Launching a franchise business is a huge undertaking and getting the right training, business development, and marketing support from the franchisor can ease your transition into the business and be a catalyst for success. When evaluating the attributes of purchasing a franchise, look closely at what training programs, materials, and resources are made available to support you throughout the life of your franchise business. Below is a checklist of five key support assets to look for when evaluating a franchise training program.
1. Thorough Pre-Opening Training
Many franchisors provide comprehensive and informative classes that cover fundamental franchise business topics including: operations, personnel, finance, sales, marketing, and technology. This early training process will offer you engaging and practical hands-on sessions. Time spent at in-depth training before you open your franchise should enable you to walk away feeling comfortable, knowledgeable, confident, and empowered to kick start your business.
2. Mentors
There’s no better source of guidance than someone who has walked in your shoes. Ensure that your potential franchisor matches you with a peer franchisee as a mentor – someone who has been through the trials and tribulations of beginning a franchise operation. Peer mentors can offer you real-world experience about business operations, personnel recruiting, management, standard operating procedures, customer service and care, sales, marketing, and general business issues. This type of quality training can’t be taught in the classroom and is a vital part of making your franchise business a success.
3. Team Trainers
Now that the pre-opening training sessions are complete, will your potential franchisor also help with your launch week? The training wheels are off and that first week in business can be one of the most exciting, yet frightening, times of your business career. On-site trainers will help you get started on the right foot and problem solve any issues as they arise. This is where experienced franchisees and trainers will come to your franchise location and work side by side with you to help with things like selecting and training core team members and refining business operations including in-house office administration, management, customer care, and marketing.
4. Franchise Consultants
The majority of successful franchisors offer franchise consultants to work closely with you ongoing to provide valuable expertise, support, and continuing education. They visit you during the first few months after opening to help reinforce and improve on the things you learned in training and to review operations, financial, and standard procedures along with sales and marketing strategies. Having this first line of defense is vital in the beginning and proves to be even more essential to assist with any future challenges that you may face.
5. Continued Support and Training
Great franchisors provide support and training ongoing, as well as opportunities to interface with peers, share knowledge, and trouble shoot challenges during the course of the year. Make sure your franchisor provides ongoing training options such as annual conventions, regional meetings, and on-site visits from franchisor management, franchise advisors, and marketing teams where you can learn about newly developed programs and have the opportunity to exchange ideas with other fellow franchisees. Access to online training videos, DVDs, how-to manuals, webinars, and other programs and support tools is also a must.
Smart franchisors believe it’s their responsibility to provide ongoing training and support to franchisees including solid marketing programs, staffing models, and opportunities to network with others doing the same thing that you are. This is part of what will make a franchisee successful. The commitment the franchisor business leadership makes to training and support coupled with a proven business model, will lead you to selecting a franchise that is right for you and that will allow you to prosper as a franchise business owner. Good luck!
About the Author
This is a guest post from Bart Puett. He is the president and CEO of Maid Brigade Inc., the leading residential cleaning franchise and the only Green Clean Certified® housecleaning company. With more than three decades of management and operations experience, Puett has led Maid Brigade to being named a Top 100 Franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine and a Top 50 Franchise opportunity for both Minorities and Veterans by USA Today.