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Training, Manuals, and Support
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You will probably want to be closely involved in your initial franchises, and your support will generally be appreciated. Of course, you don’t want to be overbearing, and you don’t want to create too much work for yourself. That’s why much of your assistance will come in the form of training manuals, policy documents, and advice.
Depending on your franchisees’ experience in running a business, you may want to be on hand to offer assistance and advice. Your relationship with each franchisee will decide a lot of your policies. Some may be nervous about running a business and want whatever help you have to give; others may be more independent and regard too much training as intrusive and indicating a lack of trust. Keep your communication open and don’t be offended if the franchisee doesn’t want a great deal of hands-on assistance. By the same token, however, do make sure the operation is running the way you want it to run! |
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The Operations Manual
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This is yet another lengthy, time-consuming document of extreme importance. The Operations Manual is your voice when you’re not around. It’s the document franchisees will consult when they have questions about your product, day-to-day operations, or anything relating to the general operation of the business. It’s worth putting in lots of time preparing this document, because it will be the Bible for every franchise location you operate.
Some of the basic things the Operations Manual should cover include: |
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Operating Standards
What do you expect to see if you walk into this business? What are the minimum standards it should meet on a day-to-day basis, and how do you expect these standards to be maintained? This is critical information for the franchisee and should be explained in detail |
The Role of the Franchisee
You may find yourself repeating information from your franchise agreement, but that’s perfectly okay. You need to summarise what you expect from your franchisees: how you expect them to run the franchise, details of payments, and all the like. |
Special Instructions
Does your business rely heavily on a certain computer program? Are there technical details your franchisee must have in order to operate? This is a great place to put them for quick and easy reference. Obviously, you’ll provide some initial training, but you don’t want to be getting phone calls along the lines of, “How do I save this information?” Basics of any system operations should be in the Operations Manual so anyone can quickly access the instructions. |
Summary of the Business Model
It’s key that your franchisee understands how you expect your business to be run: employee and management expectations, policies, and the like. This is where you locate that information for quick reference. |
Tips, Secrets, and Other Necessary Information
The Operations Manual is a private document covered by your nondisclosure agreement, so it should be a safe place to store any information your franchisee needs, including financial information and secrets about the company. It’s also a great place for a list of friendly and helpful tips to keep the franchise running smoothly! |
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Initial Training
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Even though you need to have the Operations Manual primed and ready to go, you will also need to provide initial training to your franchisees. For your first few franchise locations, you will probably conduct this training yourself; as you expand, you may have to share that responsibility with others.
Franchise training can last from a few days to a few weeks and can occur anywhere – usually at your business or the franchise location. The details of this should be spelled out in the franchise agreement. For example, if you expect your franchisee to travel to your headquarters at his own expense, he should have this information in advance (remember, no hidden costs allowed!).
The initial training is basically going through everything covered in the Operations Manual. It allows you to show the franchisee the way your business operates and explain how you expect the franchise to run. It also gives the franchisee a chance to ask questions and anticipate problems.
