Description

My Podner in this episode is Red Boswell and he’s going to talk with us today about how to generate franchisee leads. This is one of the hottest topics with franchisors. This discussion will benefit both new and seasoned franchisors.

Red is a unique character, and I mean that in a good way. This guy has been driven to make money ever since he was a kid. Starting in grade school when he was selling NFL pencils for a profit, into hos twenties when he build up a pet services franchise system  all the way up to 148 units. He’s been operating in the world of franchising practically his entire adult life. He’ll give us more details in just a few minutes.

Red now gets to fuel his business building passion as President of the International Franchise Professionals Group (IFPG), The World’s Largest and Most Respected Franchise Consultant Organization. .

Topics Discussed in this Episode

The cost of a lead

• The average cost of a lead in 2019 is $10,000
• That number does not including commissions
• That number includes large companies that don’t need to spend anything for leads because their brand is so well knows that they don’t need to advertise to get leads
• Small companies usually pay a lot more to generate leads since their concepts usually don’t have any brand recognition

16 sources of leads

• Direct mail
• Print
• Online
• Brokers
• Referrals
• Consumer / Clients
• PR
• Industry / Conversions
• Prospecting
• Buying leads
• Live events / Expos
• Mobile / Roadside
• Upgrade / Multi-unit Operators
• Past leads
• Guerilla marketing
• TV Radio

 The marketing mix is a moving target and is different for every concept. There is no silver bullet, one size fits all solution for the marketing spend mix.

Do a lot – do it for a long time – test and measure

Every option will involve one or all of these three

• Time
• Money
• Resources

The trick is to utilize the options that require the resources you have the most of.

Red’s Favorite Five

Red says that every solution must be customized to the individual concept, but if he HAD to pick his favorite five, the would be:

Brokers

• Best option for any size franchisor
• You pay to be a member then pay a commission per close
• Many broker groups won’t accept smaller start-up concepts
• Big saver of time and resources

PR

• Hire a PR firm
• Find one who is familiar with the world of franchising
• IFA members a plus
• Validate with their past clients

Industry Conversions

• Converting existing business people who are struggling
• You never know who may be disenchanted with operating their own concept and who would love to convert
• These are cold calls usually

Live Events / Expos

• Usually between $5k and $10K per event
• Use common sense and work it hard
• Energy – follow-up – is key

Online

• You could make online all five
• PPC Pay per click / Banners
• SEO of your own franchise site
• Develop a GREAT portal that grabs and tracks leads and conveys the information well. Portals tend to generate  a lot of volume with lower quality, but still worth the spend
• Social media posting
• Big data targeting
• Job boards – make a job advertisement  with the tag “some investment required” – describes a dream job

Bonus Source: Guerilla Marketing

• Example: flyers on every windshield at the local franchise expo

Common mistakes made by franchisors as it relates to lead sources:

• Lack of infrastructure – be able to walk away from your business for 6 months
• Don’t try to run your business and franchise it all by yourself
  • Franchise Development person
  • Marketing person
  • Onboarding / Training person
  • Field support person
• Lack of good ops manuals
• Not charging enough for the franchisee fee in order to pay for the costs associated with lead generation and other expenses
• Negotiate a broker commission too low – nobody will show your system if the commission is too low
• Seek wise counsel

Books Mentioned

• Franchise Management for Dummies
• Becoming a Strategic Business Owner
• How to Win Friends and Influence People