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S.C.O.R.E Your Franchise

Written by: William Bradley

Article Overview: As a franchise owner, you have a multifaceted position…and you consider yourself to be very good at accomplishing the tasks associated with business ownership. You find yourself to be very busy “working your business”…but are you busy with tasks, or are you busy building your client base and strengthening the business you already have? If you find yourself to be very “busy” but not attaining the revenue results you want for your franchise, that’s when you know it’s time to S.C.O.R.E your business.

S.C.O.R.E Your Franchise

S.C.O.R.E. Your Franchise
America’s Best Franchises
By Darice Johnston

As a franchise owner, you have a multifaceted position…and you consider yourself to be very good at accomplishing the tasks associated with business ownership. You find yourself to be very busy “working your business”…but are you busy with tasks, or are you busy building your client base and strengthening the business you already have? If you find yourself to be very “busy” but not attaining the revenue results you want for your franchise, that’s when you know it’s time to S.C.O.R.E your business.

S.C.O.R.E. is my acronym for, “Stay Centered on Results Every Day”. To S.C.O.R.E. your business means to take your energy and attention away from “busywork” and shift it toward activities which produce results. Results are attained when you focus daily on dollar-productive activities that both propel your business forward financially, as well as leverage the time you have previously invested in your franchise. Dollar-productive activity is two-fold, including:

1. Activities that bring in new business. (Client Acquisition)
2. Activities that strengthen the business you already have. (Client Retention)

A healthy balance between client acquisition and client retention must be obtained if you are going to truly S.C.O.R.E. If there is a greater emphasis on acquisition, you will rapidly bring business in the front door…only to blow it out the back, just as quickly. If you are too focused on client retention, you will eventually close your last deal only to find what felt like a constant stream of activity is really only a dry pipeline needing to be filled all over again.

Consistent Dollar-Productive Activity is Key to Long Term Success
The sales cycle takes a great deal of patience to endure…but it is essential you keep up dollar-productive activities every day if you are to create and maintain a healthy franchise.

Here are a few suggestions to help your franchise S.C.O.R.E:

1. Plan and Prioritize the Night Before. Plan the dollar-productive activities of tomorrow, today. You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish when you have a daily written plan of intention. To keep yourself focused on client acquisition and retention while still accomplishing your administrative tasks, use your Daily Check List religiously. (See my previous tip, “Prioritizing Your Responsibilities”)


2. The Hour of Power. Give yourself one solid hour every day for client acquisition. This means not only prospecting for customers, but also prospecting for business relationships that may add value or bring more visibility to your franchise. Make sure your Hour of Power is completely uninterrupted…and I highly recommend that it is accomplished before 11am. If your prospecting includes phone calls, consider a location that takes you away from your office – a lobby of a hotel, a coffee shop, or even your car, so you can get yourself away from the day-to-day distractions and really allow yourself time to focus. Never let your pipeline of new business run dry, which will occur when you get so caught up in your current clients that you “don’t have time to prospect”. A dry pipeline is a huge red flag that you are not leveraging your time adequately. Remember…what you do today will show up 30-90 days from now. What you don’t do today won’t show up at all…

3. Daily Completions. In my own business, I end my day with time for Daily Completions, which begins at 3pm. Just knowing I have this time slated allows my mind to feel free to be centered on prospecting and establishing new relationships earlier in the day…while knowing I will still have time for current client connections and follow-up at the end of my day. During your Daily Completion time, ask yourself, “What follow-up do I need to accomplish in order to maintain a high level of service for my current clients? What deliverables are required of me to follow-through with momentum I started earlier today, or earlier this week?” Remember…never fall down on following-up. A classic mistake many sales professionals and business owners make is creating momentum…and then loosing it. We get so busy moving onto the next project, the next event, the next customer that we literally “next” ourselves right out of a client relationship because we neglected to reconnect, follow-up, or follow through. Your daily dollar-productive time should always include thoughtfully considering the needs and requests of your clients, making sure you deliver what has been promised, and reconnect in with them often..


My last tip for you…get organized. Take a day, a week…however long it takes to get some systems in place to free up your energy and time so you can stay centered on results, not on busy work. Then… stop organizing and jump into action!

Here’s to Your Success!
Darice Johnston

Darice Johnston, Senior Writer for AmericasBestFranchises.com, has worked as a business development strategist to entrepreneurs and sales professionals since 1998. Her coaching methodology, “Build Your Business/Balance Your Life” incorporates the concepts of time management, organizational strategies and life-balancing systems emphasizing the achievement of success-in-life, not just success in business. For more information please visit www.daricejohnston.com.

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