In November, Francorp's Chairman, Don Boroian, did a presentation on the economy and its effect on franchising. Here is the transcript from that presentation and what was said about how franchising would be affected by our current economic downturn.
Hi, I am Don Boroian, Chairman of Francorp. I’d like to talk to you today about a couple of things that are very important to us as we meet this challenging economy right now that is raising havoc with a lot of the financial markets. It will definitely have an effect on franchising as well. However, contrary to what you might think, it is going to have a positive effect. For example, the biggest growth of franchising has occurred during these downturns in the economy. And we are going to look at it in two ways. First of all, why it makes sense, for you as a franchisor to expand during this particular time. And secondly, why you need to change your message to prospective franchise buyers to meet the economic perceptions that people have about whether or not it is a good time for them to buy a franchise.
First of all, as a franchisor, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the market. Many companies, right now, as they hear all of the economic woes and credit issues and so on are pulling in their horns. They’re not expanding, particularly companies who are looking to expand with borrowed money or looking for investors to open operating units. First of all, we all know that investors don’t invest in companies to open ten stores. The return on investment to venture capitalists is not sufficient to justify that kind of investment. They don’t want to be in a situation where their money is tied up for three or four years before they begin to turn a profit. By the time you open operating units and put managers in them and the amount of return on invested capital at the unit level, which generally, is about fifteen percent, has to be split between the investor and you. It’s just not a sufficient amount of money. In addition, during times like this, investors are investing their money in distressed merchandise. Depleted value of stocks are a bargain for investors. And the money from the venture capital people is not going into start ups or development into relatively new companies. However, there’s a silver lining to all of this. And that is, that as a franchisor, your ability to move out into the marketplace is going to be enhanced by the availability of opportunity for you. For example, if you are in retailing or in restaurants or any business that needs to go into a shopping center or into inline stores, there are going to be more vacancies in areas now that you might not be able to get into when times are good and business is booming. Those stores were already filled. Right now, some of those stores will become available. Even though you may not have the capital to go into those stores personally, this is where franchisees come in. And while we hear all the talk about credit and difficulty in getting credit, remember, we’re dealing with a different buyer. For example, if you have a retail store or if you have a restaurant, you need hundreds of customers to come into your store, every day, every week.
But in franchising, we don’t have to sell hundreds of franchises every week or every day or every month. We only need to sell one or two, certainly, in a time like this, if you’re a new emerging franchisor. And the people that you’re going to be selling franchises to are more abundant now in quality. These are people that are being laid off, downsized, reengineered in companies that are laying off people or are going out of business. And these are the people that have been working in these companies for a number of years. They have good credit. They have a high credit score. They have equity in their homes; that can get refinanced at their local bank because they have longevity in their community and they are very good credit risks. In addition, these are people that have excellent job skills. Many of them are middle managers. These are people that always really would’ve liked to own their own business; were afraid to leave the job and risk their fortunes on starting a business. But now that, that decision has been made for them, they’re on the market. And many of these people have gone to job interviews only to find that companies in their same industry, that have just laid them off, are also laying off people. That’s when we get their interest in buying a franchise.
So that from your standpoint, as a franchisor, there are going to be a lot of opportunities because your competitors that are not franchising, are not going to be occupying more stores, borrowing money, opening more branches, opening more markets for their businesses. A good case in point right now is Starbucks. They’re closing 700 of their stores. Now for Starbucks, to put a manager in an outlet and to make the entire investment in the store and to be able to make a profit over and above the manager’s salary, is quite different than for a franchisee who is to buy a franchise and go into a business and work 60 hours a week. In many cases just making their salary, without even a profit over and above that, meets their needs. They just want to own their own business, be their own boss, be the captain of their own ship, master of their own destiny. And so many of these kinds of situations or companies that have corporate owned locations; those locations are going to be available. In retailing, in the food service industry, in anything that occupies a store, where someone has already done the leasehold improvements, in the restaurant business they have the walk in coolers, freezers, 3-compartment sinks, and grills and so on. And many of the landlords are bending over backwards giving free rents to get tenants in there to occupy these spaces. And in the service business as well, many of your competitors, those of you in service businesses; these companies are going to be cutting back on their expansion because it takes capital and not only just the start up capital but the burn rate. When we sell a franchise, a franchisee doesn’t expect to make money for the first two years. If they just barely take out a salary initially, to get the business going, that’s pretty much expected. They don’t expect to walk in on day one to be turning a salary and a profit.
