Franchise Guide: - Franchising.com

RSS Subscribe

Why is it that so many franchisors have not mystery shopped their sales teams in the past 12 months? That's one of the findings highlighted in Franchise Update's 13th annual Lead Generation Survey of 126 franchise organizations representing 38,800 units. Maybe if some of these companies monitored their sales execs, they wouldn't be among the 40 percent of franchisors that never called our mystery shoppers who submitted qualified inquiry forms from their websites. Ouch!
  • Steve Olson
  • 3,110 Reads 7 Shares
In many ways, the face of the franchise is its employees. They are the ones who meet and greet customers, provide the products and services, and represent the brand daily. Some franchise concepts require more employees than others, and there's a wide range of the types and skills sets of employees needed. But chances are you will need to do some hiring and, to some degree, it will remain an ongoing process for your business.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 17,824 Reads 6 Shares
The economy continues to show signs of improvement and the executives at Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine's Multi-Unit Franchising Conference have factored this new business reality into the planning of their annual event. This year the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference will take place April 27-29 at The Venetian in Las Vegas. The theme is "What's Next. Plan Tomorrow Today.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 10,608 Reads 1 Shares
Jim Sullivan keeps an eye on business trends and market shifts. His livelihood depends on it. In fact, the very mission of his organization, Sullivision.com, is to design and deliver operations and leadership training programs for companies - including many franchises. He's worked with brands like McDonald's, Panera Bread, Regis Corp., Jiffy Lube, Applebee's, Domino's, and Dunkin' Brands.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 4,708 Reads 1,023 Shares
Gina Puente learned about hard work, tenacity, and the power of cash at the feet of her father, "working" in his office equipment business from the age of eight... when she wasn't busy with commercials and pageants.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 5,558 Reads 181 Shares
Overcoming obstacles and facing adversity will be part of the game plan when Sean Tuohy keynotes at the upcoming Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in Las Vegas in April.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 4,767 Reads 72 Shares
The remarkable change in his life is not lost on John Betz. It seems one day he was wearing a three-piece suit and hopping a private jet to meet with telecommunications industry clients, and the next thing he knew he was wearing shorts and rolling pretzel dough behind the counter of his first Auntie Anne's Pretzels.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 8,763 Reads 1 Shares
Are you conveying the correct message about your brand? Are you taking advantage of your opening programs to get new franchise owners to monthly breakeven more quickly? How long does it take your prospect to understand the long- and short-term financial opportunities of your franchise concept?
  • Marc Kiekenapp
  • 3,387 Reads 31 Shares
As a street-savvy franchise owner, you've done your homework. Your "shiny object" of brand, service, or product has been selected carefully, with an eye to profits and market-share. Now, you want to assess the current economic climate, to discover whether it best supports a full speed ahead approach or a careful step-by-step advance. The truth is that franchises have been known to both bottom-out and burst sales records in a variety of economic situations. Your best bet is to focus on using time-proven methods to grow a "demand for ownership" of your "shiny object" among customers and prospects.
  • David LaBonte
  • 4,101 Reads 19 Shares
When Emir Lopez was ready to open his first Domino's Pizza store, he could have done it anywhere. But after working his way out of the James Weldon Johnson Project in East Harlem, New York, Emir decided the best place to open that store was right in the neighborhood he had come from.
  • Multi-Unit Franchise
  • 4,055 Reads 32 Shares
Among the many costs associated with running a successful franchise are staff wages, marketing campaigns, and product costs (with regard to ordering and maintaining an inventory). One of the biggest expenses, without question, has to be your commercial rent. Higher income from rent-paying tenants, like you, will make a landlord happier. However, this remains as money out of your pocket. By decreasing your monthly rent, your profits will increase. Doing this is not impossible. Know that the amount of rent that you agreed to pay at the beginning of your lease term is not necessarily the amount of rent you will pay on your renewal. I have been quite successful in negotiating midterm rent breaks and lease renewal rent reductions for many clients - both independent business owners and franchisees.
  • Dale Willerton
  • 38,317 Reads 20 Shares
Indevia Accounting
SPONSORED CONTENT
Indevia Accounting
SPONSORED CONTENT
Indevia Accounting
SPONSORED CONTENT
In part one of this three-part series, I discussed self-assessment and how to take inventory of the leadership shadow that you cast. Nothing can be more fundamental to business success than acquiring the necessary skills that are critical to leading others in a multi-unit franchise operation.
  • Tom Welter
  • 10,475 Reads 1 Shares
For the past few years you have heard me note that the majority of franchised units in the U.S. are owned by multi-unit operators. With more than 400,000 franchised units in the country, multi-unit operators control about 53 percent of those units. That's impressive, and the percentage controlled by multi-unit operators is rising. This growth is a consequence of many brands focusing their development models on multi-unit development packages over single-unit programs.
  • Darrell Johnson
