IFA Forums / Franchise Development Community / Franchise Development Community

Franchisor Leads

william — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:32:32 GMT

Anyone out there using Mercury Road for leads? if so, what are your thoughts.

Thanks

D Waite

Franchisees and social media.

raleigh — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:28:49 GMT

I am in the process of establishing guidelines for franchisee social media. I am interested in any thoughts, ideas and or suggestions regarding this topic. Thank you in advance.

TIME MATTERS

Andrea Harrison — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:38:53 GMT

Does anyone know of a FRANCHISOR who uses the Lexis/Nexis software program called “Time Matters”?

Please advise if you do. Thanks!

Andrea Harrison

Legal Administrator

How much separation between company op and franchise divisions?

Arian.Butler — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:49:16 GMT

After eight years of successfully growing our personal services business, we now have 25 locations, all within one state, and we are doing well financially. We have decided to franchise.

I have a gifted franchise development candidate that I am thinking of hiring, but I am hearing that I should not have the franchise employee work within the existing corporate structure, but, rather, work within a separate structure designed just for the new franchise side of the business.

Does anyone have an opinion on this or do you have resources of how a new franchise initiative/division should be separated from our traditionally company-operated organization?

Need to develop Franchise marketing materials

bjames — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:34:47 GMT

We are seeking a company to develop our Franchise marketing materials (brochures, folders, etc.). Does anybody know of a company that has worked with Franchisors and has designed these materials for Franchise sales?

Interested in franchising

Interestedinfranchising — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:43:47 GMT

I am a consultant representing a group that is interested in franchising a not-for-profit business that provides medical needs to patients in CA, and probably other states across the U.S. The business has credibility, experienced management, a proven track-record over time, and has an excellent customer, government, and public reputation. The business is unique and differentiated from competitors. It is highly marketable as a business opportunity, is teachable, and has systems in place with operating procedures documented. Someone could learn to operate the business and start one in three months or less. It has high return on investment after deducting a royalty. Finally, it appears to be covered by the Franchise Rule; "(1) the distribution of goods or services associated with the franchisor's trademark or trade name; (2) significant control over, or significant assistance to, the franchisee; and (3) a required payment of at least $500 within six months of signing of an agreement." The industry is very unique - medical cannabis. Anyone interested in providing some input, direction? Thank you.

Ranking and Incentive System

corozco — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:47:31 GMT

I am working on setting up a system to rank the franchises in my organization and establish an incentive program for them. I would like to obtain information on how other franchisors have created a similar system. Among the goals we have for this system are to plan and better organize the support we provide to the franchisees and to motivate a higher level of performance in our franchise community.

Selecting a General Contractor & architect

agriff@sarahcare.com — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 15:34:44 GMT

We have had difficulties finding reliable competent general contractors and architects? Who do you recommend for both? I am particularly interested in GCs and architects with child day care and health care experience.

franchising options available in adelaide,Australia

franchisemanager — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:49:06 GMT

Good Afternoon.

With recession moving out slowly leaving its tail behind ,does the australian economy can look forward to new franchising options & prospective franchisors ready to invest in its retail ventures.what is the current franchisee scenario prevailing in south australia?

UFDD written, Now what?

2carrie — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:41:03 GMT

Hi Group,

I'm a do-it yourselfer newbie franchisor. I have completed the writing of my UFDD with the help of a downloaded franchise software package and lots of research but I need help with what to do next. Do I file my initial registration package with the Federal Trade Commission in Washington D.C.? If so, what address do I send it to or do they have an e-mail address that I send it to? I have not been able to locate these addresses in the course of my research.

I plan to start marketing my franchise offering in the less strict states, the ones that don't require separate filing fees. Do I still have to register my UFDD with those "easy" states?

Franchising My Film School?

lvsf — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:46:48 GMT

Hello all I started Las Vegas School of Film in Las Vegas, and we are getting alot interest. My goal was to eventually franchise the school all over the world. I already have interest in Kenya, and in some other countries. This is my frist franchise. So the basics? Where do I go to fill out forms, what are the fees? Also Should I wait a little longer to build the brand? Or go for it? Thanks for the advice.

htp://www.vegasfilmschool.com

A unique type of Franchise Show in August for South Florida

Chris Simnick — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:34:25 GMT

Good day,

I wanted to pass along some information on a very unique franchise show being held in Palm Beach County, FL (Boca Raton) in August.