But companies today can’t afford to do that if they’re borrowing a lot of money at their banks because, first of all, the bank financing isn’t available to that extent. And certainly, as the credit markets and standards tighten, it makes it more difficult for companies to expand with company owned units, where typically it takes two years to get to a breakeven point. And so those of us that are franchising our businesses have a great opportunity here because our competition is pulling in their horns.
You have three choices right now in this current challenging market. Number one, pulling your horns, hunker down, climb in a fox hole, wait until the storm blows over. If you do that, you’re going to miss a lot of opportunities. But companies that need capital in order to expand their own company owned units are going to have to do that because they don’t have the available capital.
A second strategy is to do what you’re doing right now. Just keep on going and keep on your current expansion strategy. But again, companies that are doing this with their own company units are inhibited by the inability to get capital and by their inability to move out into other markets and support these kinds of expansions.
A third option and this is an option great for franchisors, because this is an opportunity to look around and capture markets that are being abandoned or not expanded into by your competitors. And by franchising, you’re allowing yourself to go into these markets with the capital resources and the human resources of others. So from your standpoint, as a franchisor, this is the time to move out. And as we talk to prospective franchisors whether it’s through our regional director program, whether it’s through the people who contact us, whether it’s the seminars that we do, or the advertising that we do, and we talk to companies who are considering franchising. And looking at this as an optional strategy, we’re quick to point out to them that now is the time to expand your business into a market that’s weakened.
The time to attack the fort is when the walls are crumbling. And the walls in many of these companies today, which were well fortified, are crumbling because they are reliant totally upon bank financing that isn’t going to be there to the extent it has been in the past. And as franchising affords you the opportunity to expand, it does so by you finding those one or two or three people each month who do have good credit, high credit scores, who are looking to own their own business, who will make that investment, who will be the human resource solution for you as well as a capital solution, as they invest in buying the land, building the business or developing their markets. And it gives you the opportunity to move into a market that is weakened. This is the time. The lions in the Serengeti always attack the weakest of the prey. And this is the time for us to move into the marketplace by franchising into these markets while the companies that are reliant totally on expansion capital in either internally generated, borrowing money, bringing in investors or through other means. And we have an added opportunity here to raise funds through the investment of individuals. And we don’t have to get 300 of them a month or a hundred a day.
We only need to get 2 or 3 or 4 people to buy a franchise each month. These are people with good credit. These are people with equity. These are people with 401(k)s. These are people with savings. These are people with family and friends that will help them get started. So, take advantage of this opportunity now. And from the franchise buyer’s point of view, let’s take a look also at why we need to adjust our message. In the past our message was be your own boss, be master of your own destiny, captain of your own ship. Now is the time to get into this expanding world of whatever your concept is. But that message is changing now because now people have a perception that this may not be a good time to go into their own business. Because you know already how to run that business, they’re getting a jump start. And so this is an opportune time for you to look over the marketplace at a much better qualified group of people, who are desperately seeking either a job, which is very difficult to replace, similar to the one they’ve had or to start their own business. And because these are not people that are high risk, they’re not as likely to start their own business from scratch because they know the rate of business failures is about 95 percent of all new businesses that start. According to the Department of Commerce 95 businesses, 95 percent of all start ups from scratch fail within the first 5 years. And so with a franchise, the odds are in their favor and these are people who are more conservative, who are comfortable following the plan. And now that decision has been made for them, that they’re out in the marketplace without a job, they’re taking a look at you, as a franchisor, and what you offer. So what we can tell the prospective buyers today is that we have a system, we have it worked out. We have a complete business model. We have the opportunity for you to learn. We will teach you everything you need to learn. You don’t have to know anything about our business. We’ll teach you, we’ll help you. There are available stores now. There are landlords that are giving free rent and doing leasehold improvements and tenant improvement allowances.
