Episode #32 - Marketing to Prospective Franchisees

My Podner in this episode is Jackie Hoegger and she’s going to talk with us today about how to market to prospective franchisees. This conversation spans topics such as website design, digital marketing, even down to how you treat your existing franchisees. This is our first episode on the topic of marketing and we came out of the chute  with a GREAT one..

Time Stamps
Jackie Hoegger Intro	00:00:33
Segment 1	00:05:26
Get to know Jackie Hoegger
Segment 2	00:16:50
Topic Segment – Marketing to Prospective Franchisees
Segment 3	01:00:57
Quickdraw Questions

 

Topics Discussed in this Episode

1. Brand on Fire (00:21:49) - Elevate your brand as the key authority in the franchise world - Go beyond simple brand awareness and stand out….provide MORE value than your competitors.

• Know your “story”
• Know your passion and learn to convey your passion to the prospective franchisee
• This is a marathon, not a sprint
• Hone in on your God given skills
• What is it that makes your concept special
• Most franchisors will need help developing this point

2. Social All The Way (00:29:12) - Tell your story as a Franchisor on social media - your new franchisees are watching. Get them to trust you as a leader before they ever make the call or the link online to talk. 

• Social media is the best ROI on delivering your message
• Know the target profile of the perfect franchisee, then dial in your social media advertising
• Social media not only allows people to see you from the outside, it also allows people to be able to trust you

3. The Power of the Existing Franchisees (00:32:16) - Let them sing your praises! Let them garner the attention of YOU! 

• Your franchisees are your #1 asset. Nobody can credibly sing your praises better than your current franchisees
• Prospective franchisees are most interested in what your existing franchisees say about you, and the WILL ask.
• Coach your prospective franchisees before they make the validation calls so that they know how and when to ask follow up questions. If they talk to an existing franchisee who does not sing your praises, then teach them how to ask questions such as “How much do you spend on marketing?”
• Marketing isn’t just advertising, it is much more. It also includes soft skills such as how you treat your franchisees. Existing franchisees are a DIRECT arm of your marketing
• Communication is king

4. Web oh Web (00:37:02) - Your website needs to simply rock - It’s the front door to your business and future franchisees will go there FIRST! Make it EASY PEASY to find out how to gee a Franchisee.

• Spend money on your website – it IS marketing
• Spend money on a good CRM software that will allow you to grab a lead and not lose it
• Calculate the value of a prospective franchisee over the life of the contract to help you stay motivated NOT to lose a lead
• It may take several touches with a prospect before they decide to move to the next step. Use the CRM to maintain communication with a prospect.

5. Keep is Simple in a Complicated Process (00:46:00) - Give them a simple process from the first bite.  As you discover if they can fit into your culture ad family - make them feel welcomed!  Of course - Discovery Day is your wow factor!

• They should look back and thing, “This was the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”
• Make it fun, energetic, and educational
• Assign the prospect to one person and that person “owns” them. This makes the prospect feel special and prevents them from falling between the cracks

6. Eyeballs and Attention (00:49:04) - Optimize your Appeal and let them see the way you treat your current franchisees as true partners…..support programs - rapport with each other - and mostly - the dream to have multiple units. 

• Treat franchisees as true partners
• Franchisees are watching EVERYTHING you do, as if you were on a first date
• They pick up on kindness, humility, and compassion, and this is the best marketing you can do
• The power of corporate culture is under-appreciated
• You can do all the marketing you want, but at the end of the day, if your guest experience isn’t there, you are fighting a losing battle.

7,  Hire an Agency (00:55:21) - They can develop a 3 pillar strategy to drive conversions to your website which leads the first touch.

• Do what you do well, and hire done what you cannot do
• It’s OK if marketing is not your “gig”, but if it isn’t, you should hire it out.
• Have a marketing budget before you begin. Your marketing “war chest” should have $50K+. However, every marketing campaign is different.

 

Books Mentioned in the Episode

Crush It

By Gary Vanerchuck

 

Jackie Hoegger

Hoegger Communications

[email protected]

www.teamHoegger.com  

940-631-7999

 

Kit Vinson

www.franman.net

[email protected]

214-736-3939 x 101