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A Successful Sales Model: The Key to Franchisee Success

Written by: Flo Schell

Article Overview: With many individuals transitioning from corporate America to entrepreneurial ventures, it is no surprise that new franchised businesses are springing up everywhere. Many franchise owners are attracted to entrepreneurship because they like what the franchise business concept represents. However, while they come to their role as a believer of the concept they buy into they do not necessarily have the skills they need to sell themselves and their services — the skills that are needed to keep the business alive.

A Successful Sales Model: The Key to Franchisee Success

With many individuals transitioning from corporate America to entrepreneurial ventures, it is no surprise that new franchised businesses are springing up everywhere. Many franchise owners are attracted to entrepreneurship because they like what the franchise business concept represents. They might choose a concept like Hand and Stone Massage Spa because of their own belief in wellness, or they may choose a concept like Happy Tails Dog Spa because of their affection for animals. However, while they come to their role as a believer of the concept they buy into they do not necessarily have the skills they need to sell themselves and their services — the skills that are needed to keep the business alive.

As a former sales executive with a leading franchise company, I saw this phenomenon as an opportunity, and seized it. Now, my role as a franchise business coach enables me to offer the strength of my 16 years of sales experience to my clients.

In doing that work, I've recognized that small business owners, among them many franchisees, often do not possess the “selling gene” and are uncomfortable with marketing themselves and their services. The question for me was how to most quickly help franchise owners boost their sales acumen.

Answering this question led me to design a sales process that helps business owners to see clearly what they have to offer and to verbalize the problems that are solved by their product or service. It offers specific advice on how to handle initial inquiry calls and how to create a special connection on each and every one of those calls.

Eventually, that sales process evolved into a book written with franchise owners (franchisees) in mind and for sales professionals who are looking for a fresh approach to selling. Published in October 2007, Stop Selling...Start Clicking! 10 Bold Steps to Boost Your Business Through the Magic of Human Connection, offers a practical approach for negotiating the obstacles that inevitably come up during the sales process, and give franchisees what they need to bring the sale to a close.

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Article Tags: acumen, affection, believer, bold steps, business coach, business concept, corporate america, franchise business, franchise company, franchise owners, franchised businesses, franchisees, happy tails dog spa, initial inquiry, massage spa, obstacles, sales experience, sales professionals, small business owners, stone massage



Related Forum Posts
Protecting IP - Dear BigJim 22 Sure as long as it is in the Franchise agreement... ie wht you are offering as Francisor and what their obligations are as Franchisee It is all in the agreement........ take care Ian
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women
Re: Franchise 'due diligence' checklist - One of the things I focus on is this: Does the Franchise fit the Business Model you are interested in? Meaning, are you going to be doing what you want to do on a daily? For example, if you are a restaurant manager now and you hate your job because of the hours, then don't buy most food franchises. You have experience of course, so it is more comfortable, but you will basically be doing very similar duties and hours as you were before. I always go through a series of questions, answers, more questions, more answers etc... to help my clients figure out what Business Model they are most interested in, I do this before even discussing a single name with them, they tell me what the business model is and then I match them up to that type of business, explain the entire business model as best I can and then and only then do we discuss the name of the company. Too many times people come to me wanting to own "abc" name brand franchise, when they don't even understand what type of business it really is and what they will be doing every day.
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...


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