There are competitors that are on the ropes, some of them going under. Now is the time to buy a franchise, to get yourself established, to get yourself started with our assistance as franchisors helping you. Now is the time. So don’t hunker down, don’t crawl in the fox hole. Now is the time to move out. Take advantage of the weakened economy, the weakened market, your weakened competitors. Sell these franchises and help people get started. And show the prospective buyer why now is a good time for them to capitalize on this opportunity that this challenging economy has presented.
Don Boroian
Chairman
Francorp, Inc.
www.francorp.com
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Francorp Clients Make a Splash in Miami!
Francorp Clients Make a Splash in Miami!
Francorp exhibits at most of the major franchise tradeshows across the country and around the world. With over 15 offices serving 40 countries, the firm has a strong presence at most franchise tradeshows including a very large show coming up in India in 2009. Each year one of the most exciting and wonderful shows in the U.S. is the Franchise Exposition South based in Miami, Florida. This show is particularly fun because of the international flair that Miami brings and the amazing environment that South Beach and the Miami locals always have to offer. The show is always held during the first week of the year and seems to bring in the New Year with a really great turnout. The 2009 show was no exception, there were a multitude of anxious franchise investors and interested individuals full of optimism and high expectations for the coming year. The Franchise exposition always offers an amazing array of wonderful business opportunities and franchises of all kinds.
This year, Francorp clients made a particularly impressive showing at the Miami franchise exposition. There were 17 current or former Francorp clients exhibiting at the franchise show this past weekend. Current Francorp clients included European Wax Centers, Hand and Stone Massage, Huffman Builders, 10 Minute Manicures, Big Mouth Marketing, Palm Tree Computers, Hippo, Mama Fu’s and many others. Former Francorp clients included franchisors such as Ace Hardware, Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels and others. In addition, several Francorp clients visited the show to plan for next year on how and when to exhibit. Many of Francorp’s clients have achieved amazing levels of success over the past year and 2009 should prove to be another exemplary year for franchise growth. European Wax Centers now has over 60 franchises sold, Hand and Stone Massage has almost 50 franchises sold, 10 Minute Manicures has 12 units open now and many other Francorp clients continue to grow at impressive rates.
Francorp clients did an extraordinary job the entire weekend managing their booths and engaging potential franchisees at the show. Francorp Executive Vice President, Thomas DuFore worked with each of the Francorp clients there at the show, some for the first time, to make sure that they were ready to implement the Francorp trade show training in order to maximize their time in Miami. Francorp works closely with its clients to make sure that proper trade show etiquette and follow up is implemented at every trade show they exhibit at. Thomas DuFore is an expert at managing shows and runs Francorp’s internal trade show staffing department. Francorp Client’s booths were literally the showpieces of the exhibition and the staffing by all of Francorp’s clients was superb. Palm Tree Computers did a wonderful job engaging showcomers and properly presenting the information on the show floor. European Wax Centers probably had the most exotic of booths as the show with a full waxing center and a front row seat to the entire show. Mama Fu’s did a wonderful job exhibiting with a full staff and commanding during the entire exhibition. All of Francorp’s clients were extremely impressive during the show and their high lead counts following the weekend were the result of good planning, hard work and dedicated teams.
Several of Francorp’s clients are utilizing the “Own Your Own Business” Seminar format as developed by the Chairman of Francorp, Don Boroian. The seminar format is organized to offer additional information and further introduction to a potential franchise buyers that come to the tradeshow. Palm Tree Computers for example is based out of Orlando, Florida and will be conducting the workshops over the following three weekends to introduce the company and concept of Palm Tree to over 50 potential buyers who asked for additional information at the Miami show. Mama Fu’s Restaurants also utilized a similar format at one of their South Florida locations. Many people across the country and particularly within the franchise community are anxiously awaiting the rollout of Mama-Fu’s franchise chain.
