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We asked Marcia Mead, vice president of franchise development at PuroClean, 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.
The process of hiring, training, and retaining qualified individuals for sales and development is a necessary company practice that should not be taken lightly. Having a great sales and development team as the backbone of your business is critical to company success in both the immediate and distant future.
Hiring the most qualified people for your company can be challenging, but if you take the time to work diligently in the early stages of seeking out a potential employee, there is great long-term payoff. At PuroClean, we first identify which candidates can fit in with our company culture. It’s important to seek an individual with experience in franchise development, but if a person can’t fit in with the dynamic of the organization, the hire will simply not work out. When you have people who know and understand company culture, you will develop your brand with the right franchisees on board.
The ideal candidates will have past experiences that match the company profile. During the interview process, ask questions that will have them demonstrate their hands-on experience and show they can be prepared for any situation. You should also invite final candidates to attend a discovery day, spend time with the corporate team in the office and socially, and give them an opportunity to meet franchisees. Finally, before making the hire, always view the candidate’s online profiles, including LinkedIn and Facebook, and call their references for second and third opinions.
After hiring, proper training is critical. It is vital that your new hire knows what messages need to be expressed when selling and helping develop the company. PuroClean outlines employee expectations from the beginning and continues to work with new hires for several weeks before letting them set sail, including partner work in person and over the phone with the franchise development team, franchisee training academy, and meetings with key members of the operations team. The more comfortable the business is with the new employee, and vice versa, the greater chance the employee has to succeed and stay with the company. When a franchise development employee successfully comes on board and hits their stride, the results will be the proper development of your brand and a celebrated employee.
Without a determined, eager sales and development team, a business cannot grow. If franchisors take the time to seek out the people who best fit their company culture, they will see the most achievement and success.