Franchise Myths

The Myths of Selling Your Business
The 9 Myths of Franchise Sales

And how to replace them with Strategies, Science and Process
Rohan Bhatt
Management Consultant & Founder - SQuareConsulting.IN
SQuare Consulting and Management Services Franchise Consulting Division 603, River View, Athwalines, Surat 395007 Gujarat INDIA www.SQuareConsulting.IN https://www.facebook.com/squareconsulting/ http://www.linkedin.com/company/squarehttp://www.linkedin.com/company/square-consultingconsulting-andandmanagementmanagement-services http://twitter.com/rohanbhatt
www.SQuareConsulting.IN
To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505
Introduction
Which is the Biggest mistake that businesses make? Is it planning to franchise too early? Is it the value. wrong operations plan? Is it Wrong Marketing? Its the over all process of creating brand
Brand Value, as we call it and know in our day to day workings is not how much a business spends on marketing or what is the business of the store that is the base for the concept of franchising a brand but rather, it is the sum total of all the factors that contribute towards building successful brands and business models. People perceive building effective business
models as a very expensive function for a business. But except for the few initial legends of Franchising, not many brands have focused on developing an over all Business model or Brand model for their businesses before their foray into Franchising.
Brand
Development
and
Business
model
development is the single most important aspect of franchising and the business that does not get
this right does not stand a chance at Franchising
Introduction continued
Weve developed this e-book to help you identify those myths in your own business and replace them with strategies, science and process. proactive rather than a reactive process. We Weve been helping companies generate revenue since 2008, and we can guarantee that these myths arent just pointers, theyre warning signs. If youre a business owner, CEO or senior executive, youll recognize most or all of these myths, and you can start doing something about them today. understanding these myths and this advice And even if youre not the CEO or a senior leader, So lets get started. business. Here are the nine myths you want to help you treat franchise sales as a can help you as you work day in and out to propel your company and your career.
need to eliminate from your head and your
A Business Model can be franchised because it is popular!
Heres the scenario: You have started a new business and people seem to like it very much, you think of this as a very appropriate indicator to think of expansion and someone says Hey! Why dont you think of Franchising your brand? You give it a shot and youre a Franchisor. The Business is not that old in terms of its establishment or the operations structure is not standardized but you think that franchising is feasible without any prior homework. Unfortunately, that is not at all true. The main focus of a brand becoming a franchise brand is to be able to define a business model in the correct manner and before Franchising a business model it is imperative to standardize and develop it in the correct manner. The Business model has to be developed in terms of its identity as well as the workings of the brands.
You have to define the business and its model as well as develop it as a brand and provide it with an identity.
To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505 www.SQuareConsulting.IN
continued
Instead of looking for expansion, you should focus on finding the proper strategic fit for the specific operations and model of the business.. To do so, you need to truly understand your customers. do they buy from you? Why may need a completely different profile than you originally envisioned. For example, instead of successfully franchising a location based business you might develop a business that is unique and dynamic in terms of its approach towards the location it is in. Business profiling tools can be extremely helpful if youve accurately done the upfront work of determining the profile most likely to succeed with that particular business model, buyer and sales process. All of these variables influence the profile of a successful expansion for your brand; you Do your homework before starting the interview process. Otherwise, the most gregarious business buyer will win. And you will lose.
Is their buying decision Is your offer
based on your brand, its identity, its workings or the uniqueness it has to offer? based on individual store experience or a defined business model? Does the selling involve a concrete strategy, a definite brand or a working plan? Are you selling something thats new to the marketplace or considered a brand with value?
2
different selling Franchise
Franchise Sales and Marketing are dependant on hit-and-miss tools.