The reason I find this interesting is this is the only franchise show I am aware of in the U.S. in August and the way it is being promoted and handled is quite different than most of us who participate in shows are used to. I received an email from Perry Blank the owner and promoter. I spoke with Perry and found even more reasons to be interested and suggest you look at this if you are looking to put franchises in South Florida from West Palm Beach to Miami. I was very impressed with the value for money this show is providing.

A couple of key points, some not mentioned in the email or even on the website, www.franchisemartshows.com are;

It is a one day show, August 15^th, so it will create a sense of urgency and call to action for those interested in looking at franchise businesses to attend.
The cost is only $1500 and if you call Perry, Adam or Brandon they will explain the amount of advertising being done to promote the show. This is less than the cost some portal sites charge for a month or two.
They have an amazing arrangement with a hotel to save and cut down on the “real” cost of doing the show.
The show is set up in table top fashion so you don’t need large displays or booth set up.
The franchise opportunity section and the business opportunity section are separate from each other so you are only with other franchises or business opportunities. In addition attendees will need to fill out an information sheet to enter each area.
All exhibitors will get a list of the attendee’s information for further follow up. (This is quite unique and it is included in the cost.)
They are actively promoting the show through a variety of PR directed media: radio, billboard, internet and print.
It will have the potential to draw opportunity seekers from Palm Beach County, Broward County and Miami-Dade County. (a population of over 5 million)
There will be an SBA Express Lender on-site to accept and process loan applications.
Florida ranks as one of the top 3 places in the U.S. to run a franchise according to an International Franchise Association article.
All show spaces have prime visibility in premium locations.
In the month of August, there are no other Franchise & Business Opportunity shows occurring in the United States and this will help keep your sales pipeline moving into the fall.

I have been in franchising and business for 30 years and in these times when we are looking for new ways to attract prospects in a direct, cost effective and focused manor, this is refreshing. As always there is never a guarantee, however if you are looking at expanding in the South Florida Market and want a target and captive group of potential franchise owners, you should really look at this.

Again, I suggest you visit the website www.franchisemartshows.com or even better give Perry, Adam or Brandon a call. Their number is 561-210-7771.

I am not part of this company, however I have recommended several of my clients make the investment and participate in this show and I encourage you to at least consider this as part of your strategy.

If you have questions or want to talk to me before you make any decisions, feel free to reach me via my contact details below.

Best wishes for much success in all your endeavors.

START A FRANCHISEE INTO ACCESSORIES

franchisemanager — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:43:52 GMT

franchisee optiond available.

Web Designing Franchise Available

talmir.ali — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:07:04 GMT

Business Opportunity-Web designing Franchise

A few quick questions...
• Would you like to be your own boss?
• Do you want to run your own business?
• Do you want to achieve financial freedom operating in an industry continually on the rise?
If you answered yes to the above, keep reading...
• Imagine web design made easy
• Imagine operating your very own web design business without spending years learning all the technical jargon.
• With us you can!
• We have developed easy to use software which allows you to create fantastic looking websites in no time at all.
• No technical knowledge required – it is that easy!!
We have successful licensees in countries all over the world following our simple, yet highly effective business model to better their own lives and achieve financial freedom.

By using our services you can design websites quickly, increase your profitability and gain fantastic market share due to the prices and quality of websites you produce.

With the assistance you can literally build a website in a few hours, whilst still charging the prices of traditional web designers. Think about this for a second, because you are designing websites quickly, your profitability will go through the roof. Our services are so quick

It allows you to position your prices where you can undercut all the competition with price, but not quality. We have identified a massive gap in the market; there are too many businesses, sports clubs, and community groups etc that don't have a website.

This opportunity costs 10,000 USD*, to find out more please mail to the following address mark.willson@zkam.org
*financing opportunities available

Job Description

talmir.ali — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:06:27 GMT

ONLINE TUTORING FRANCHISE
Start Your Own Business!!!

Get ready for the ride of your life!!!

The best online business on the planet!!! Earn unlimited income, simple and easy!!!
Low start up fees and low monthly overhead.
No inventory carrying costs.
Products and services that appeal to the masses with stable, growing and long-term demand.
A business vehicle that produces a very lucrative income with the potential to be in positive cash flow in 2-8 weeks.
If you are ready to operate your own business, boost your income and improve the quality of your lifestyle, you owe it to yourself to look closely at our business and follow up by contacting us for a brief interview.

