A Franchise Is Like A Car… But Who’s In The Driving Seat?
A Franchise Is Like A Car… But Who’s In The Driving Seat?
* The driver of the franchise could be the staff ... who, in the absence of leadership might take the franchisee for the ride of his or her life. If staff are not subject to strong leadership, they can rule the roost and run amok, plunging the business into ruin and tainting the total franchise operation into the bargain. Imagine if a particular car maker's brand was used exclusively by the worst possible drivers; in no time at all the brand would take on a hideous image. Staff do not want to be in the driver's seat, they have no licence and no ambition to replace the driver, but hey, if the cat's away ...
* The driver of the franchise could be the competition ... who, in the absence of value-driven opposition, will steer the franchise into submission ... using either passion or price to get to their chosen destination. Fancy having your franchise piloted by the very people you are trying to out-perform! All the opposition is doing is what they know best, they're allowed to do that and they hope to win some business in the process. The last thing they expect is that an opponent in the form of a potentially strong franchise will complain rather than campaign. Thank you very much!
* The driver of the franchise could be the franchisor ... who, if given this responsibility will have to treat the franchisee like a model aeroplane! Expecting that the franchisor will drive the business is the equivalent of getting married and then asking mum and dad to supervise the wedding night!
* The driver of the franchise could be 'economic circumstances' ... who comprise several potential villains all rolled into one huge blameworthy culprit. This dastardly detractor of dollars could include all levels of government, the weather, the banks, the state of this industry and competitive industries, consumer confidence, currency exchange rates and anything else you can think of that might cause delays, detours and stoppages en route to franchising success.
Blaming poor results on economic circumstances is like crashing into a wall after falling asleep at the wheel of your car, and then suggesting that the wall was the cause of the accident!
And what of the franchisor? A quality franchise, like a quality car, must be improved on a very regular basis, and a controlled 'success maintenance' programme must be offered that is uncompromising. Franchisors should not make the same mistake made by car manufacturers, who outline a fine looking maintenance programme to go with their cars and then leave it up to us to 'remember' to book our car in for servicing. If we don't remember then a degree of failure is guaranteed!
Franchisors must remove 'success options' from franchisees, and introduce a programme of commitment that ensures everyone travels with conviction in the direction of increasing value and continued success.
Successful franchisors secretly act as though every franchise will only be owned temporarily, which leads to them doing everything possible to ensure the customers of the franchise are well satisfied - everything that is, except take the driving seat. This attitude bodes very well for the incumbent franchisee, for as long or short a period as he or she is there, and for anyone else that assumes the driving role.
A franchise should preferably resemble a finely-tuned racing car, happy to take on all forms of competition, complete with an accomplished driver who is motivated and prepared to focus on driving and winning. And waiting for such a car is the crew in the pits, the franchisor's people, ready and willing to help the driver in any way that will lead to victory. Why? Well without any question, winning in the world of franchising is nothing short of a team effort!
A Franchise Is Like A Car But Whos In The Driving Seat - To learn more about this author, visit John Lees's Website.
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Many franchisees seem reluctant to be the drivers. Instead, the franchisee often takes a backseat position, which means someone else must do the driving. So who will be the driver? Usually, there will be several drivers, each taking turn, not one of them wanting the job or even being conscious of having the front seat driving role!
* The driver of the franchise could be the staff ... who, in the absence of leadership might take the franchisee for the ride of his or her life. If staff are not subject to strong leadership, they can rule the roost and run amok, plunging the business into ruin and tainting the total franchise operation into the bargain. Imagine if a particular car maker's brand was used exclusively by the worst possible drivers; in no time at all the brand would take on a hideous image. Staff do not want to be in the driver's seat, they have no licence and no ambition to replace the driver, but hey, if the cat's away ...
* The driver of the franchise could be the competition ... who, in the absence of value-driven opposition, will steer the franchise into submission ... using either passion or price to get to their chosen destination. Fancy having your franchise piloted by the very people you are trying to out-perform! All the opposition is doing is what they know best, they're allowed to do that and they hope to win some business in the process. The last thing they expect is that an opponent in the form of a potentially strong franchise will complain rather than campaign. Thank you very much!
* The driver of the franchise could be the franchisor ... who, if given this responsibility will have to treat the franchisee like a model aeroplane! Expecting that the franchisor will drive the business is the equivalent of getting married and then asking mum and dad to supervise the wedding night!
* The driver of the franchise could be 'economic circumstances' ... who comprise several potential villains all rolled into one huge blameworthy culprit. This dastardly detractor of dollars could include all levels of government, the weather, the banks, the state of this industry and competitive industries, consumer confidence, currency exchange rates and anything else you can think of that might cause delays, detours and stoppages en route to franchising success.
Blaming poor results on economic circumstances is like crashing into a wall after falling asleep at the wheel of your car, and then suggesting that the wall was the cause of the accident!
And what of the franchisor? A quality franchise, like a quality car, must be improved on a very regular basis, and a controlled 'success maintenance' programme must be offered that is uncompromising. Franchisors should not make the same mistake made by car manufacturers, who outline a fine looking maintenance programme to go with their cars and then leave it up to us to 'remember' to book our car in for servicing. If we don't remember then a degree of failure is guaranteed!
Franchisors must remove 'success options' from franchisees, and introduce a programme of commitment that ensures everyone travels with conviction in the direction of increasing value and continued success.
Successful franchisors secretly act as though every franchise will only be owned temporarily, which leads to them doing everything possible to ensure the customers of the franchise are well satisfied - everything that is, except take the driving seat. This attitude bodes very well for the incumbent franchisee, for as long or short a period as he or she is there, and for anyone else that assumes the driving role.
A franchise should preferably resemble a finely-tuned racing car, happy to take on all forms of competition, complete with an accomplished driver who is motivated and prepared to focus on driving and winning. And waiting for such a car is the crew in the pits, the franchisor's people, ready and willing to help the driver in any way that will lead to victory. Why? Well without any question, winning in the world of franchising is nothing short of a team effort!
A Franchise Is Like A Car But Whos In The Driving Seat - To learn more about this author, visit John Lees's Website.
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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