Knowing how to franchise is absolutely essential if you want to enter into the world of franchising. It is not something that can be done blindly if you want to see it succeed. Find some top tips for franchising success in this portion of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Jack Fraenkel.
Jack worked his way up the ranks and occupied various middle management roles before becoming general manager of Downtown Duty Free. Since being made redundant in 1998, Jack has run his business consultancy company, working with a variety of national retailers, direct sales organizations and franchisors.
What are your top tips for franchising success?
- Extraordinary Track Record – successful franchises grow out of already existing successful business enterprises.
- Extraordinary Business Systems – successful business systems mean that anyone with a modicum of intelligence can walk in and successfully operate the business. The business systems have been proven to work and the franchisor is constantly reviewing their effectiveness.
- Extraordinary People Skills – the ability to manage diverse personalities and personal goals is paramount to success in franchising. Being prepared to help franchisees achieve their goals creates a commitment and culture of mutual respect.
- Extraordinary Patience – some franchisees ‘get it’ quicker than others, but the franchisor selected them all and it is their responsibility to work with them and help them to grow.
- That little bit Extra at every opportunity – little things make a big difference. Napoleon Hill once said, ‘The important principle for success is the willingness to go the extra mile’. This means rendering more and better service than that for which one is paid.
- Discover, Learn and Practice OBL – OBL stands for organizational body language, we are all familiar with the concept of personal body language, but very few businesses understand the dynamics of OBL. There are easy examples that define a business’s OBL. Often a customer arrives at a business where the staff have parked in all the spots closest to the entrance and they have to walk past all the staff cars through heavy rain to get to reception. The customer gets to reception and is not expected and/or there is nowhere to sit and wait.
In retail it is even more obvious. There is usually a queue of people waiting to be served at the only operating cash point but there are several other staff around doing non-sales activities. Worse still, there are signs all over the place indicating what the customer can’t do – ‘Please don’t lean on the counter’, ‘Broken is considered sold’, ‘No exchange or refund for change of mind’. The list of these signs is almost endless and every one of them gives a customer the feeling of not being wanted. One of my favorites is, ‘Toilets are reserved for customers’ – this sign is always placed at the entrance of a store, restaurant or hotel and really says, ‘Don’t come in and look at our menu or products, we only want people who have fantastic pelvic floor muscles for customers!’
For more info on How to Successfully Franchise and this interview check out Secrets of Top Business Builders Exposed!
