How do you identify if a prospect isn't the right fit for Zaxby's, and how do you let them know?

We asked Bert Lane,Vice President of Franchise Sales at Zaxby's "How do you identify if a prospect isn't the right fit for your brand, and how do you let them know?" 

It’s in everyone’s best interest for us to determine as quickly as possible if a prospect is a good fit to be a Zaxby’s franchisee, so we set up our process with that in mind. We start with a short, automated form where we ask questions that will tease out initial deal-breakers: liquidity, net worth, and experience. If they don’t meet our requirements, they will get an automatic response thanking them for their interest and letting them know they don’t currently meet the criteria to own a Zaxby’s.

Next, we move to our “Get to know you fast” phone call. This is a 5- to 15-minute call—tops. Again, we don’t want to waste anyone’s time. In that call, we quickly reestablish financial stability and industry experience in operations and development. I prefer QSR experience, but I also ask them to tell me what they’ve built, grown, or developed. If they can’t do that, they aren’t a good fit. We want proven developers. We also ask them how involved they plan to be in the business. That is big at Zaxby’s. We want owner involvement.

If I hear any red flags in that phone call, I am able to tell them over the phone immediately we are not a good fit. There is no point in dragging it out. If they are a proven developer with industry experience, it’s time for the next steps. From here, if they sign the FDD and are successful filling out the application and screening, there is a good chance we have a match. If at any time during that process it becomes evident they are not aligned with our brand’s vision, values, and goals, we will let them know with a personal phone call that it is time to part ways.

A good franchise prospect for us is someone who combines financial stability, a shared passion for the brand, strong business acumen, a willingness to follow the system, commitment, strong operations skills, and a solid understanding of the local market. If we determine those are missing, we communicate that as quickly and professionally as possible.