they should! After the unsettling shock and awe of our Great Recession, prospective franchisees are more careful and their expectations noticeably higher. Buyers are more cautious and security-conscious, seeking investments that provide greater assurances and a greater comfort level.

Times have changed

When looking at the past in our rearview mirror, we can see that franchise recruiters could more easily capture a prospect's attention, build camaraderie, and foster a personable connection with prospective buyers. Our sales prescription called for a dose of likeability, stir in some engaging conversations, and present a nice, pleasant personality...

We asked Jim DiRugeris, Vice President of Franchise Development at Goddard Systems, how he analyzes, integrates, and applies key data in his franchise recruiting and development process. Here's what he had to say

When working with current and prospective franchisees, a great deal goes into recruiting and development efforts. A major obstacle for many franchisors is identifying the right franchisees who will help grow the brand. As a franchise, it's crucial to comprehend what makes a franchisee successful and then apply that information to development efforts.

The Goddard School uses a wide variety of tools to analyze key customer data, which we use to assist us in future recruiting efforts. Recently we introduced a Predictive Index Survey to the franchise awarding process...

The good news: Franchising is experiencing a remarkable growth phase - not only in unit count and system-wide revenue, but also in the number of new and emerging brands. The bad news: It's harder to keep up with all the good news! That's a nice problem to have - and why we've brought back our "Good News!" roundup of selected news items on unit growth, investment and financial developments, international expansion news, refranchising, and milestones attained by franchisors large, medium, and emerging. Here's your chance to follow the leaders, every third Tuesday of the month.
So if you’re not doing it already, send us your good news here.

New Units/Growth/Expansion

Jimmy’s Egg Announces AD Deals for 52 Units in 6 States
Toppers Pizza Signs 22-Unit Deal for Virginia and Maryland
Costa Vida Reports 14 Deals in First Half; Projects 20 Openings by Year-End
Fazoli’s Signs 9 Deals for 22 Units in July; Reports 13 Quarters of SSS Growth
Bojangles’ Signs Multi-Unit Agreement for Alabama & Mississippi
The Chickery Inks 15-Unit Deal for Northern California
Cicis Signs 32 Agreements for 70-Plus Restaurants by End of 2017
Dunkin’ Donuts: 3 Deals for 13 New Units + 4 Baskin-Robbins Co-Branded
First Watch Restaurants To Open 7 Units at DFW by Year-End
Dippin’ Dots Now Available at All Chuck E...

We asked Red Boswell, SVP of franchising and business development at Expense Reduction Analysts, how he uses social media to attract prospects and validate candidates. Here's what he had to say.

To some, social media is a whippin', one big annoyance. But to me it's a blast. Jump onto Facebook for 30 seconds and you'll see amazing transparency, humor, personal branding, bold ignorance, inspiration, heartache, plus a whole lot of cute kitten and ugly kid photos.

At Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA) we invest most of our time and efforts in the social media space with LinkedIn, the leading social network specifically focused on the business community. Over the past 18 months it's become considerably easier to locate, connect with, and validate the suitability of candidates on LinkedIn...

We asked Charles Watson, Chief Development Officer at Tropical Smoothie Café, how he chooses the right marketing media to reach his ideal candidates, and how often he communicates with them. Here's what he had to say.

When choosing the media vehicles for communicating with your target audience, it's important to have a clear definition of that audience. If you are targeting Millennials who tend to be heavy digital users, then digital tactics such as Facebook and retargeting ads may be the best way to reach them. If your ideal prospect is an older "Corporate America" executive looking for a career change, then national business media may be the best way to connect with these potential franchisees.

Also keep in mind whether or not you're targeting a single-unit or multi-unit owner, as they usually have drastically different behaviors...

We asked Mark Jameson, Executive Vice President, Franchise Support and Development at Fastsigns International, how he chooses the right marketing media to reach his ideal candidates, and how often he communicates with them. Here's what he had to say.

We believe in utilizing many different marketing channels to reach our candidates, and more importantly, in targeting those in the right markets and for the right category or model. Our brand relies on a strong public relations and digital marketing strategy to target and find the ideal candidates. With the help of a significant national TV buy, Fastsigns is lucky to have a strong brand presence that enables us to stay top of mind.

However, this is only a piece of how we communicate the franchise opportunity to candidates, so we must employ a variety of marketing strategies to attract the right candidates...

We asked Alex Samios, director of franchising at Dogtopia, how he uses social media to attract prospects and validate candidates. Here's what he had to say.

Social media is a regular function of our franchise development team. We use it to generate leads, nurture existing prospects, and validate that the franchise candidate is right for our brand.

Today's prospective franchisees want a self-directed approach - they don't want to feel as if a franchisor is trying to sell them on the concept. With this in mind, you need to adopt a softer, more subtle social media strategy for franchise sales - especially when posting franchise development-focused messaging on your brand's consumer social media accounts.

At Dogtopia, we keep our corporate Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages separate from those of our franchise owners, who all have their own individual accounts that are updated regularly...

We asked Jill Szymanski, director of franchise and real estate at Bar Louie, what the keys are to building, training, and retaining a great sales and development team at her brand. Here's what she had to say.

In building great teams, I always look back at teams I was fortunate to be a part of. When I was with Burger King in the '80s, we accomplished some seemingly insurmountable tasks in a relatively short time. What we did, how we did it, and what I learned in the process has carried with me to today. Through the years, the following time-tested principles, when implemented, usually translate into great results and happy people.

