Today there are more franchise consultants and brokers out there than ever before. It is a great profession and really offers a service to people looking for a franchise.
Like every profession, though, some are better than others. Some of the people who get into this know very little about business, or they just want to “push you into” something.
Being a franchise consultant is not just a good business, it is a profession where you can make a difference in someone’s life. When I work with a candidate and help them find the right business, it is so incredibly rewarding.
I live for notes like this…
I honestly came into this not knowing if buying into a franchise was even going to be possible. Now, thanks to you, we have a franchise picked out and potential funding for it, and we’ve already started plans to move to Florida and out of this ridiculous weather.
Or when people tell me that they would rather work with me than the person who is just trying to “push something” on them. The people who are more interested in getting a “deal done” than in caring about you – they are the “Cons”.
If you find them, if they don’t listen to you, if they are just pushing a brand at you without understanding your needs, run. They don’t care about you and they will push you to make quick decisions, they won’t take the time to get to know you and they will not be there for you with information as you go through the process.
On the other hand we have the PROS. (I like to think of myself as one). We listen, understand, guide and keep at it. Here are some things the pros talk about with you:
- YOUR STORY – we want to find out about you, what you have done and what you want to do in the future.
- YOUR GOALS – we want to know about your lifestyle goals, your financial goals and your worklife balance goals
- YOUR VISION – we want to know about vision for a business, is it helping people, is it about having employees or having flexibility?
- YOUR FINANCES – we need to know what you have, what you are willing to spend and how you are going to fund your franchise. This is important to show you franchises that you will be able to afford.
- YOUR MOTIVATION – we want to know why you are looking. What is the driving force that is moving you to get into business for yourself.
- YOUR LOCATION – where do you want to have your business, where you live now or where you aspire to live.
- YOUR DECISION MAKING PROCESS – how do you go about making a decision? What information will you need?
- YOUR INTERESTS – what do you like to do? What kinds of things would be of no interest to you? What parts of your career have you liked and what would you never want to do again.
- YOUR NEED FROM ME – do you want me involved every step of the way, or is an introduction enough?
These are some of the pieces of information that a PRO franchise consultant will ask about. They will want to get to know you and not just offer a cookie cutter answer. As they get to know you, ideas about the brands they represent that might be a fit will become more apparent.
The PRO will take all of this information and make some recommendations about brands. I know that I have had people be really surprised about the brand that they wound up buying. It is often something they never heard of, but they see the need and as they learn more about the opportunity they become enthusiastic supporters.
After the brand presentations, the PRO will refine if the first brands are not a fit, then will be there to help explain the process, introduce you to the brand(s) and support you through your brand discovery. (Read more about the discovery process)
The most important thing to know, is that if your consultant is not asking you questions and is talking more about themselves and not learning about you–or trying to push one brand, then it may be time to find a PRO and ditch the CON.
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Mariruth Kennedy is a franchise consultant who works with people looking for a franchise to help them find the right fit. If you want to reach out schedule a call or visit her website at yourfranchispro.com