Strong Cultures Sell More Franchises!

Every franchise organization has a culture, the same way every person has a personality. If your franchise brand is serious about growth and development, ask yourself these two questions: 1) Does our franchise system have a strong, positive culture?; and 2) Is it a culture that promotes selling franchises?

If you answered "No" to either (or both) questions, you've just uncovered major issues hindering your ability to sell franchises. The good news is that you can turn things around and supercharge your franchise sales.

Whether you manage a new or a growing franchise organization, you might be asking, What exactly is corporate culture, and how do I know if it's strong and positive? To answer that, ask yourself these questions: What is the vision of my company, and What is our core set of values and beliefs?

If you can't answer right away, this could be a sign of trouble. Every stakeholder in the organization should know the answers to these questions. Does your senior management team know? What about your corporate employees? Your franchisees? Your franchisees' employees? Your suppliers? And what about your customers? In franchise systems with strong corporate cultures, everyone in the organization understands the vision, values, and beliefs of the company.

It's important not to confuse culture with mood. Culture is systemic to an organization, something ingrained within the organization that doesn't change from one day to the next. Mood is the euphoria people feel, for example, when they leave your conferences after attending a motivational presentation. Mood is not permanent.

A few weeks ago, I was speaking with a prospective client before their franchise conference. They were having major problems in their organization. Franchisees were very upset: they felt neglected, and had felt this way for many years. After the conference, when we continued the conversation, the client assured me that the conference went very well, and that people were now feeling so good that they no longer had a problem.

I understood how he felt. With all the excitement and energy generated at the conference, attendees left motivated and enthusiastic. Unfortunately, habits don't change quickly; and when the mood wears off, attendees usually return to how they felt before the conference.

Remember, culture is not mood. Culture is critical to an organization. It can take years to build, and even more years to change. If you have a strong, positive culture, the good news is that you have built something that will be hard to undo. Conversely, if you have a negative culture, it will take a lot of effort and time to change it. Don't expect one great conference to change everything. Yes, one great conference is a good start, but it's only a start.

When you create a strong, positive corporate culture, it means that everyone in your organization understands the mission and vision of the organization, and that they are working in unison toward that goal. When I say everybody understands, that means all of your stakeholders, which includes your franchisees and all of their employees. It also means that your customers get it. And while they may not "get it" in the same sense someone directly affiliated with your organization does, they feel its impact in each transaction they make with your brand, or whenever they see your stores, logo, and marketing.