Franchise Update Magazine Issue IV, 2013 | Page 52

Grow Market Lead By Eddy Goldberg Wood Words always knows where they are against the business plan. How do you measure development performance? Do you mystery shop your sales team? Twice per year. T om Wood, president and CEO of Floor Coverings International (FCI), served as Conference Chair of the 2014 Franchise Leadership & Development Conference in October. Based in Atlanta, FCI has been franchising since 1989. We asked Wood for his own opinions on many of the topics that came up at the conference. What are the most important factors and characteristics you look for in assembling a successful sales team? Sales peo- ple who understand what they are doing in the role: “selling.” While we are only looking for the best franchisee candidates, the right people will still need a sales professional to guide them through the process and keep the process on track. Characteristics include goal orientation; a realistic outlook on the business and a strong communication style to communicate it; and an ability to manage by the numbers. How do measure the performance of your sales team? Three ways: contact ratios with candidates, personal presentations and meetings, and qualified candidates to discovery days. What are the most important things you measure? The most important thing is meeting our quota of qualified new franchisees coming into the business and the system. In addition, the franchise sales staff is measured by how quickly the new franchisee gets started up and meets their business plan. Do CRM systems and other marketing automation tools help you 50 Franchiseupdate Iss u e IV, 2 0 1 3 measure your sales team’s performance? They do, but I think that they are even more valuable in helping us measure the progress a candidate is making. We use the automation tools to help us maintain better contact with our candidates and to ensure that information is provided to them on a near real-time basis. Would you say your development team has a performance-based culture (KPIs?) Do you use outside consultants to help assess your team’s performance? Not at this time. How do you attract and retain top talent in your development department? I’ve been very fortunate that I have not had very much turnover through the years. I think this is becaus B