  • 9,378 Reads 324 Shares
As a franchisor, what are some things you are doing (or considering doing) to help give your franchise development people enriched selling opportunities in today's economy?
  • Franchise Update
  • 6,438 Reads
This is the last of three parts about how to maximize the effectiveness of your Discovery Day. Companies schedule Discovery Days in different ways: once a month, once a week, or anytime a candidate can make it! As your system grows, you'll be forced to schedule more frequent and specific dates so you don't overtax your home office resources. But sooner is better. Like a cold steak, your opportunity can lose its sizzle the longer the wait for Discovery Day.
  • Steve Olson
  • 9,929 Reads 13 Shares
As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 10,162 Reads 93 Shares
To some people, trade shows are a necessary evil, while others believe by ignoring them it will make them go away. The reality is that trade shows are not going away. Just the opposite is occurring right in front of our eyes: They are becoming more important.
  • Ray Titus
  • 3,682 Reads 44 Shares
Each year, for more than a decade, Franchise Update Media Group has surveyed hundreds of franchisors about their sales and development practices and compiled the results in its Annual Franchise Development Report (AFDR).
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 3,671 Reads 15 Shares
Seat-of-the-pants management styles may be fine themes for business magazine articles and their Hollywood adaptations, but responding to the symptoms of problems instead of preventing problems in the first place is like taking aspirin to cure pneumonia.
  • Steve LeFever
  • 19,310 Reads 510 Shares
The process of recruiting franchisees can be grueling. Half the battle is deciding where and when to reach your audience. What if there were a recruitment strategy that eliminated the need to search high and low for franchisees, and instead turned them right to you
  • Lisa Wehr
  • 3,875 Reads 122 Shares
When Anil Yadav hears people talk about the United States as the land of opportunity, he takes pride in the fact that his life since emigrating from India has been a testament to the promise implicit in that phrase.
  • John Carroll
  • 23,703 Reads 6 Shares
The Human Bean
SPONSORED CONTENT
The Human Bean
SPONSORED CONTENT
The Human Bean
SPONSORED CONTENT
Will the 2011 economy provide a further drag on franchise development, or will it allow development to start to gain some speed? I believe the answer is that it will allow some gradual acceleration in most sectors. Let's look at what's been happening in development and the economic factors that will influence it in 2011, and some implications for development that will last beyond 2011.
  • Darrell Johnson
  • 3,452 Reads
Sean Tuohy, entrepreneur, NBA broadcaster, and subject of The Blind Side, J. Patrick Doyle, CEO of Domino's Pizza, futurist Jim Carroll, and John DiJulius, customer experience speaker, author and consultant, will be the four keynote speakers at the 2011 Multi-Unit Franchising Conference, April 27-29 at The Venetian in Las Vegas. The annual conference is organized by <i>Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine,</i> and the 2011 theme is, "What's Next. Plan Tomorrow Today."
  • PRESS RELEASE
  • 5,419 Reads 1,021 Shares
Sean Tuohy, entrepreneur, NBA broadcaster, and subject of The Blind Side, J. Patrick Doyle, CEO of Domino's Pizza, futurist Jim Carroll, and John DiJulius, customer experience speaker, author and consultant, will be the four keynote speakers at the 2011 Multi-Unit Franchising Conference, April 27-29 at The Venetian in Las Vegas. The annual conference is organized by Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine, and the 2011 theme is, "What's Next. Plan Tomorrow Today."
  • PRESS RELEASE
  • 5,816 Reads
When Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans five years ago, Glenn Mueller already was a grizzled veteran of the Gulf Coast hurricane season. Being a franchisee carries some special challenges for anyone who operates in the region, and Katrina put all of his considerable skills as one of the country's top Domino's franchisees to the test.
  • John Carroll
  • 7,786 Reads 393 Shares
For more than a decade now, Franchise Update has deployed teams of mystery shoppers to evaluate the performance of sales teams, specifically their responses to phone and online queries from qualified prospects. The companies surveyed each year are franchisors registered to attend the annual Leadership & Development Conference who ask to be mystery shopped. This year, our telephone mystery shoppers phoned 155 franchisors and submitted forms on 132 recruitment websites; and a separate team evaluated the websites themselves.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 5,776 Reads
A great franchise in a poor location will become a poor business. When it comes to site selection, one difference between an independent tenant and a franchisee is that, presumably, the franchisee will be getting real estate help and support from the franchisor.
  • Dale Willerton
  • 74,693 Reads 11 Shares
"Mystery shopper": two words that strike fear in the hearts of franchisors with poorly managed sales departments and weak sales processes. But for those on top of their development game, who always have a finger on the pulse of their sales team, it's simply a validation of what they already know.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 6,005 Reads
As we continue to mine Dave Melton's book, <i>Hire the American Dream</i>, I thought it would be interesting to highlight a case study that demonstrates just how successful smart hiring can be. Here Melton describes his experience hiring an immigrant.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 4,158 Reads 88 Shares
In my 20-year journey of understanding leadership fundamentals, I have found change to be constant and adaptability to that change as the number one indicator of personal success.
  • Tom Welter
  • 6,011 Reads 143 Shares
Share This Page

Subscribe to our Newsletters