Franchiseoverdosis Strikes!
Last week I was contacted by a potential client who was suffering the ill effects of Franchiseoverdosis. She was referred to me through a friend and I wanted to share her story so you maybe able to avoid the effects of this dreaded disease!
Sue (not really her name) had always dreamed of owning her own business. She had been climbing the corporate ladder for years and had experienced great success and been blessed with a fantastic income. Recent downsizings, restructurings and new management (sound familiar) had made her decide to start taking action on her business search. She really was not sure what she wanted to do but decided franchising sounded like the best bet for her.
She spent the next week online bouncing to the plethora of franchise listing websites....searching, reading and requesting information on any business that sounded interesting; expecting to get brochures in the mail to peruse at her leisure. A total of 10 requests to franchises spanning 6 different industries (restaurants to car washes). Pleased with the proactive step she had taken she sat back and looked forward to receiving the mailed brochures.
It first began with a few emails, Thanking her for the request but rapidly expanded to continual phone calls. Usually a call within 2 days of the Internet request followed by 2 more calls over the next week from each business. Over that next week she received 27 calls in total, 15 emails (2 with brochures) and one mailed brochure (from the business she was the least interested in). During that week she didn't answer her phone as she was not ready or able to speak to 10 different people. This flurry of activity and information came too fast and was simply too much information to process. She decided in the week following to put her plan on hold and did nothing else for nearly a year. The dreaded Franchiseoverdosis strikes again!
Here are a few tips to avoid the same fate.....
#1 Contact a franchise consultant - Reputable consultants will work to your timeline and provide invaluable service helping you build a profile of your ideal business and then acting as the middle man to gather relevant information on prospective businesses before actually engaging with any opportunity directly.
#2 Use the Internet to gather research and fill your curiosity but fight the urge to submit that information request until you have narrowed on a particular industry or are prepared to invest the time to talk with the business.
#3 Most Franchises do not send media kits immediately - Many business simply get too many requests and can no longer afford to mail marketing material to everyone. Expect to get a phone call before you get packet.
#4 Don't be surprised if the person calling from an online request is a franchise consultant. Many franchises utilize consultants as a means to pre-qualify prospects and consultants know the draw to these information request forms are strong. If you get a call take a few minutes and speak to the consultant. They just might be the remedy you need to realize your frantrepreneurial dream.
Have a great week!
Rob
Sue (not really her name) had always dreamed of owning her own business. She had been climbing the corporate ladder for years and had experienced great success and been blessed with a fantastic income. Recent downsizings, restructurings and new management (sound familiar) had made her decide to start taking action on her business search. She really was not sure what she wanted to do but decided franchising sounded like the best bet for her.
She spent the next week online bouncing to the plethora of franchise listing websites....searching, reading and requesting information on any business that sounded interesting; expecting to get brochures in the mail to peruse at her leisure. A total of 10 requests to franchises spanning 6 different industries (restaurants to car washes). Pleased with the proactive step she had taken she sat back and looked forward to receiving the mailed brochures.
It first began with a few emails, Thanking her for the request but rapidly expanded to continual phone calls. Usually a call within 2 days of the Internet request followed by 2 more calls over the next week from each business. Over that next week she received 27 calls in total, 15 emails (2 with brochures) and one mailed brochure (from the business she was the least interested in). During that week she didn't answer her phone as she was not ready or able to speak to 10 different people. This flurry of activity and information came too fast and was simply too much information to process. She decided in the week following to put her plan on hold and did nothing else for nearly a year. The dreaded Franchiseoverdosis strikes again!
Here are a few tips to avoid the same fate.....
#1 Contact a franchise consultant - Reputable consultants will work to your timeline and provide invaluable service helping you build a profile of your ideal business and then acting as the middle man to gather relevant information on prospective businesses before actually engaging with any opportunity directly.
#2 Use the Internet to gather research and fill your curiosity but fight the urge to submit that information request until you have narrowed on a particular industry or are prepared to invest the time to talk with the business.
#3 Most Franchises do not send media kits immediately - Many business simply get too many requests and can no longer afford to mail marketing material to everyone. Expect to get a phone call before you get packet.
#4 Don't be surprised if the person calling from an online request is a franchise consultant. Many franchises utilize consultants as a means to pre-qualify prospects and consultants know the draw to these information request forms are strong. If you get a call take a few minutes and speak to the consultant. They just might be the remedy you need to realize your frantrepreneurial dream.
Have a great week!
Rob
2 Comments:
This is a great article! What happened to the lady in the story? Can you do a follow-up?
Thanks for the note. "Sue" currently is in the process of reviewing two opportunities we identified for her. She was very concerned about the amount of hours she would spend working so our search focused on "lifestyle" businesses. These are opportunities that really provide the owner the ability to wrap their life around the business, not their business around their life.
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