Franchise Update Magazine Issue IV, 2013 | Page 48

Grow Market Lead

By Debbie Selinsky

STAR Struck

Top performers in franchise recruitment recognized

F

ranchise Update mystery shoppers posing as qualified prospects identified a stellar group of franchise
companies for best practices in lead generation,
follow-up, recruitment, and franchisee satisfaction.
Scoring 152 registered companies on telephone response to
prospects, and 127 franchisors on recruitment websites and
response to website prospects, mystery shoppers judged how
well—and how quickly—franchise sales and development
staff replied to inquiries. In addition, online experts evaluated
franchisors’ recruitment websites and their use of social media.
(See page 42, where this year’s mystery shoppers discuss their

BEST OVERALL PERFORMANCE
1. Sport Clips
2. Wild Birds Unlimited
BEST TELEPHONE PROSPECT FOLLOW-UP
1. Denny’s
2. Huddle House
BEST RECRUITMENT WEBSITE
1. VooDoo BBQ & Grill
2. FirstLight HomeCare
BEST WEBSITE PROSPECT FOLLOW-UP
1. BrightStar Care
2. Molly Maid
BEST SOCIAL MEDIA IMPLEMENTATION
1. FirstLight HomeCare
2. Mr. Handyman International
BEST FRANCHISEE SATISFACTION
1. Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates
2. Kona Ice
HALL OF FAME AWARD
Individual: Steve Greenbaum (PostNet)
Sponsor: Franchise Solutions

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Franchiseupdate Iss u e IV, 2 0 1 3

methodology and experiences and make recommendations for
improving performance.)
The resulting STAR Awards (Speaking To And Responding)
were presented at a special dinner during the annual Franchise
Update Leadership & Development Conference, which took
place from Oct. 9–11 in Atlanta.

SPORT CLIPS
Best Overall Performance

Pete Lindsey, vice president of
franchising for Sport Clips, says
the keys to the company’s Best
Overall Performance STAR
Award are shared excitement,
having the right staff in place,
and using a system that works.
“My team in franchising here
is such a blessing to work with.
They’re great people and they
share my excitement about the
brand,” he says. “We want to ofPete Lindsey
fer the Sport Clips opportunity
to people who are interested when they’re interested, when
their excitement is high. We’ve built a team that shares this
philosophy, and we’re executing well.”
A call center is the focal point of recruitment efforts at Sport
Clips, which has 1,117 units spread across 50 states. “Some
franchises don’t follow up on all their leads, but we focus on
being very efficient with our web leads and our phone calls.
Our trigger response time is 2 hours, and many times it’s just
30 minutes,” he says. The Sport Clips website and its use of
social media are also important, but both are designed ultimately to send people to the call center, says Lindsey.
“We don’t make assumptions—we want to talk with people.
We prefer to qualify with live voice rather than technology,”
he says. “Once we get them on the phone, we don’t want to
waste their time. We want to qualify them with regard to general profile to see if they’re good candidates. If they are, we
immediately schedule them an appointment with one of our
area developers or a staff member.”
Even if a prospect doesn’t qualify or decides not to pursue
the brand, Sport Clips staff still spend time talking with them,
he says. “It’s all about relationships. They may still be a client
of our stores, and we want to treat them respectfully and well.”