Francorp as standard practice had several representatives from Francorp’s International offices at the show as well to meet with clients and discuss franchising internationally with show visitors. Particularly in a market like Miami franchising internationally is always an interest. Ramon Vinay, President of Francorp International was present for the show and met with several companies to discuss franchise development and new happenings within the international franchise community. Francorp’s booth at the show was staffed by Franchise Analyst Sara Daly, Regional Director Judy Jones, Vice President Christopher Conner and Executive Vice President Thomas DuFore. The Francorp booth at tradeshows serves two purposes, one is to meet new companies and discuss franchising in the U.S. and abroad. Francorp also exhibits at tradeshows to meet new potential franchise buyers and pass these leads along to Francorp clients. Lead generation is a product of Francorp Connect which is Francorp’s web portal for franchise marketing and franchise lead generation. Francorp clients benefit from Francorp’s presence at every major trade show around the world.
2009 looks to be a very successful year for franchising and in particular Francorp clients. The Miami franchise exhibition was a jump start to what looks like a wonderful year for the franchise industry as a whole!
Francorp exhibits at most of the major franchise tradeshows across the country and around the world. With over 15 offices serving 40 countries, the firm has a strong presence at most franchise tradeshows including a very large show coming up in India in 2009. Each year one of the most exciting and wonderful shows in the U.S. is the Franchise Exposition South based in Miami, Florida. This show is particularly fun because of the international flair that Miami brings and the amazing environment that South Beach and the Miami locals always have to offer. The show is always held during the first week of the year and seems to bring in the New Year with a really great turnout. The 2009 show was no exception, there were a multitude of anxious franchise investors and interested individuals full of optimism and high expectations for the coming year. The Franchise exposition always offers an amazing array of wonderful business opportunities and franchises of all kinds.
This year, Francorp clients made a particularly impressive showing at the Miami franchise exposition. There were 17 current or former Francorp clients exhibiting at the franchise show this past weekend. Current Francorp clients included European Wax Centers, Hand and Stone Massage, Huffman Builders, 10 Minute Manicures, Big Mouth Marketing, Palm Tree Computers, Hippo, Mama Fu’s and many others. Former Francorp clients included franchisors such as Ace Hardware, Auntie Anne’s Soft Pretzels and others. In addition, several Francorp clients visited the show to plan for next year on how and when to exhibit. Many of Francorp’s clients have achieved amazing levels of success over the past year and 2009 should prove to be another exemplary year for franchise growth. European Wax Centers now has over 60 franchises sold, Hand and Stone Massage has almost 50 franchises sold, 10 Minute Manicures has 12 units open now and many other Francorp clients continue to grow at impressive rates.
Francorp clients did an extraordinary job the entire weekend managing their booths and engaging potential franchisees at the show. Francorp Executive Vice President, Thomas DuFore worked with each of the Francorp clients there at the show, some for the first time, to make sure that they were ready to implement the Francorp trade show training in order to maximize their time in Miami. Francorp works closely with its clients to make sure that proper trade show etiquette and follow up is implemented at every trade show they exhibit at. Thomas DuFore is an expert at managing shows and runs Francorp’s internal trade show staffing department. Francorp Client’s booths were literally the showpieces of the exhibition and the staffing by all of Francorp’s clients was superb. Palm Tree Computers did a wonderful job engaging showcomers and properly presenting the information on the show floor. European Wax Centers probably had the most exotic of booths as the show with a full waxing center and a front row seat to the entire show. Mama Fu’s did a wonderful job exhibiting with a full staff and commanding during the entire exhibition. All of Francorp’s clients were extremely impressive during the show and their high lead counts following the weekend were the result of good planning, hard work and dedicated teams.
