You do not need to do this on your own! There are very valuable resources available, at no cost to you, to help you find the perfect franchise, read this short article and find out how.
If you are still looking to buy a franchise, or at least, be ‘awarded’ one, there is absolutely free assistance out there to ensure you make the right decision for you, and this is by way of engaging the services of a franchise consultant, best news of all is that you can approach them for the brand of your choice, and their service will cost you nothing, yes nothing! Let’s explain why.
1. Use The Free Assistance Available From A Franchise Consultant
You might be thinking that the number one aim of any franchise brand that you are exploring, has a need to sell you their particular franchise, and whilst this is partly true, they do indeed need to sell franchised ‘units’ but, in franchising these days it in also ensuring that the brand is protected and they bring new franchisees into the network and find the correct ‘fit’ this is also true of the way you should be looking into finding the right franchise for you, so take your time, get an expert opinion and you will be on the right path to a longer term business.
Franchise consultants are often the very first point of contact with some franchise enquiries you might make anyway, you might not necessarily be aware that the dialogue you are having is sometimes with a 3rd party agency that is appointed by the brand, although they will often make this clear in any direct communication, you might even ask as you are talking to franchisors, “are you the franchisors employee or a franchising consultant” ask away and you should get an explanation that will make this clear.
Consultants can also often be found under a directory listing within most franchise directories, you might even now look back at some pages that you have done your own research on to date and find them.
But How Do Franchise Consultants Get Paid Then?
First and foremost, the role of a franchise consultant is to help you discover if the franchise you have enquired about is really the right option for you, internally, it is true to say that they will also be thinking about the calibre of franchisee that is best for the franchised brand, and then in turn, ensuring that there is a match, they may be dealing with dozens, if not literally hundreds of enquiries at any one time, often for multiple brands, so you will want to make sure that you stand out for all the right reasons!
In practical terms, you will be discussing what requirements you need to be able to make any informed decision, such as;
What do you think you can add to the franchise?
What do you want to get out of the franchise?
Will this franchise suit your home or lifestyle requirements?
There are of course many more questions that you will ask of each other, it does not need to be a one-way street!
2. Ask Your Franchise Consultant Lots Of Questions
There is an art to asking the all-important questions, one of the most challenging, in many ways, is how you will intend to purchase said franchise, and this is not a trick question! Put simply, this is just another way to determine if you have the required funds upfront, or whether you need some financing assistance, again, for which there might be further options from the franchisor to help you, the more the franchise consultant can learn about your own individual circumstances, the more they can help you!
3. Take Guidance On The Steps To Purchase A Franchise
Many potential franchisees often fall at the first hurdle, often their excitement can get the better of them! Buying a franchise is a process, just like when you operate the franchise itself, you will be expected to follow a process, so you can also expect the franchisee recruitment to follow the very same trajectory! Take guidance on what will happen, and when, and then what will happen next, again, all will be made very clear by the franchise consultant.
Too Good To Be True?
Well, you might ask, and it is a fair question! How do these franchise consultants get paid then?
There is value to a franchised brand on outsourcing this challenging task of finding franchisees, there is the advertising and marketing to place to ensure that potential franchisee find them, then there are the early stage enquiries to handle in a timely fashion, as well as addressing preliminary enquiries, various follow-ups and getting franchisees ready for completion, if it is the right fit, all on top of the day to day running of their very own business!
With this in mind, franchisors are often very happy to pay for the services of the franchise consultants time and should not be under-estimated if you are serious about buying a franchise, I mean, you have nothing to lose right?
This post was written by Richard Pakey, Managing Director at Lime Licensing Group. They are an exhibitor on the FranchiseShow247 Business & Professional Services floor and you can visit their FranchiseShow247 exhibition stand here
