Greg Nathan’s Franchise Relations Tip #15

h2>How to Achieve Excellence

This is a big year for the Franchise Relationships Institute. We turn 21 years old!

So before sharing my next tip I want to thank those of you who have participated in FRI’s research, read my books, or attended one of our franchise relations courses.

At the start of the year, my team set me the challenge of pulling together everything we have discovered about excellence in franchise management, and turning this into a simple model. I love a challenge, and I love simplifying ideas even more, so I set to work.

Finally I came up with five interlocking pieces in a multi-coloured circle.

I wanted to get some objective feedback so I showed it to a seasoned franchising colleague, Karli Furmage, who has worked with hundreds of franchisees in over 20 countries. Karli has a generous soul and a bright, creative mind.

We stared at the circle in silence for

a while. Then she said, “Greg what you have here is a franchisor wheel of excellence.” I liked the sound of that, so this is what we’ve called it.

The Franchisor Wheel of Excellence

I thought I‘d briefly share the five pieces with you. If you are coming to the Profitable Partnerships Boot Camp in May we will be diving deep into each piece.

1. Recruit Quality Franchisees. Contrary to popular belief, a franchise is not a product that you sell. It is a process, a right that is granted to someone. It is, in effect, a relationship. And a quality franchise relationship starts with recruiting the right people who have the right expectations. Do you sell franchises or recruit quality franchisees?

2. Mentor Franchisees for Performance. Franchisees need ongoing feedback, encouragement and training if they are to grow. Mentors are people with more knowledge or experience that help with this process. Field managers play a critical role here. While franchisors should generally coordinate the mentoring process, they do not always need to do the mentoring themselves. This is often better done by experienced franchisees. Are you providing enough mentoring to improve the performance of your franchisees?

3. Listen to Franchisee Feedback. Satisfied franchisees will recommend your franchise to others and make your life as a franchisor a lot more pleasant. The only way to ensure you are meeting franchisee needs is to ask them. But the nature of questions asked is just as important as the answers given. Having a non-defensive attitude to the feedback franchisees give you is also critical. Are you listening to what your franchisees need?

4. Engage Franchisees With the Brand. When you grant a franchise, you give your franchisee the use of your most precious asset, your name. My previous two tips have focused on why it is important for everyone in a network to understand the brand and what it stands for. Smart franchisors invest in constant two-way communication to creatively engage franchisees and their staff in this brand education process. Are all your people fully engaged with your brand?

5. Lead With Credibility. The culture of a franchise network is shaped by the people at the helm who have the power to set the priorities and make the decisions. The right type of leadership by a franchisor is a blend of vision, consistency, consultation, genuine care and respect. Effective franchisor leaders are also comfortable to have tough conversations when necessary, but only when necessary. We have seen the fortunes of many franchise systems change quickly depending on the effectiveness of the leadership team. How would you rate the quality of your company’s leadership?

As I said earlier, we will be exploring the implementation of each of these areas in the Profitable Partnerships Boot Camp on May 25 and 26. Hope you can make this. Meanwhile, I am going to run a free pre-Boot Camp webinar in a couple of weeks on the topic “Avoiding the 10 Common Mistakes in Franchise Relations.”

Register for Profitable Partnerships Boot Camp or see Webinar Details! May 25 & 26 in Denver. Hope you can join us!

Greg Nathan
Managing Director
Franchise Relationships Institute
www.FranchiseRelationships.com

Attendees will earn 300 Education Credits towards completion of the
Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) accreditation or CFE re-certification
by attending this program.

Greg Nathan, Managing Director of Franchise Relationships Institute

 

Often described as the international thought-leader and expert on franchise relationships, no one understands the unique challenges and rewards inherent in the franchisee-franchisor relationship like Greg and his team of psychologists at Franchise Relationships Institute. They have spent the past 20 years researching the science of successful franchise relations.