businesses styles. The is System have different types of of a on Successful equally Selling
There are various styles of selling a business and
dependant
developing an effective business plan as well as the implementation of a carefully developed Marketing Plan.
Most Business owners neglect the facts and go for a very simple and instinct based approach towards their strategy on the initial stage, which is highly risk oriented. This type of business sales may give you a few You can not go about in the market just units (call it fluke) but in the long run, an organized and structured business model with clarity is what is being sought in the market. blabbering random details of the business and its aspects on basis of perception and expect people to get interested.
continued
Now, if you think that your business model and its structure are perfect, consider going through your business once again in detail (We mean Excruciating Detail), understand the true essence of your business as well as the way it works and functions.
Now, go through the existing structure of your business model and define what are the aspects that will make up for the identity of this business model and work an a defined set of guidelines to keep that definition intact. defined. Voila! Your Business model is
Good Marketing = Good Franchise Sales
It is a well established myth in people that good marketing is equivalent to good franchise sales. The fact is that it is not only important to be able to go for good marketing and lead generation for your brand that gives you great franchise sales, but also the application of the correct franchise recruitment strategy which focuses on conversion of the leads to prospects and prospects to deals in the most systematized and organized manner.
The true success in the above endeavour can be worked up by developing an effective and organized strategy of roll out as well as to establish a defined plan for working out a brand structure for operations to be able to focus on the core competencies of the brand and its positioning whilst the process of lead generation process as well.
Quality products along with good branding is a winning strategy.

Quality products along with good branding is not a winning strategy altogether as it is the primary pre requisite even before starting franchising.
When we talk about a winning strategy, its more of defining the type of a business model which will be in concern and the over all analysis of the business with all its pros and cons will constitute an advanced and structured model. Talking about the actual strategy that has to be considered is to primarily understand the fact that there is no scope for improvement if you are satisfied at any level with the business model or the strategy that you have developed. The only thing that is constant in a business model is its ability to be dynamic.
Its better to think the other way around in the business of selling business.
There is a Winning Strategy after all!
An ideal scenario in the imagination of each of us is that we have a quality team of highly skilled Franchise Sales Representatives let us put a figure of 5, 10 or maybe 15 reps here and we figure out that if they call up say a hundred people on a daily basis for about a year we can get at least a 10 15% strike ratio for sales. True?
The answer is sadly FALSE! The number of Franchise sales reps does not guarantee success, nor does the number of leads does. The things that guarantee success are... Hold your breath, NOTHING! Nothing can guarantee success. There is no correct formula or recipe to success but yes, focussing your energies in the correct direction might give you an edge. Lets say, a well structured business model for starters and a defined and segmented strategy for roll out.
Yes, The Sales Reps do make a difference, but try and create a force of consultants rather than sales call representatives. Business is a tricky area and treading the path with experts is a better choice.
Good Franchise Sales depends on only the correct business model.

Research has shown that business models that tend to be effective do not have the correct strategies going hand in hand and vice versa. For those businesses where all are concerned and evaluated, the scenario changes drastically. This is what defines the importance of the correct business model along with the correct targeting and positioning of the business proposition when thinking of expansion through franchising.
Every sales person, including the experts who develop strategies should know the thumb rule of successful selling; Need to develop focus on the correct quality of the prospects, whether it is the development of the lead generation source or the strategy for the development of the lead. If we talk about an example, consider the following simple case study: Contd...
Continued
Case Study: Case in concern A Leading Cafe chain based in Maharashtra wanted to expand through the franchise route, the strategy was simple yet effective, get the maximum number of people to get to the business and make them fall in love with the business model, so they experimented with a very serious type of model FOCO (Franchise Owned and Company Operated) where they took the investment from the franchisee but managed the show on their own. The operations of the company was strong and the team was young and dynamic but instead of getting the franchisees who could understand the little details of the business, they ended up with maximum franchise owners to be pure investors who wanted their returns on their previous experience as real estate investors. This lead to complete chaos and the company was not able to sustain the 40 50 Store chain and eventually collapsed.
This was a clear case of lack of understanding the correct kind of target audience for the business model. This is what you don't want to do for your business if you want to grow the correct way.
7
brand
A Large plan needs to have Large scale beginnings
This idea can easily become a scapegoat. If I visualize becoming a large scale franchisor, I need to spend an awful lot of amount of money in the beginning which includes a large office, lots of sales people, a huge branding and marketing budget with the national leaders in the market and multiple offices for operational support.
The key issue here is accountability. As the saying goes, Rome was not built in a day and neither will your be. You need to make sure sales and marketing are focused on the right inputs and right results. You need to evaluate ROI, identify and track against metrics to make sure youre spending the budget and time in the right place. Just upping the budget and investment isnt a formula for success.
Always stick with a winning strategy.

