Franchise Update Magazine Issue III, 2012 | Page 47
How is the trend toward
transparency and increased
disclosure helping you to increase
sales leads, quality, and deals?
Lori Merrall
National Director of Franchise Sales
Massage Envy Spa
Massage Envy Spa
has always been
transparent when it
comes to sharing its
franchising opportunity with prospective franchisees. In
our FDD Item 19, we include average
unit volume and year-over-year growth
numbers that provide candidates with
the means to clearly evaluate our financial performance. While the FDD is
readily available to anyone interested in
learning more about Massage Envy Spa,
we also ensure that some of these key
evaluating factors are present in all of
our marketing materials.
Massage Envy provides its regional
developers, who are actually recruiting
franchisees for their territories, with a
multitude of marketing tools they can
use for recruitment. These materials are
available through a proprietary Intranet
site and are customizable. Our messaging regarding the reasons to invest,
AUV, etc. are consistently highlighted
in all of these materials. We provide
print and online advertisements, email
blast templates, direct mail letters, brochures, and press release templates all
containing key messages outlining our
franchise opportunity.
In addition, our franchising website
goes beyond the typical franchising
information and includes testimonials,
a line-by-line table of the investment
and typical expenditures, and a detailed
map of opportunities available in each
state. We’ve always believed that candidates should have all the information
necessary to evaluate the opportunity
to ensure it’s a good fit for them and
to form expectations that are based on
hard data.
Increased disclosure also ensures that
we are attracting the best possible franchisees. By sharing financials, the profile
of a successful Massage Envy franchisee, and what the franchisee can expect
in their investment, we enable them to
determine earlier in the process if this
franchise opportunity is the right one
for them. In today’s competitive and often challenging economy, it’s important
to spend less per lead and ensure your
marketing dollars are reaching the right
prospects. The days of casting a wide net
are over, and targeting candidates with
the right data and message points will
lead to better, more qualified prospects
who are ready to join our system as a
successful franchisee.
Jenna Barber
Director of Franchising
Nothing Bundt Cakes Enterprises
At Nothing Bundt
Cakes, we believe
that transparency
in the sales process
inspires trust. Our
franchise website
clearly shows the
candidates what they will need to qualify for ownership. This allows them to
prequalify themselves before even talking to me. From the very first phone
conversation, I am honest with them
and promise to not always paint a rosy
picture, but a realistic one. I set very
clear expectations of roles and the process from the beginning. For example,
when I set an appointment I keep it and
am always on time. They can count on
my commitment to guiding them through
this giant decision.
The sales portal that we use is new to
the candidates, so I take the time to walk
each one through it for clarity so they
never feel insecure in the process. This
also helps me to gather the compliance
documents I need in a timely manner.
This technology and these efficiencies
make us very credible and impress the
candidates.
The information provided in the sales
process comes from a detailed script that
is consistent for every candidate. This
consistency ensures that our message is
communicated equally and never compromised. Candidates also have access
to our executive team members in each
department for additional questions in
the sales process.
In disclosing franchise candidates, I
mak e sure to point out our Item 19 and
encourage them to have the document
reviewed by a franchise attorney if they
would like. I also make it clear that we do
not negotiate our document at the time
of disclosure so they aren’t surprised by
this when it is time to sign a franchise
agreement.
During the sales discussions, I make
sure not to make any false promises such
as growth availability if that won’t be
an option. And when they go through
validation, they are provided contact
information for all franchisees that are
open, not just those listed in the FDD.
We also provide suggested validation
questions to candidates specifically targeted toward franchise support services.
This makes them feel again like we have
nothing to hide.
We also direct candidates to research us on Yelp. The feedback there
is straight from our guests’ opinions,
and we can’t manipulate those reviews.
It helps them to see unedited positive
feedback from our customer community as a validation tool.
Overall, my goal is to be as clear as
possible with each candidate. Transparency and communication are synonymous,
and throughout the life of a franchisee,
from beginning to end, nothing is more
important than communication. n
Franchiseupdate I ssue I I I , 2012
Grow Market Lead
Challenge
the pros
45