This opportunity costs 10,000 USD*, to find out more please mail to the following address mark.willson@zkam.org

* Financing opportunities available

How are other franchisors doing in the recession?

Peter1972 — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:33:52 GMT

I am a franchisor and I was just wondering how the recession is affecting other franchisors.

I am finding that, based on media reporting of armageddon scenarios for the economy, that there is a certain recalcitrance among prospective franchisees to move forward..!

What thoughts do you have? You do not have to mention your franchise system, so it is anonymous.

Peter

Franchise Resales

agriff@sarahcare.com — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:22:35 GMT

What information and resources are available on IFA and elsewhere for setting up a franchise resale and transfer process?

Is it time to put De-Franchising on the discussion table?

Chris Simnick — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:23:33 GMT

I have had the pleasure & honor to be involved in business & franchising as an independent business owner, a franchisee & franchisor for 30 years & have never seen times like these; both in terms of challenges & opportunities. The last 10 years has seen an explosion of growth in franchise opportunities & franchising. Like many other areas which have seen massive; some say unchecked growth, has franchising created a bubble which may be about to burst?

Over years I have coached, consulted & advised people on franchising. Some of the concepts were good & sound & franchising was an option. The past couple years, however I have spoken to more & more people who wanted to jump on the franchising bandwagon who should not have become a franchise system or at least not until the concepts were more proven & more prepared.

About two years ago, I had my first experience working with a company which was in the process of dismantling their franchise system. Recently, I have worked with several other companies on how they might “de-franchise” without having to close the company or bankrupt the system & loose the brand & other benefits franchising offers by becoming more of a “confederacy” or a “chain” so zees have the opportunity to continue to grow, protect the brand, image & still protect the integrity of franchising, which has the most to loose every time a franchise network fails.

I will be in DC & attending the IFE as a visitor & have meetings with a couple of zors who are looking for alternatives.

This is the solution for everyone. Many zors will find great opportunities in the coming months & years. Some will have to rethink, retrench, retrain, revive, rebrand & rebuild. For some however de-franchising may be an option. Again, we all have the responsibility to protect the integrity of franchising so it will continue to be the preferred path for hundreds of thousands of people who are & will be looking to fulfill their dream of business ownership.

Hotdogs

AK2009 — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:17:20 GMT

Could anyone please recommend the best hotdog suppliers/manufacturers in the US or worlwide?

Thanks

Hotdogs

AK2009 — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:16:08 GMT

Could anyone please recommend the best hotdog suppliers/manufacturers in the US or worlwide?

Thanks

What are the best questions to ask to determine lead qualifications?

raleigh — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:00:50 GMT

I don't think we're doing a good enough job of qualifying our leads. I'm hoping for suggestions or recommendations on questions to ask prospective franchisee candidates to better gauge their financial strength.

Thank you in advance

Franchise Owner Interviews

LEKConsulting — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:33:34 GMT

L.E.K. is a market research and consulting firm. We are currently conducting research on the quick service restaurant market. As part of this research, we are trying to get in touch with franchise owners to learn about market trends and the industry overall.

Realizing that your time is valuable, we are willing to compensate interiewees with a $100 honorarium for their time. We are scheduling ~20-30 minute phone interviews for tomorrow, February 12th through Friday, February, 20th. We are happy to conduct interviews outside regular office hours.

If you are interested in participating, please contact me to schedule an interview time at k.vonrickenbach@lek.com or (212) 777-1330 ext. 4765. Please feel free to contact me by phone or email if you have any questions, my name is Kristian.

Commission to Franchise sales staff for re-sales

Mr. David D. Messenger, CFE — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:11:37 GMT

Do any of you franchisors pay a commission for a re-sale deal to your franchise sales staff members who are selling new franchises and/or to a person on your Development Staff whose job it is to look after the re-sales? If so, is it a flat amount per deal or variable amount and what is the amount and/or percentage of the transfer fee your Company receives on these re-sales?

David Messenger, ServiceMaster Clean

How should courier companies develop their network of retail locations?

Fadwa — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:17:59 GMT

Hello,

This is the scenario: a global courier company is studying the development of a network of retail locations for its business through franchising.

I would appreciate any lessons learned from successes or failures of such cases.