A Few years ago, the whole concept of Franchising was alien in our country, the market had mostly limited options and even more limited industries; so the right strategy was to stick with the original leaders and follow their footsteps towards successful existence and growth dynamics. Today, the scenario is quite different. Today, the market has more options than ever, even the global market leaders view India as a stable growing nation with huge untapped potential.
That macro market watch strategy worked for awhile. But today their story is much different. The market has developed much beyond the need for big brands or swanky business models, today the market even needs local brands to develop and emerge with standards of the biggies and expand their horizons.
8
the change.
continued
The only thing that it suggests is that be it any business, whether local or international. Your business is always, always, always in transition. You're in transition because economy is transitioning. You're in transition because your customers are transitioning. You're in transition because your competitors are transitioning.
Any strategy is only going to work temporarily.
You have to
consistently monitor your environment, understand your offer, and know why people are (or arent) excited about doing business with you. Why? Because it's going to Todays strategy is not necessarily going to
work tomorrow. If you don't watch the key variables & elements that impact you, pretty soon youll find out that the game has passed you by.
Listen to customers - they know what they want.

This is the tricky one. It's half right. Yes, you should listen to customers. Absolutely listen. But don't believe for a second that they know what they want. Focus group after focus group after focus group will say, geez, if the business was not on this scale or of this type, I would have taken it. And you change your business model to accommodate the interests of the prospect.
The issue here is commitment.
I would buy it is hypothetical.
Customers may think it sounds good; they like the idea. But just because they say they like it or want it doesnt mean that when the time comes, theyll pull out their wallet or pen and buy.
At this critical juncture, remember the only rule that defines everything in sales. The definition of Demand. Demand is the want or desire for anything backed by ability and willingness to pay for it.
9
provide
continued
When your prospects tell you something that they want, you need to hold them accountable and get them to make a firm commitment. For example, you can say, great, if you want a smaller business module, we can work it out with a minimum cluster commitment of X units, are you ready to make it happen? And if they say, oh, no, no, Im not ready for that, or Im not sure, or whatever the excuse, then you know thats not something they really want.
If youre going to ask customers to input on products and services, listen carefully and hold them accountable. Their responses arent real unless theyre willing to make a commitment.
Conclusion
Everybody wants to start a good and profitable business for themselves and make good money. And honestly, everyone deserves to do so as well. But the real question here is, at what cost?
Franchising is a science. It has principles and it has best practices. So if you want to expand with it and if you want to grow, you have to make the decision to apply the science. Eliminate the myths. Apply the best practices. Create the discipline.
Yes, its work. Its the most expensive thing your company does each day, and its the most important thing your company does each day. And if you eliminate the myths and treat franchising and expansion as a science, you'll get results.
About us
Rohan Bhatt and Yash Bhatt co-founded SQuare Consulting with a desire to give excellent Business startup and expansion strategies and solutions to businesses. The true roots for this passion for giving results to businesses comes from the innate love and affection towards the entire art and science of doing business and the immense experience both of these hold in various types of businesses across multiple industries. Some of the companies they have worked for / with either jointly or individually are: Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India Limited Leisure/Travel/Tourism Raytrace Enterprises IT / ITES Orion Edutech Vocational Training and Development Cosmopolitan Solutions Outsourcing / BPO Meghani Commercial Services Pvt. Ltd. Media/Dotcom/Entertainment Cosmic Structures Limited Real Estate Franchise Mart India Pvt. Ltd Franchise Consulting and Media Franchise Today Publication / Print Media / Magazine
About us continued
Rohan Bhatt has spent the last decade focused on his passion of Problem Solving" for businesses as a science and art at the same time. He has spoken at professional conferences and written for magazines and also submitted research papers during academics and work both, he has successfully spearheaded major business expansions, been a national sales manager in the real estate industry for leading project development company, formed a national consulting company in business consulting and management called SQuare Consulting, and developed several sales tools and business models.
Yash Bhatt has focused his career around public relations and corporate relations. He has been the marketing head of a website and a branch level head for a travel / leisure company, sat on industry and professional boards, orchestrated the successful turnaround of several financially distressed businesses, implemented performance management processes and metrics, and ran the sales/marketing efforts of a company voted "best in the industry" by its peers.
To learn more about SQuare Consultings services, please visit www.SQuareConsulting.IN or call (+91) 99744-85505
Image credits
The following images are generously available for commercial use under the Creative Commons attribution-share alike license: Happy Couple: http://www.thefranchiseking.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/12/iStock_000015589713XSmall.jpg Zapped: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billselak/384358924/sizes/l/ Abacus: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ansik/304526237/ Pug calendar: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bugbunnybambam/2049847071/ Chess pieces: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootbearwdc/20110135/sizes/l/in/set-404894/
All other images were purchased / borrowed from the internet through various sources.
Thank you
Rohan Bhatt
Phone: (+91) 99744 85505 Email: rohan.bhatt@squareconsulting.in
Produced by SQuare Consulting and Management Services (India) SQuare Consulting refers to one or more of SQuare Consulting and Management Services, an Indian business consulting and management services providing firm, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. SQuare Consulting provides management consulting, strategic and operational consulting and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. With a nationally connected network of channel partner / member firms in multiple locations across India, SQuare brings world-class capabilities and high-quality service to clients, delivering the insights they need to address their most complex business challenges. This publication contains general information only, and none of SQuare Consulting and Management Services, its member firms, or their related entities (collectively, the SQuareNetwork) is, by means of this publication, rendering professional advice or services. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your finances or your business, you should consult a qualified professional advisor. No entity in the SQuareNetwork shall be responsible for any loss whatsoever sustained by any person who relies on this publication..
2013. For information, contact SQuare Consulting and Management Services.

