Joel LibavaDo you really know what your prospective franchise buyers want, as they consider your fantastic franchise offering among the thousands they have to choose from?
Do you feel that you're on the same wavelength as your potential franchisees? Has your "wavelength" been defined by your franchise development firm, or your marketing department/marketing firm?
In this 7-part series, I'll be sharing the things that typical franchise buyers really want and need, before they write a check to you, and become a franchisee.
The first thing that I'll share is this;
Franchise buyers want safety
It doesn't matter how great your franchise concept is. You could have the hottest concept around, but people won't write you a check unless they feel that they're relatively safe doing so.
Years ago, getting a good job meant safety to most people. Corporations actually had pension plans for their employees, and those same employees were rewarded year after year with better positions, and more money. If you were considered a really good employee, you were almost guaranteed a job for a long, long, time.
That's obviously changed.
Some of the folks that have been downsized in the past two years probably felt pretty safe, also. (Until they were let go!)
I'm grateful for the chance to present my franchise seminar, "Could Investing in A Franchise Of Your Own Be The Answer?" to various groups of downsized middle managers and executives, in my local area. ( In your area too, if you'd like. Contact me for information)
In the Q & A sessions after my presentation, I'm always surprised by the number of downsized employees who've worked at the same company for 25 or 30 years, and who are now really stuck.
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The definition of stuck:
stuck [stʌk] adj
Informal– baffled or nonplussed
Formal– Stuck without a paddle. Stuck in a situation.
Example: "I'm 60 years old. Who the hell's going to hire me? I'm stuck."
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I know that it's not just 60 year old's that are looking at your awesome franchise concept. It's people from all walks of life, and from many, many, different situations. Some of them that are looking are rather shell-shocked though. They may have thought that they were in a somewhat"safe" situation, but in reality, they really weren't.
These people are looking for safety. They know in the bottom of their hearts that investing in a business of their own does involve risk, but they're willing to take some risk, if your franchise offering "feels" right to them.
You see, if your franchise offering "feels" right to them, that means that they are "feeling" a certain amount of safety.
I suspect that most of the folks that are considering your franchise offering know that there are no guarantees of success. (And, I'm sure that you've shared as much with them. You have told them that they could fail, right?)
You're being transparent in your dealings with these shell-shocked folks, aren't you? Like this
You may already be presenting an opportunity that's excellent on all fronts. Prospective franchisees may already feel relatively safe with the idea of investing in your franchise opportunity.
If you feel strongly about that statement, would you mind sharing (in the comment section below) what you do to promote that feeling of safety with prospective franchise owners? (You'd be doing a great thing for our industry.)
Let's get the discussion going. How can you start doing some fantastic things in your franchise organization that not only helps prospective franchise owners feel relatively safe investing in your franchise business opportunity, but actually helps them lower their risk. Here's Part 2