The good news: Franchising is experiencing a remarkable growth phase - not only in unit count and system-wide revenue, but also in the number of new and emerging brands. The bad news: It's harder to keep up with all the good news! That's a nice problem to have - and why we've brought back our "Good News" roundup of selected news items on unit growth, investment and financial developments, international expansion news, refranchising, and milestones attained by franchisors large, medium, and small. Here's your chance to follow the leaders, every third Tuesday of the month.
So, if you’re not doing it already, send us your good news here.

New Units/Growth/Expansion

We asked Cameron Cummins, vice president of franchise development at Marco's Pizza, to discuss the importance of franchisee validation - and how the brand uses it as a sales and development tool.

One of the first things we tell our potential franchisees is that we do not sell a franchise. Rather, we present a business opportunity and let prospects see if our opportunity and our culture are a match for them. The word "sales" does not appear anywhere in our Marco's vocabulary for the simple fact that we are not selling a franchise. We view franchisee validation not as a sales process, but as an exploration process.

The key to franchise development is that it's all about the validation. Prospects need to fully understand what they are deciding to get into...

Each year, Franchise Update Media honors the top performers in franchise sales and development at its STAR Awards dinner, a highlight of the annual Franchise Leadership & Development Conference, held this past Oct. 14-16 in Atlanta. The STAR Awards (Speaking To And Responding) recognize brands for overall development performance and in the key areas of franchisee recruitment, online sales follow-up, telephone responsiveness, website effectiveness, social media, and franchisee satisfaction.

STAR Award winners are chosen based on evaluations by a team of Franchise Update sales and lead generation experts. In 2015, Bach to Rock took home the honors for Best Website Practices. Their story is below. (Read about the #1 overall winner, Wild Birds Unlimited here...

The good news: Franchising is experiencing a remarkable growth phase - not only in unit count and system-wide revenue, but also in the number of new and emerging brands. The bad news: It's harder to keep up with all the good news! That's a nice problem to have - and why we've brought back our "Good News" roundup of selected news items on unit growth, investment and financial developments, international expansion news, refranchising, and milestones attained by franchisors large, medium, and small. Here's your chance to follow the leaders, every third Tuesday of the month.
   So, if you're not doing it already, send us your good news here.


New Units/Growth/Expansion

Franchise Update Media honored the top performers in franchise sales and development at its STAR Awards dinner, a highlight of the annual Franchise Leadership & Development Conference, held this past Oct. 14-16 in Atlanta. The STAR Awards (Speaking To And Responding) recognize brands for overall development performance and in the key areas of franchisee recruitment, online sales follow-up, telephone responsiveness, website effectiveness, social media, and franchisee satisfaction.

STAR Award winners are chosen based on evaluations by a team of Franchise Update sales and lead generation experts. The Sport Clips team earned the #2 award for Best Overall Performance in 2015, as well as a 1st place STAR Award for Best Overall Prospect Responsiveness...

We asked Michael Powers, managing director at Painting with a Twist, to discuss the importance of franchisee validation--and how the brand uses it as a sales and development tool.

Unit franchise growth is the fuel that supplies life and sustainability to every franchisor's existence. Without significant annual unit growth, your brand and market share will eventually erode away while your growing competitors will gladly capture the excess and continue to grow their own brands. Simply put, you are either growing or dying. And in today's competitive franchise environment, the latter is not an option for any franchise organization.

Franchisee validation can heavily influence your development success, whether you're an emerging franchisor or a large established one...

The good news: Franchising is experiencing a remarkable growth phase - not only in unit count and system-wide revenue, but also in the number of new and emerging brands. The bad news: It's harder to keep up with all the good news! That's a nice problem to have - and why we've brought back our "Good News" roundup of selected news items on unit growth, investment and financial developments, international expansion news, refranchising, and milestones attained by franchisors large, medium, and small. Here's your chance to follow the leaders, every third Tuesday of the month.
So, if you're not doing it already, send us your good news here.


New Units/Growth/Expansion

Former NFL Players To Open 14 Dunkin' Donuts in St...

How closely do you work with the sales team in franchisee lead generation and franchisee recruitment?


Brian DeLong
Director of Marketing, Advertising, & PR
Goddard Systems Inc.
Twenty-first century learning skills--which include STEAM concepts (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) and the 4Cs (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity)--are at the foundation of The Goddard School's play-based learning program. At Goddard Systems, Inc. (GSI), we practice what we teach by continually assessing and learning from our past successes, opportunities, and challenges. Promoting the right culture for our brand begins here with our internal team. From recruitment through our unique support model, our focus on maintaining transparency and accountability extends to our franchisees...

We asked Doug Smith, vice president of franchise development at Chem-Dry, "What are you doing to integrate technologies for both your overall development strategies and into how you create a profile of your best prospects?" Here's what he had to say.

Chem-Dry uses inbound marketing strategies to help us connect with potential franchisees. Our online marketing strategy is designed to make significant information available to people researching franchise opportunities.

The foundation for Chem-Dry's recruitment strategy comes from our relationships with existing franchisees. We stay in contact with them throughout the year as we help them identify ways they can grow and improve their businesses. We then use what we learn to build an inbound marketing strategy designed to attract people who are likely to have success in our brand...

We asked Tim Courtney, vice president of franchise development at CruiseOne, "What are you doing to integrate technologies for both your overall development strategies and into how you create a profile of your best prospects?" Here's what he had to say.

It's really incredible how much technology continues to evolve! There are so many tools available to assist franchisors with their development plans today, and at CruiseOne integrating technology is an essential part of our development strategy.