francorp
Filed under: Business | Tags: franchise consultants, Francorp, francorp connect, francorp consulting
People often ask me about franchise brokers. On the surface, the idea of a franchise broker seems simple enough. Brokers put buyers and sellers together so whether a buyer or a seller, brokers would seem to be a very important component in the equation.The fact is, brokers get paid to put buyers and sellers together. After all, they need to get paid too.
Thus, by the pure nature of that relationship, they typically have a biased opinion. Odds are, they are representing a party that pays them upon procurement of a sale. So, let us look at this from both perspectives, the franchisor and prospective franchisee. For you franchisors or perspective franchisors – Brokers fill a void as a nice additional franchise sales outlet, but do not make the mistake in thinking that brokers are going to be your only source of sales for your franchise company.
We have found that companies that sell their own franchises have the greatest success in the long run. The reason for this is that a company selling their own franchises has to live with them for the term of the contract. This causes in house sales teams to have more stringent criteria placed on them. Thus, my advice is to first deploy an in-house sales initiative. In order to be successful with an in-house sales force, they will need to deploy a marketing program in order to generate leads for those sales people to follow up with.
This strategy needs to address the following marketing opportunities:
1. Internet
2. Trade Shows
3. PR / Publicity
4. Print
5. Direct mail
Francorp believes that this multi-pronged approach is the best way to address franchise sales and marketing. As a secondary plan, brokers can add additional prospects to the equation. Though, be weary of deploying a marketing program and sending all of your leads to outside brokers.I would not recommend that strategy. Your leads are then likely to be distributed among that brokers other franchisor clients in the event that they have a qualified franchisee prospect that is not interested in your particular business off hand.
My advice would be to only use brokers that generate their own leads. In addition, be careful not to enter into an exclusive broker arrangement.For those of you that are prospective franchisees, be weary of brokers steering you to a particular business in which they are obtaining a commission. Not all franchise companies pay commissions.
What happens if you work with a broker and they do not show you a particular franchise that you are interested in learning more about? GO DIRECTLY TO THAT COMPANY. There are many brokers that are great people and and help people find their dream business. Though, brokers are not for everyone. I am not aware of any large national brokerage networks that are paid directly by the buyer. All of the brokers that I have met are paid by the actual franchise companies upon the sale of a franchise.
In a perfect world, you perspective buyers should work with a broker for a fee that you pay so that your interests are being represented, not those of a hand full of franchisors.Now you sellers and prospective buyers are in a better informed position to be able to find the right opportunities that are out there for you all. You heard it here from Francorp, the franchising leader.
L. Patrick Callaway
President
Francorp, Inc.
http://www.francorp.com/
Filed under: Business | Tags: don boroian, Francorp, francorp client, francorp connect, francorp consulting
There are three important things to remember when choosing a company to work with as a franchise consulting group.
One: Make sure that the company has it’s resources in house. The internet and evasive marketing can cloud the fact that many franchise consultants do not have an in-house consulting team. Why is this important? Because you don’t want to play general contractor on your franchise development project. The business owner and entrepreneur should not have to be tracking people down throughout the development of their program. Francorp has an all in-house team that does not outsource any part of the franchise development. Francorp is the only franchise consulting firm that has an in-house legal staff. This is important because the franchise attorneys should be involved in all aspects of the franchise development process, the business planning, the operations development, the marketing materials, the website design and throughout the planning of the project.
Two: Depth and Resources. What happens if you hire an individual consultant or “Group” of consultants when the consultant working on your project decides to retire, take a vacation or has other work to attend to? The fact is that you need a team of experienced people who have depth and the resources to provide a complete consulting service. Francorp has been in operation for 33 years and worked with thousands of franchisors, the company is not going anywhere and will be here tomorrow. This is important because a new franchise company needs the guidance for years after they are introduced to the market.
Three: Experience and Diversity of Work. When developing a new franchise organization every company is unique and different, it is important that there is no magic pill for creating a successful franchise company. Each business and company has it’s own philosophies, culture and business model. The franchise consulting company should have a broad range of clients and work that they have done in order to draw from that experience and impliment the appropriate strategies and structure for their franchise organization. Why is this important? There are many franchise consultants out there who associate themselves with franchise systems they worked on while with other companies, they played a part in the development but did not run the projects or oversee the implimentation of the programs. Even other consultants claim work on franchise projects that in reality they played little or no part in the development of the critical aspects of the franchise program. Francorp brings more experience and a more extensive client list than any other franchise consulting organization. The depth and extent to which Francorp has worked with franchise systems of all kinds is unmatched by anyone in the market.
Go to the Francorp site for more information on the firm, Francorp clients, Francorp processes, Francorp testimonials and Francorp’s executive team.
Francorp also lists many of its clients for marketing and franchise sales purposes on its web portal. Here Francorp clients can generate leads and create a market presence.
Francorp also has a strong international presence in 13 countries representing over 40 different countries around the world. Francorp is the only franchise consulting firm that has franchised it’s own operations internationally.
Francorp also provides financing for many of its clients franchisees. This is critical in most markets and from a marketing and franchise sales perspective it is very important that Francorp clients can offer this to their franchisees.
Filed under: Business | Tags: Francorp, francorp client, francorp clients, francorp consulting, soul de cuba, soul de cuba success
October 5, 2008 – (Honolulu, HI) – Soul de Cuba Cafe has announced they will be launching an aggressive expansion program through franchising.
Soul de Cuba Cafe brings traditional, authentic Cuban cuisine by embracing Afro Cuban culture and history. “The Soul de Cuba dining experience goes far beyond enjoying a plate of rice, beans and plantains,” explains founder Jesus Puerto.
For most, it’s a first time emersion into a dwelling infused with Afro Cuban ambiance. In every Soul de Cuba Cafe, patrons dine to the sounds of Afro Cuban music and Jazz and each restaurant displays Afro Cuban art and memorabilia.
Soul de Cuba Cafe has approached Francorp, the world’s leader in franchise consulting, to assist them in the development of their franchise program. “We never planned on franchising, but we investigated,” says Jesus. “After gathering the facts and dispelling the myths we felt it was unquestionably the right thing to do. After all, being the one of the first Cuban restaurant franchise programs in the world is a rare lifetime opportunity.”
For more information about Soul de Cuba Cafe, call (808) 521-0888 or visit www.franchise.soudecuba.com
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