The success of a franchise depends on the quality of the franchisees. This is why, when selecting your franchisees you must be rigorous and thorough.
Careful consideration must go into building up the profile of your “perfect franchisee”. Franchisee profiles differ enormously from franchise to franchise so a good deal of thought must be put in to determine the right skills and characteristics your franchisees will need. Remember it is not just competencies that you are looking for. You need to get further inside a prospective franchisee’s mind, and find out about attitudes, core values and habits that will give your franchise the best chance of success.
Recruiting Strategy
Once you know who you are looking for you will also know where to look. Determine where you want to aim your efforts and at what speed. Do you want to radiate out from a central point? or do you want to locate franchises in certain strategic locations around the country? Your recruiting strategy will need to be tied in with an appropriate advertising and promotional programme that targets the people you need to attract.
Documentation
This is a vital area. Your documents must befit the image of your company and attract quality prospects, while painting a true picture of the opportunity available and not adversely expose the franchisor to liability at some time in the future.
It is important that you have specific documents for the various functions that you wish to carry out in your recruiting process. For instance; a “Summary” of the opportunity, an “Overview” of the franchise, the “Franchise Agreement” etc. Each document will have a specific objective in your recruitment process.
Advertising Budget
When embarking on finding the right franchisees you need a marketing plan designed to attract the right type of people. Remember, in the long run, recruiting is a numbers game and unless you can get the message of your opportunity to your target market, the success in finding the right franchisees will be restricted.
The media you use should be appropriate and should be selected to target your specific audience. Apart from the normal advertising media such as Franchise NZ Magazine, daily newspapers, TV, radio and direct mail, you should think about Business Opportunity Expo’s and networking amongst staff, suppliers and customers of the franchisor and making it a feature on your website.
The copy in your advertisement is important because it can bring in many or few replies. An attention-grabbing headline is essential, as is copy that immediately captures attention and ends up creating the desire in the reader to learn more. Professional assistance with advertising writing, layout, and media placement can make a big difference.
Process
All prospective franchise applicants must be subject to the same recruitment process, and receive the same level of information at the same stages within the process. Detailed notes must be kept of all conversations and enquiries, and the answers, to reduce the possibility of future franchisor liability.
A comprehensive Assessment Form should be developed so that accurate conclusions can be drawn. Attention to detail in the process, psychological profiling and professional recruitment assistance all need to be carefully considered.
Using LINK
LINK’s Franchise Division specialises in the sale of franchises with a combination of the best franchisee selection skills and the best business broking skills, we are the only franchise recruitment agency of our kind in New Zealand.
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