Franchise Update Magazine Issue II, 2011 | Page 41

tion?
of Franchise Business Review, about
the results of his “Top 50” franchisee
satisfaction awards. In one particularly
crowded residential service category, I
noticed that one franchisor was rated
higher than two other stellar franchisors
I had worked with in the past.
I said, “I have studied this category
and these two companies have tremendous training, great financial returns,
the highest sales in the category, skilled
operational support teams, and visionary
leadership. They are stronger moneymaking opportunities and better-run
companies than the one you gave the
highest marks to. How can this company be ranked number one?”
His response was brilliant. “Joe,
satisfaction isn’t about what the franchisors do more or better.” He said
satisfaction is about what franchisees
expect to receive in the beginning and
what they end up experiencing in the
end. The top company promised little
at first and ended up delivering more
than they promised. The franchisees
of the other companies entered the
relationship with much higher expectations and thus demanded more.
Stites added, “The two franchisors you
mentioned have a harder time living
up to their franchisees’ heightened
expectations.”
Here are four tips on how to improve
your validation:
1) Know what your franchise candidates will hear and read before they
do. Do you know what expectations
your franchise salespeople are setting?
Are your salespeople setting up your
franchisees for future dissatisfaction
and killing your future momentum by
what they are saying or doing today?
Do you routinely mystery shop your

franchise sales people and process and
compare candidates’ expectations against
what franchisees actually experience
afterward?
2) Monitor your online reputation. In the social media age, franchisees, suppliers, and customers can post
anything on the Internet. While their
attitudes may change over time, their
blog posts, comments, and social media
mentions can create permanent impressions, as their comments will circulate
in cyberspace forever.
3) Drive your online reputation.
Don’t let it unfold favorably or unfavorably on its own. Know what information a candidate will find on the web
before they talk to you. Actively work
to shape their impressions before they
make themselves known. Use Franchise
Business Review, FranSurvey, or other
franchisee satisfaction surveys.
4) Ensure your “average” franchisees are making the money they
expected. If you were a franchisee,
would you be happy with the returns?
Could you run your household, send
your kids to college, and save for retirement on the money they are making?
If not, you have a unit-level economics
problem you need to fix now. There is
no higher priority. n
Joe Mathews is a founding partner of
Franchise Performance Group, which specializes in franchisee recruitment, sales, and
performance. He has more than 20 years
of experience with national chains. He is
a regular presenter at IFA conference, an
instructor with the ICFE, and book author.
This article is from his free, downloadable
e-book, The Franchise Sales Tipping Point.
Contact him at 860-567-3099 or joe@
franchiseperformancegroup.com.

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