Several of Francorp’s clients are utilizing the “Own Your Own Business” Seminar format as developed by the Chairman of Francorp, Don Boroian. The seminar format is organized to offer additional information and further introduction to a potential franchise buyers that come to the tradeshow. Palm Tree Computers for example is based out of Orlando, Florida and will be conducting the workshops over the following three weekends to introduce the company and concept of Palm Tree to over 50 potential buyers who asked for additional information at the Miami show. Mama Fu’s Restaurants also utilized a similar format at one of their South Florida locations. Many people across the country and particularly within the franchise community are anxiously awaiting the rollout of Mama-Fu’s franchise chain.
Francorp as standard practice had several representatives from Francorp’s International offices at the show as well to meet with clients and discuss franchising internationally with show visitors. Particularly in a market like Miami franchising internationally is always an interest. Ramon Vinay, President of Francorp International was present for the show and met with several companies to discuss franchise development and new happenings within the international franchise community. Francorp’s booth at the show was staffed by Franchise Analyst Sara Daly, Regional Director Judy Jones, Vice President Christopher Conner and Executive Vice President Thomas DuFore. The Francorp booth at tradeshows serves two purposes, one is to meet new companies and discuss franchising in the U.S. and abroad. Francorp also exhibits at tradeshows to meet new potential franchise buyers and pass these leads along to Francorp clients. Lead generation is a product of Francorp Connect which is Francorp’s web portal for franchise marketing and franchise lead generation. Francorp clients benefit from Francorp’s presence at every major trade show around the world.
2009 looks to be a very successful year for franchising and in particular Francorp clients. The Miami franchise exhibition was a jump start to what looks like a wonderful year for the franchise industry as a whole!
How to Effectively Work a Franchise Tradeshow
How to Effectively Work a Franchise Tradeshow
By: Christopher James Conner
Franchising is a fantastic way to grow a business. Many companies have utilized franchising as a way to grow their businesses across the United States and around the world. Hundreds and in some cases thousands of units have been opened in very short time periods by many different franchise brands. The basic premise, is that one company who has a good business model and understanding of how to run their type of business can teach other business owners how to be successful doing the same thing. In return the ones who learn from the credible business owners pay a franchise fee and royalty for that knowledge and training. It really can be an amazing thing when franchising successfully builds “win-win” relationships between so many different parties.
When a company decides to offer franchises of its business model, they begin to look for potential franchisees who will then open locations of their concept. It is with that principal that companies use tradeshows as a potential avenue for meeting new franchise buyers.
A Franchise sale is unique and different from most other sales. It is the formation of a long term relationship between two business parties. Unlike in the sale of a good or a short-term service, this transaction has a lasting relationship that in many franchise contracts extends to twenty years or longer. When a franchise company exhibits at a franchise tradeshow to meet new buyers they are in the first stages of forming a long partnership with those people. With that in mind the tradeshow takes on a new light. This decision has enormous consequences for both sides of the transaction. The buyers at a franchise tradeshow analyze everything about the franchisors and are carefully evaluating everything about the company. This is a very big decision for most franchise investors and they will be extremely cautious about who they get into business with. The Franchisors exhibiting at franchise shows must have their best presentation ready to go and be totally on top of their game in order to impress potential buyers.
This starts first with the booth. At any tradeshow the booth is an extension of a company’s office and home. It represents to the people at that tradeshow what and who that company is. Every piece of the booth and messaging displayed needs to be carefully and appropriately structured. There are many companies that do nothing but booth design and set up, I would recommend exploring their services. Because of the brevity inherent in a decision to invest in a franchise, the booth must look and be set up properly, it should represent a company extremely well. The best companies in the world at doing this are the commercial real estate organizations at the ICSC in Las Vegas each year. Their booths literally look like permanent office buildings they have constructed on the trade show floor. Booths to this extent can run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and are not practical for most purposes, but it is critical to have a professional and well organized booth at a franchise tradeshow. It is also extremely important to understand how your booth and the materials will actually get TO and FROM the show. If pieces are missing when you go to set up your booth, it can ruin the structure and overall presentation.