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The Myths of Selling Your Business

The 9 Myths of Franchise Sales

To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505

The Myths of Selling Your Business

this right does not stand a chance at Franchising

The Myths of Selling Your Business

need to eliminate from your head and your

To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505

The Myths of Selling Your Business

A Business Model can be franchised because it is popular!

The Myths of Selling Your Business

Is their buying decision Is your offer

The Myths of Selling Your Business

Franchise Sales and Marketing are dependant on hit-and-miss tools.

There are various styles of selling a business and

To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505

The Myths of Selling Your Business

To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505

The Myths of Selling Your Business

Good Marketing = Good Franchise Sales

To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505

The Myths of Selling Your Business

Quality products along with good branding is a winning strategy.

The Myths of Selling Your Business

There is a Winning Strategy after all!

The Myths of Selling Your Business

Good Franchise Sales depends on only the correct business model.

The Myths of Selling Your Business

The Myths of Selling Your Business

A Large plan needs to have Large scale beginnings

To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505

The Myths of Selling Your Business

Always stick with a winning strategy.

To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505

The Myths of Selling Your Business

Any strategy is only going to work temporarily.

To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505

The Myths of Selling Your Business

Listen to customers - they know what they want.

The issue here is commitment.

I would buy it is hypothetical.

The Myths of Selling Your Business

To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505

The Myths of Selling Your Business

To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505

The Myths of Selling Your Business

To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505

The Myths of Selling Your Business

The Myths of Selling Your Business

To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505

The Myths of Selling Your Business

2013. For information, contact SQuare Consulting and Management Services.

To learn more about our services, contact us today: (+91) 99744-85505

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