1. Is a stand alone courier "store" offering only shipping services feasible?
2. Would it necessitate the addition of non-shipping services to drive sales and draw in more revenue?
3. Are there any known average ratios of revenue derived from shipping to that from non-shipping services, in a courier& office store?
4. What are key success factors for a courier store model?

Many thanks
Fadwa

Building Investor Network

s. bryan — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:55:23 GMT

I am a current sales professional looking to make a successful transition from licensing development to Franchised Sales. What are 3 sources of network building opportunities?

Thanks,

sb.

Increasing Franchise Partner Inquires

DDonahue — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:46:20 GMT

Like many franchisors we have seen a decrease in the number of franchise partner inquires. What franchise web portals or publications seem to be performing best in todays market?

In today's climate what is attractive to a broker?

RonD — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:22:27 GMT

Hello,

We are a new franchisor and are wrestling with the fees we should pay to the brokers to incentivise them to show our concept. Is there an easy answer as to how we present the offering? We have several broker groups interested but we are being told that today a $15,000 commission is a little light.

Our concept is retail in nature has a franchise fee of $30,000 with a total investment between $90,000 and $140,000. Let's just say this has a potential for high volume of sales (new technology, little to no competition) and we offer the brokers $15,000 per deal. Is that reasonable, or should we expect to have to pay higher commissions, royalties, equity, and up-front fees to be included in inventory? If we introduce high we cannot go lower, if we introduce low we may not get deals. I'm not necessarily opposed to going high but we have yet to even try to sell organically. Any advise out there given today's state of the economy? I am told that 1-2 years ago we could just go in at $15,000 and expect results.

Thanks,
Ron

Can I Franchise an Idea?

JoeHughes — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 11:13:06 GMT

I have what I believe is a great idea for a franchise that I will never undertake myself.

I've been told that I can franchise the "idea" by putting it in the form of a business plan and franchising the system---business plan---without actually developing it into a "real" business before franchising it.

Anyone know if I can franchise an idea in the form of a business plan?

Thanks

Insuring a franchised business

Daven — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:31:14 GMT

I am researching a master insurance policy so that my franchisees can get better rates on their liability insurance rates, but I am wondering if I am going about it in the best manner. Should a franchisor hold a master insurance policy and allow all of their franchisees the benefit of signing up under the master insurance policy to save money for each owner? Does this open the franchise up to more liability and lawsuits? Or should each franchisees business be responsible for finding their own insurance policy?
I am looking at all options. Please chime in on what you are doing or what you know others are doing.

Thank you, Daven

What is the best way to green an establised franchise?

choosegreen — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:30:20 GMT

What is the best way for a franchisor to promote green systems and processes for established franchisees? There are obvious recommendations that can be made from preferred vendor lists and process recommendations but these are not mandates from corporate. Franchisees have established relationships with vendors and long planning cycles so recommendations can be made but the incentive to change is quite low, especially in this economic environment.

Any thoughts on how to promote corporate agendas successfully through the franchisee channel?

Discovery Days

ccothran — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:10:51 GMT

I am looking at re-designing our Discovery Day practices. I was wondering if anyone has any good and unique ideas that they use for their Discovery Days.

Thanks

Franchise TV Invitation

Costin — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:18:54 GMT

Dear Madame / Sir,

My name is Alex Irimescu and I’m the Director of International Department of an online TV station called ChannelF.
Below is a short presentation of who we are. Based on that we would like to ask you if you’d be interested in a collaboration with us. Just let us know. Keep in mind that the ChannelF is a program owned by a non-profit association and is dedicated to inform the viewers about franchise lessons, legal issues and movies about franchise both Romanian and foreign. We decided to advertise absolutely for free (until the end of 2008) a limited number of international franchise. That's why we ask you if you want to send us a movie about your franchise.

Launched in August 2007 and re-launched in the same month from 2008 ChannelF will become
a valuable resource for the Romanian franchise and business community. Our program will
include regular franchise news bulletins and information designed to inform our viewers
on what's new in this area.
We aim to transform the franchise concept into an accessible one so that's why people will
find interesting tips to buy a franchise and also advises when seeking the most suitable
franchise for them.
The audience ranges from people interested in becoming a master franchisee or a
franchisee, to those viewers decided to start or to franchise their own business. And
last but not least those curious seeking to find more about franchise concept are among
our viewers.
The website has three sections: one dedicated to franchisers and master franchisees (they
are able to present the franchises in a movie format) called Franchise Opportunities; we
named the second Franchise Counselor ( it treats the patents and trade marks, franchise
agreement issues and other legal aspects of franchising); the last but not least is the
news section (it's aim is to inform people about what's new in this area).
Since the website is continually being updated with new franchise opportunities on a
regular basis, please visit us and we'll keep you up to date with new opportunities as
soon they are becoming available.