The most critical aspect to a successful tradeshow is the Staffing. There is an old saying that describes the uselessness of an extremely expensive booth with all the bells and whistles and no one to staff the booth that cares enough to engage the prospects. Franchise buyers are wary, this is a big decision for them and they are very careful in their evaluation. That being said, most buyers do not know what they want to invest in. They come to franchise shows with the understanding that they could investigate the options and look around to meet potential franchisors. Very rarely does a buyer come to a show with an express intent to buy or meet with one particular franchise company. Keeping that in mind, it is absolutely essential that a franchise tradeshow booth be manned by aggressive and positive staff. The booth very quickly becomes an afterthought once a prospect is engaged. Then the attention is shifted to the person. Everyone at the booth should look professional, well dressed, clean shaven, positive and excited about what they have to offer. If the people at the booth are not excited about the franchise offering, why should the buyers be?
The key to a successful tradeshow for a franchise company is to leave with LEADS. Very rarely does a tradeshow attendee come to a show and buy a franchise there at the exhibition. In most cases they meet the franchisor and begin the information gathering process from that point, the franchise agreement and relationship begins in several weeks or months after continued follow up and interaction. As a result, the focus of a franchise tradeshow for the team and staff must be to generate leads. Once a prospect has been engaged and their information has been gathered, it is time to move on! Find the next potential buyer, the tradeshow floor is not a place for long conversations. It is short introductions where enough value is built to set up the next call. Good franchise tradeshow staffs will not get caught talking with vendors or unqualified prospects. They will be on their feet the entire show and will not eat or drink in the booth. You just never know when that next good buyer will walk around the corner, and if your booth staff is drinking smoothies or eating ice cream at the time, you just might miss out on a great opportunity.
After the smoke clears and the tradeshow activities come to an end, it is not time to rest. It is time for follow up. An amazing percentage of tradeshow meetings at franchise exhibitions are never followed up on. It is a travesty to spend money on a tradeshow, put in the hard hours, walk away with sore backs and knees and not give the follow up the attention and commitment it deserves. The leads that you meet at a franchise tradeshow should be followed up with the night after the meetings have happened. This may seem aggressive to some, but you are not the only company or person that the attendee met for the first time that day. It will be a very short time before they forget you even exist. The follow up should be continued until there is a substantive conversation. Ideally, a franchise company will arrange a follow up meeting, either at the location or in the form of a seminar or workshop about their franchise. These meetings are a great way to continue the franchisee’s buying process and information gathering.
Overall, franchise tradeshows are wonderful ways for buyers to learn more about franchises and meet firsthand with the owners and leaders of franchise companies. They are also extremely effective ways for franchisors to market their franchise offering and meet quality potential buyers for their franchise. If the show is managed correctly and the preceding points are taken into account, tradeshows can be the beginning of many wonderful franchise relationships!
www.francorp.com
By: Christopher James Conner
Franchising is a fantastic way to grow a business. Many companies have utilized franchising as a way to grow their businesses across the United States and around the world. Hundreds and in some cases thousands of units have been opened in very short time periods by many different franchise brands. The basic premise, is that one company who has a good business model and understanding of how to run their type of business can teach other business owners how to be successful doing the same thing. In return the ones who learn from the credible business owners pay a franchise fee and royalty for that knowledge and training. It really can be an amazing thing when franchising successfully builds “win-win” relationships between so many different parties.
When a company decides to offer franchises of its business model, they begin to look for potential franchisees who will then open locations of their concept. It is with that principal that companies use tradeshows as a potential avenue for meeting new franchise buyers.
A Franchise sale is unique and different from most other sales. It is the formation of a long term relationship between two business parties. Unlike in the sale of a good or a short-term service, this transaction has a lasting relationship that in many franchise contracts extends to twenty years or longer. When a franchise company exhibits at a franchise tradeshow to meet new buyers they are in the first stages of forming a long partnership with those people. With that in mind the tradeshow takes on a new light. This decision has enormous consequences for both sides of the transaction. The buyers at a franchise tradeshow analyze everything about the franchisors and are carefully evaluating everything about the company. This is a very big decision for most franchise investors and they will be extremely cautious about who they get into business with. The Franchisors exhibiting at franchise shows must have their best presentation ready to go and be totally on top of their game in order to impress potential buyers.
