Franchise Update Magazine Issue IV, 2014 | Page 43

on executing them at every level. Among this group, half (48
percent) use a qualifier, up from 30 percent last year and 35
percent in 2012 ; 9 out of 10 (87 percent) provide FPRs, also
up from previous years; and one-third (double the previous
2 years) have shortened their sales cycle. Franchise brands in
this category also increased sales staff, used brokers, and mystery shopped both their own sales team and the competition’s.
Franchisors not in this category should consider adopting
some or all of these practices in the years ahead. Service brands
remained far and away the largest sector to report they’ve
exceeded their sales goals. Food and retail food held mostly
steady, and those in the retail category dipped by about half
from the two previous years. n

Grow Market Lead

• Overall closing ratios. Despite all the shortcomings
noted above, when it comes to closing ratios, the franchisors in
year’s AFDR are doing something right: their collective closing
ratios continued to trend upward this year. Leads to sales, after
hovering in the 2 percent range, jumped to 7 percent in 2014.
Applications to sales rose from the 10 to 20 percent range in
previous years to 27 percent in 2014. And although the closing ratio for discovery days to sales dipped slightly from the
previous 3 years, it is still slightly higher than in 2010. Panelists
thought the ratios reported this year were unrealistically high.

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