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Interviewing
the Franchisor
At
this point you should have a pretty solid sense of where you want
to be as a franchisee, but your job isn’t over yet! Before you
get to the paperwork, it’s time you sat down and had a chat with
the franchisor.
This interview isn’t a job interview -- it works both ways. The
franchisor is assessing you, deciding if you are someone he or she
wants to entrust with the company’s reputation. At the same
time, you are assessing the franchisor, deciding if this is a
person you want to work with over the next several years.
Be
objective, but if you get a bad feeling about someone, you
definitely want to stop and consider the source of those feelings.
Is it his cologne? You can probably ignore it. But if there’s
something else, don’t enter into a business relationship with
someone you don’t feel you can trust!
The
Interview
As
you begin the interview, take a few minutes to get acquainted with
the franchisor. He or she will probably have many questions for
you, which you should answer as honestly and clearly as you can --
lying always backfires in the end. Make sure, however, that the
franchisor doesn’t dominate the interview. Ask your own
questions. However you go about it, there are certain things you
need to establish by the interview’s end:
·
Does the franchisor
demonstrate due diligence in his or her duties? Does the
franchisor seem familiar with the operations of each branch?
·
Can the franchisor
demonstrate market research and show you why this franchise is
likely to succeed in your area?
·
Can the franchisor
demonstrate a competition analysis and show you that you aren’t
embarking in a swamped market?
·
Can the franchisor
show you past years’ accounts and earning claims? In other
words, does the franchisor have hard data to support claims about
how much you’ll make?
If
you have any worries or concerns about training or operating
procedures, this is the time to air them. Before you go any
further, you want to make sure you and the franchisor understand
one another perfectly!
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