Master Planners

Last Saturday, mom and dad packed the kids into the minivan and headed out to the fitness center (Curves for her and Athletic Republic for him). First they dropped the kids off (one at Huntington Learning Centers, the other at Abrakadoodle). Before they left, they'd made sure the woman from Bathfitters knew exactly what they wanted done with their new shower, and reminded the man from Spring-Green to cut the back lawn extra short this week.

After 25 years devoted to finding work for other people, Nikki Sells just found herself a new job. Or, more exactly, a new job found her.

As the "franchise world" turns toward technology that allows us to respond automatically through emails, send links to articles, and educate customers through "mass information" emails, we may be looking past a simple premise of selling such as "building a relationship."

Sure, you're measuring your advertising spending and marketing budget. But are you measuring the numbers that matter? Savvy franchisors who do are reaping bigger rewards at significantly lower costs.