Only you can decide how long you need for the initial training. Depending on the complexity of your business and the experience of your franchisee, there can be a huge range for training times. If you and the franchisee are in agreement, you can always add more training if needed, or accelerate the training for an experienced franchisee. This part of the franchise is entirely in your hands, so you need to make a careful and accurate assessment of how much time you’re willing to put into training before you transfer that information to the franchise agreement! |
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Ongoing Support
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| Your job as the franchisor does not end with the initial training. You are responsible for keeping in touch with your franchisees, making sure they are clear on the Operations Manual, and providing additional training if needed. Some handy tips: |
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| Ask your franchisees for weekly reports so you can monitor their progress. Make it clear that this is so you can spot troubles and help them. You may also be using this information to make sure your business is running the way it should be, but in the interests of maintaining a positive relationship with franchisees, don’t volunteer this information. |
| Encourage your franchisees to come forward with ideas or methods they think would improve franchise operation. You are not bound to accept them, but be willing to listen: you might be surprised what outsiders come up with. You’ve been staring at this stuff for several months now, and a fresh eye could be just what you need. |
| Assume your franchisees are trustworthy until proven otherwise. You chose them for a reason. That means that if someone misses a payment, send a gentle reminder, not a collection agency. On the other hand, if someone is repeatedly missing payments or behaving in an untrustworthy manner, don’t hesitate to say something. It’s their franchise, but it’s your product and business name they’re messing with! |
| Respond to your franchisees promptly. Don’t put off answering their emails or refuse to take their phone calls. You might get tired of answering what seem to be simple questions, but it doesn’t really take that much effort and it keeps the lines of communications open. If, on the other hand, your franchisees are repeatedly coming to you with questions that could be answered by reading the Operations Manual, or questions you have answered before, gently redirect them. |
| If possible, pay your franchises a personal visit now and then. It’s up to you if you show up announced or unannounced, but usually, if the visit is a friendly one, you’ll want to do your franchisees the courtesy of letting them know you’ll be there. If, on the other hand, you have serious suspicions about how the franchise is being run, an unannounced visit can give you tremendous insight into the operations going on under your company’s name. |
| Continue to lend support. Schedule periodic retraining or additional training; offer printed sheets when you have new instructions or ideas, and make sure you check in with your franchisees now and then just to see how things are going. |
| Maintain a positive and open relationship with your franchisees. It will make all the difference in the world if your franchisee feels comfortable coming to you with problems and concerns. With that in mind, encourage your franchisees to speak freely, and try not to be too critical or dismissive of their ideas. If you have a small number of franchises, you may even want to schedule a monthly conference call to discuss how things are going, air concerns, etc. (Less than once a month doesn’t give you the time you need, and more than once a month becomes intrusive. Monthly is a good idea). |
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| Regardless, the key to your franchise’s success is now in the hands of your franchisees, so it only makes sense to ensure that they have all the tools they need to get the job done! |
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How To Franchise Your Business Info Guide |
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Claim your FREE franchising consultation now
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Request a FREE 'Opportunity Analysis' with one of our experienced
business franchise consultants. During the analysis Franchise My Business will uncover the opportunities that exist within your business.
The detailed report will contain: |
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| Suitability for franchising |
| What you can charge for your franchise |
| The process explained |
| List changes needed to the business to enable successful franchising |
| Market analysis |
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No sales pitch - just good honest advice |
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Call 0845 020 4368 to book your free consultation |
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Our Fees
As you have seen franchising your business will generate a lot of additional cash. This option is also the quickest way to build a very profitable and high value business.
HMA Business Growth Solutions will complete 95% of the work involved in franchising the business. We will cover all legal costs (approx £5K), provide all the marketing material needed and provide a complete plan to recruit franchisees. We will also provide ongoing support and changes to the franchise system as required for a period of three years.
* £9995 + vat payable in 4 monthly payments (£2498.25 + VAT per
month).
This is a heavily discounted rate - we prefer to make the mass of
our fee by linking our fees to your success.
In addition we will: |
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| Advertise the franchise |
| Qualify the potential franchisees |
| Meet all potential franchisees |
| Any franchisees that we feel are suitable will be invited to
meet with you. |
| Close the sale and setup all legal contracts. |
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In return for handling this process and incurring many costs, our
fee will be 20% of the franchise fee. This fee will only be
payable on success.
Isn’t that refreshing - A consultancy company that links payment
to performance.
The exciting part of our service is that it won't cost you a
fortune. We mainly work by charging a small project fee and
accepting a minor percentage of the increased profits that we
create for you. |
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| We like to share in the extra profits we make for you. |
| This makes us highly motivated to achieve major increases in
profit. |
| Plus—we guarantee that your franchise will be a success or
we’ll work for you for absolutely nothing until it is or we will
refund your investment.
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| We are not like any other consultancy company you've ever come across. |
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Remember - if we can’t increase your profits dramatically
We’ll work for you for nothing until we do.
The Business Franchising Specialists
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