Franchise Advice - What to look for in a franchise
I have written on this topic many times with varying degrees of specific content. This time it is about trust in the franchise system. Not necessarily trust in the business model or trust in the brand although those are also of the utmost importance. Rather, today it is about trust in the Franchisor itself, trust in the franchisor’s people.
How can you tell if the franchisor can be trusted? Of course, there is disclosure documents and the letter of the law within the actual franchise agreement but what does your gut tell you.
I suggest two ways to determine ‘trust’ in a franchisor;
- Use that disclosure document to your advantage by calling as many of their franchise partners (franchisee’s in normal speak) as possible. Ask those franchisee’s point blank. Does the franchisor do what they so they are going to do, can you trust them in what they are saying?
- How does the franchisor act? Act with you when you are dealing with them, act with their franchisee’s? This is where your instincts come into play. A franchisor that nurtures relationships with its partners or franchisee’s, builds trust.
So what does trust even mean in franchising? Trust enables you to execute on objectives that are beneficial to your business. Trust lets you open the door to the help and experience that a franchisor can provide.
Look for Integrity in your Franchisor
Look for high integrity propositions and franchisors
High integrity is essential for two crucial reasons:
You will keep your peace of mind, and sleep at night. The world is full of miserable millionaires - people who have exploited others to make their money - don't be seduced by this false dream. Always behaving and deciding with high integrity will keep you safe, well, and probably make you wealthier too.
You will delight your customers and good word will spread, which is vital for local service businesses, which nearly all franchise businesses are. Local businesses live or die by their reputations. Behaving with high integrity will automatically ensure that your reputation shines and grows. Many well established successful franchisees never need to advertise or look for their next customers - their customers find them.
If you buy a franchise that lacks integrity, then with all the best will in the world, you will be pushing water uphill.
Look for and buy a franchise which has high integrity at the centre of its products, services and business ethos, and you are half way to running a high integrity franchise business - all that remains is for you to ensure that your own input and activity are high integrity too.
The Four Way Test
Everyone has heard of it, everyone has thought of it, but does everyone use it or at least the principals it is derived from?
The test, which has been translated into more than 100 languages, asks the following questions:
Of the things we think, say or do
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Joey’s Franchise Group has used the test in one form or another for many years. It allows us to bring great products and quality to all of our franchise systems. It helps ensure we bring quality Franchise Partners to market and most importantly it has built a level of trust within our community. Over 5o% of our ReFranchise stores are sold to existing staff members. That says a lot about the brand development, not necessarily the growth, but the brand trust that our Partners and their Employes have with us.
When you’re choosing your next franchise, ask them how they implement the Four Way Test.
Rob Hilditch – VP of Business Development
Joey’s Restaurant | Joey’s Urban | MVP Modern Barbers | Homes & Land Magazine Canada
Success in the restaurant business...
Success in the restaurant business can be elusive. What’s more, success means different things to different people. Some operators want to just make a living. Others have loftier goals – maximization of market share, achievement of targeted return on investment and so on. Regardless of one’s definition of success, the basics in the restaurant industry never change.
Here are the top 10 factors that contribute to success in our industry:
• Validated concept definition. Can you clearly state what experience your restaurant offers, what products it serves and what service-style it employs? If not, you’re not sure what your restaurant is all about and neither are your customers.
• Understanding your restaurant’s demand types and sources. Is your demand destination, generative or impulse? What is your trade area?
• Location. Regardless of your restaurant’s types and sources of demand, customers must be able to find and access your restaurant easily.
• Differentiated brand imagery. What makes you stand out from your competition?
• Targeted value proposition. Consumers are more knowledgeable and more demanding than ever. Value means offering the choices, convenience and monetary satisfaction at whatever price point the consumer selects.
• Targeted marketing. Make sure your marketing focuses on your trade area, your customer demographics and their buying behaviours. Find ways to measure the success of each marketing program.
• Quality food. You’re only as successful as you last meal.
• Quality service. You’re only as good as your last customer interaction. Do you talk about good service or does everyone in your organization understand it and live it?
• Flawless execution. Do all the elements of the experience you expect to provide to your customers come together every hour of every day? How do you know? Do you take action to make sure that they do?
• Customer data. Do you really know your customers – their demographic profile, their needs, their wants, their expectations
Joey’s Urban | Joey’s Restaurants | MVP Modern Barbers | Homes & Land Magazine
Avoiding franchise remorse...
Much like the picture attached, ask yourself, what makes you feel good. The best feeling in the world, is knowing you made the right decision and having no remorse in it.
At Joey’s Franchise Group, we believe in making our Franchise Partners feel good by ensuring they feel happy about their decision to choose one of our Franchise concepts.
Evidence of support tends to nurture trust and builds group resilience. It is typically sought by people in three primary forms:
• Consistent Leadership Behavior
• Regular Feedback
• Adequate Resources
Without sufficient or appropriate forms of support, individuals and the groups they belong to, tend to fuel their own anxiety and stress. This is counterproductive which in turn hampers trust and performance of all kinds.
In business almost any action we take is dependent on support of others, and approval either before or after the fact. In contrast to criticism and complaint, expressions of approval and support do have long shelf-lives.
Our support system of our Franchise Partners is integral to their and our success. It allows them to feel great about their decision.
Rob Hilditch, VP of Business Development
Joey’s Franchise Group – Great Canadian Franchises
Why you need a partner...a franchise partner.
The statistics are overwhelming. Couples live longer than
single people. One study reported that the mortality rate for
single men aged between 30 and 59 is two and a half times higher
than those who are married. Though some of the theories point to
quality of life and earning potential, the most compelling reason
is deeper than that. As social animals, we function better and cope
with stress more easily when we’re in a trusting relationship.
After a hard day, for example, there is someone at home to talk to
– to air your thoughts. Whether running errands, keeping the
household going or raising a family, on so many levels, the best
marriages are like a partnership. And in business…the best
partner- ships are like a marriage. We often spend more time with
people at work than we do with our own families, so some of the
same dynamics should exist at work as at home. Many entrepreneurs
say of their companies, “it’s like a family,” it’s only fitting
then that the family should have two parents. We all know the
increased stress and pressure that single-parent households face.
Whether a formal relationship or not, the best business partners
also have strong emotional bonds. This is the person with whom you
can close the door and share doubt and expose your vulnerability.
This is the person with whom you can bounce ideas and figure out
the best way to “raise the kids.” But more than anything, partners
keep each other going. Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely
affair.
Unlike working in a company, the person at the top doesn’t
have peers. Whether a formal equity partnership, a senior employee
or a right-hand-man or woman, a franchisor-franchisee, every
entrepreneur needs a partner…a business husband or wife. Every
entrepreneur needs someone they trust and who trusts them. And if
for no other reason, having a partner you love working with will
just help you live longer.