Franchising profile – how to create the right fit?

Why are some franchisees more successful than others? This question is probably asked by most franchisors and franchise recruiters throughout the world, but is it really that difficult to find the answer? Franchisors recruit franchisees because they are keen to grow their business, but if they recruit the wrong franchisee they may find themselves spending more time managing problem franchisees than growing the brand. This may also lead to expensive legal costs and create an unneeded distraction for the franchisor.

So why are some franchisees more successful? Well, there are probably a number of reasons why some are more successful, however, successful franchisees tend to be people who thrive on discipline and are able to follow systems. The other commonality with successful franchisees is that they constantly measure their performance against their peers or their own previous results and strive to improve their performance. They are generally people who are goal driven and are prepared to make sacrifices to their lifestyle, work hard and maintain a high standard of service to their customers. Finally they understand that being in business is ultimately about people, to be successful in business you need to relate to your customers, suppliers, staff and even the franchisor. The business depends on people to be successful, so if you don’t like dealing with people you probably would not be suitable as a franchisee.

There are significant benefits to developing a profile of the most desirable franchise candidates. Firstly the success of their franchise system is far greater if they select the right franchisee, if this information is used prior to developing their recruitment strategy, they can tailor the marketing of their concept to attract potential candidates that are more likely to be suitable by utilizing demographics, financial and lifestyle factors. Drilling deeper, there are emotional and psychographic denominators of those who are more likely to own your franchise and be successful.

From experience I have found that developing a franchisee profile is far more difficult if there are only a few franchisees in the system. Many times the profiles of successful franchisees are determined by measuring their top franchisees against poor performers. However, if the franchisor was to seek the assistance of a professional franchise recruitment firm that specializes in measuring psychographic denominators, then the traits and behaviours of a persons past are generally used to determine future behaviour and whether they are a match for the culture and philosophy of the Franchisor.

Understanding the personality traits of the individual franchisee can also help franchisors in managing the relationship with the franchisee. These assessments usually indicate how the person will react to circumstances that may occur. Some franchisors use this information to coach the franchisee and tailor the support they provide, to get the very best out of the franchisee.

Interestingly, most problems with franchisees occur from poor selection. Many franchisees are simply sold a business because they have enough funds to purchase the business and often potential franchisees do not do enough due diligence to really understand the business and what is really expected from them to make their business successful.

Typically, an interview process for the recruitment of a franchisee will take around 4-6 weeks and it is important for a franchisor or a franchisee recruiter to engage in discussions to help determine their suitability, including:

• Motivations for buying the concept.
• Alternative franchise concepts considered and why.
• Lifestyle and personality data.
• Professional aspirations.
• Relevant financial and demographic data.
• Goals and ambition
• Past behaviour
• Family stability
• Resistance to change

Generally, once this process has been completed you will have a fairly strong indication of the candidate’s suitability. Hopefully it will be a little bit more than just a gut feel.

If you are considering entering into a franchise with a system that has not spent the time to screen you, conduct interviews or even do a reference check, then you are more likely to be entering a franchise that will have problem franchisees that may do damage to the brand which may even effect the value and viability of your business. On the other hand if you are dealing with a franchisor that uses a recruitment company or has an in-house recruitment process, they are more likely to be selecting or rejecting you based on your suitability and cultural fit to the business.

Unfortunately, many franchise systems simply recruit the wrong people because they have simply not invested enough time or resources in selecting the right franchisees.