Key Steps to Selling - Mercury Franchise School

If there is a high demand for your health, social care or wellbeing service or you’re getting requests from outside your area, this could be a signal that you should franchise.

But what does that mean? Even if you’re aware of the concept, what is the process from A – Z of actually turning your business into an opportunity someone else can replicate?

First of all, there’s no law governing franchise businesses, so there’s no official registration process like in other countries. That means franchisors can essentially create their own process.

However, it’s advisable to follow existing guidelines so you don’t end up in hot water. Many a franchisor has come to blows with franchisees and don’t have a leg to stand on because they didn’t do their due diligence and their legal documents were not enforceable.

Following certain standards ensures your business is protected in the event of any disputes.

Our Franchise 2 Freedom Mastermind is a course that takes companies through the exact step by step framework you need to put in place to ensure the best chance of success. We cover all of the following steps in detail.

KNOW YOUR PERFECT FRANCHISEE

You’ll already be familiar with your customer persona or ideal client avatar for your product or service. Now we do the same for your franchisee. We call it your “Ideal Franchisee Avatar” or IFA. This is the person you most want to attract to your company and follows all the same principles of understanding their wants, needs, desires as well as problems your business opportunity can solve. This will help you develop marketing activities that resonate with this ideal persona so they want to find out more.

REVIEW YOUR SYSTEMS & PROCEDURES

What systems do you use?
What tools are essential to run your business?
What training would someone need to use them?

Map out all the processes in your business and see how they fit together. You can run your business in your sleep now (you probably already do!) so try to work it out from the point of view of a person who has never been in your business. Run it past someone in your family or social circle who doesn’t work for you. Do they understand it? You need to go into this level of detail. If there is some part that’s reliant on your memory or isn’t clear, you need to replace it with a process that is.

THE OPERATIONAL MANUAL

This is the franchise bible. Document your systems and procedures as instructions here. Include other information about branding, tone of voice and marketing guidelines. Also add in further information about the story of your company, your culture, values and mission statement.

LEGAL DOCUMENTS

As a franchisor, you need some essential legal documents that a franchise solicitor can write up for you. These will protect you in the event of a disgruntled ex-franchisee or someone acting in a way that damages your brand and reputation.

FRANCHISE PACKAGE

Together with your must-have tools, systems and operational manual, you’ll add your training programme, resources, marketing collateral and extra items into your franchise package. This is your sales magnet that shows your franchise opportunity to its best advantage.

MARKET & ADVERTISE YOUR OPPORTUNITY

You need to provide all the information about your franchise opportunity and package in an easy-to-read format, whether it’s a downloadable prospectus, a specially designed website or both. Use it to attract your prospects in conjunction with your usual marketing channels.

ONBOARDING PROCESS

Your onboarding process can consist of a discovery call, a best fit meeting and further meetings to address the legal side. Once your new franchisee has signed up, you’ll take them through the training right up to the launch phase and support them beyond.

If you’re interested in following these steps to launch a healthcare franchise, you can work with us on the Franchise 2 Freedom Mastermind, or if you’re already a franchisor wanting to improve your onboarding process, you can book onto our Power Hour coaching call where we’ll perform a review of your business and suggest any holes that need fixing.

FRANCHISE TO FREEDOM

POWER HOUR