Best regards,
Alex Irimescu
www.channelf.ro

Sales Staff and commissions

Mr. Lawrence P. Friedman — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:41:27 GMT

I am interested in knowing how other franchisors deal with in house sales staff. Commission and salary, etc.. I would also like to know how it is handled when a broker gets involved.

Thanks

Lead Generation

Mr. Lawrence P. Friedman — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:52:22 GMT

We currently use several portals to generate leads however It seems we are all tryig to get more of the same pie. Has anyone had good luck with any other lead generator?

Acquiring a Franchise Company

Mr. Bill Carroll, CFE — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:58:31 GMT

Our franchise opportunity is running out of growth possibilities. We are interested in acquiring new or small start up franchise companies with good potential for growth. Business brokers are focused on individual units. Any suggestions on who might offer us some assistance?

Cut costs with effective branded online training - for free

ncrcgn — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:27:58 GMT

Coggno is an Online Learning Management System that facilitates the training of Partner Franchisees and employees across organizations.

We have a very robust system with a simple UI. Franchises can create all of their training using our tools and servers. Existing training, Textual, Audio, Video, and Assessment Modules can all be easily migrated under the franchise’s Brand and colors, linked from its website, and be made available only to your Franchisees.

There are no fees for any of this – we operate on a pay per use model, making it Extremely cost effective for organizations to disseminate their training using our platform.

I’d be delighted to set up a time to discuss Coggno with you. Please take a moment to visit http://www.Coggno.com.

Sincerely,
Natalia Real

User Relations Manager
natalia@coggno.com
888-585-9978 X 1
http://www.coggno.com

Franchisee Site Build Out

Richard F — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:58:39 GMT

I am the National Director of Real Estate fro a growing franchse company. Our ability to grow is being slowed by what appears to be an increasing amount of time to obtain city permits, inspections and the certificate of occupany. Does anyone have ideas as to how the process can be sped up, questions franchsiees should ask in advance or a checklsit to follow during a build out to avoid items falling through the cracks?

New Franchisor Seeks Advice--Past Litigation

newfranchisor — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:28:54 GMT

Hi there,

We are about to begin franchising our business and I had a question about litigation.

Several years ago, before we decided to go forward with franchising, we found a competitor which was infringing on our mark. After 18 months of sending out "cease and desist" letters from our attorneys that went unanswered, we decided we had to sue in order to protect our federally-registered mark.

The lawsuit resulted in a favorable settlement for us in the high five figures. The problem we see now is that when one searches our business name on a search engine, this litigation comes up fairly high in the rankings. (The issue was interesting to some legal bloggers and their blog posts come up highest in the search rankings.)

There are two ways to look at this. First, a prospective franchisee may see this as a negative, as lawsuits may be seen as a sign of trouble, generally speaking.

The other side of the coin is that we sued only when all other means of protecting the mark were exhausted. In the end we were vindicated and we achieved our goals with regard to this narrow issue.

What are your thoughts? Would this single issue hurt our sales? How would you handle quesitons about the litigation?

Any input is greatly appreciated and many thanks in advance!

Meeting Alert!

Mr. Jason Yusko — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:44:36 GMT

Please join us for Franchise Appreciation Day, IFA’s annual public affairs conference, scheduled for September 15-16 at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC. This is your chance to meet with your congressional representatives on Capitol Hill about important issues facing the industry. Members of Congress need to know our views on such issues as Health Care Reform, Card Check Legislation and Immigration Reform.

To help you prepare, IFA staff and other government relations experts will review these key issues in detail during the meeting to help you conduct effective meetings with your Members of Congress.

There is no registration fee to participate in FAD and we will make your Congressional appointments for you. For more information and to register, visit www.franchise.org/fad.aspx

More than 500 franchisors, franchisees and suppliers participated in FAD last year to tell franchising’s story. Don’t you want to be included so that policymakers are aware of what’s important to your business in this critical election year? We’ll see you in September.

List of Francise Headquarters?

kostkac — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:37:28 GMT

I am looking for a list of Francises, and where they are headquartered out of. Does anyone know where I can find such a list?