Sales Report 2010

"In light of the current job market, how do you attract and retain top talent in your corporate office/sales development department?" As the leader of a franchise company, attracting, retaining, and motivating our team are among my very top priorities. After all, franchisors are service organizations and service organizations are only as good as their people.

"The one with the most money wins the battle in recruiting new franchisees" is an axiom that means more now than ever. Emerging franchise companies have a difficult time getting the attention of serious franchise candidates in today's challenging economic environment. This is because new advertising and marketing channels are emerging, and more franchisors are chasing a limited number of qualified franchisee candidates.

What is the definition of success? When it comes to franchise development, most of us would say that accomplishing our goals is success--especially after a very tough 2009. For 2010, setting realistic development and growth goals is key. Your sales goals (and associated budget) will be determined by several factors. Some of the important questions we should be asking ourselves and our executive team this year include: [ol] [li] How does our concept work in the current economy

Social media is more than a trend--it's a way of life. Take, for example, Facebook. According to statistics, there currently are 350 million active Facebook users. If Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest in the world. YouTube boasts more than 5 billion video views each month--and is the world's third largest search engine. And we can't forget Twitter, which just happened to be the most used word in the English language in 2009. One thing is very clear: social is here to stay.

Access to capital is the number-one issue facing franchising in 2010. This isn't just an issue for new unit development--it is every bit as much of an issue for transfers. In both situations, franchisors have a large vested interest in ensuring that capital is there when a franchisee needs it.

It's been more than 40 years since I took my one and only psychology course. I can't say the course changed my life or showed me the light. It didn't. In fact, the only thing I really remember from it is that there are six interpretations of any two-party conversation: how Party A and Party B each perceives what they said and what they heard (that makes four); and two more, which are what I might label the truth (what Party A actually [i]did[/i] say to Party B, and vice versa). The point, of course, is that what we think we said is not necessarily what the other party thinks they heard--and further, that what we think we said may not have been what we actually said.