This starts first with the booth. At any tradeshow the booth is an extension of a company’s office and home. It represents to the people at that tradeshow what and who that company is. Every piece of the booth and messaging displayed needs to be carefully and appropriately structured. There are many companies that do nothing but booth design and set up, I would recommend exploring their services. Because of the brevity inherent in a decision to invest in a franchise, the booth must look and be set up properly, it should represent a company extremely well. The best companies in the world at doing this are the commercial real estate organizations at the ICSC in Las Vegas each year. Their booths literally look like permanent office buildings they have constructed on the trade show floor. Booths to this extent can run in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and are not practical for most purposes, but it is critical to have a professional and well organized booth at a franchise tradeshow. It is also extremely important to understand how your booth and the materials will actually get TO and FROM the show. If pieces are missing when you go to set up your booth, it can ruin the structure and overall presentation.
The most critical aspect to a successful tradeshow is the Staffing. There is an old saying that describes the uselessness of an extremely expensive booth with all the bells and whistles and no one to staff the booth that cares enough to engage the prospects. Franchise buyers are wary, this is a big decision for them and they are very careful in their evaluation. That being said, most buyers do not know what they want to invest in. They come to franchise shows with the understanding that they could investigate the options and look around to meet potential franchisors. Very rarely does a buyer come to a show with an express intent to buy or meet with one particular franchise company. Keeping that in mind, it is absolutely essential that a franchise tradeshow booth be manned by aggressive and positive staff. The booth very quickly becomes an afterthought once a prospect is engaged. Then the attention is shifted to the person. Everyone at the booth should look professional, well dressed, clean shaven, positive and excited about what they have to offer. If the people at the booth are not excited about the franchise offering, why should the buyers be?
The key to a successful tradeshow for a franchise company is to leave with LEADS. Very rarely does a tradeshow attendee come to a show and buy a franchise there at the exhibition. In most cases they meet the franchisor and begin the information gathering process from that point, the franchise agreement and relationship begins in several weeks or months after continued follow up and interaction. As a result, the focus of a franchise tradeshow for the team and staff must be to generate leads. Once a prospect has been engaged and their information has been gathered, it is time to move on! Find the next potential buyer, the tradeshow floor is not a place for long conversations. It is short introductions where enough value is built to set up the next call. Good franchise tradeshow staffs will not get caught talking with vendors or unqualified prospects. They will be on their feet the entire show and will not eat or drink in the booth. You just never know when that next good buyer will walk around the corner, and if your booth staff is drinking smoothies or eating ice cream at the time, you just might miss out on a great opportunity.
After the smoke clears and the tradeshow activities come to an end, it is not time to rest. It is time for follow up. An amazing percentage of tradeshow meetings at franchise exhibitions are never followed up on. It is a travesty to spend money on a tradeshow, put in the hard hours, walk away with sore backs and knees and not give the follow up the attention and commitment it deserves. The leads that you meet at a franchise tradeshow should be followed up with the night after the meetings have happened. This may seem aggressive to some, but you are not the only company or person that the attendee met for the first time that day. It will be a very short time before they forget you even exist. The follow up should be continued until there is a substantive conversation. Ideally, a franchise company will arrange a follow up meeting, either at the location or in the form of a seminar or workshop about their franchise. These meetings are a great way to continue the franchisee’s buying process and information gathering.
Overall, franchise tradeshows are wonderful ways for buyers to learn more about franchises and meet firsthand with the owners and leaders of franchise companies. They are also extremely effective ways for franchisors to market their franchise offering and meet quality potential buyers for their franchise. If the show is managed correctly and the preceding points are taken into account, tradeshows can be the beginning of many wonderful franchise relationships!
www.francorp.com
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