Searching for the ideal franchisee
By Polly Larson
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

If puppies make you sneeze, you and a pet care franchisor know right off you are dead wrong for each other. But more subtle factors usually determine what makes a suitable franchisor/franchisee match. While finances and location are always considerations, smart franchise systems look far beyond those basics before awarding a franchise.

"The first thing we look for is somebody who values what a franchise system offers -- the structure and the importance of building a brand together," said Russ Reynolds, CEO of Batteries Plus, which provides replacement batteries for everything from smoke alarms to MP3 players. A candidate's ability to effectively use the system's support tools is considered next, and then, Reynolds said, "It is really important for the person to assess their own capabilities and how they will apply them to our business model."

Among the factors Batteries Plus considers when evaluating franchisee candidates is the input of existing franchisees. "Early in the process we invite prospective franchisees to talk to existing ones. One of our more objective resources is our successful franchisees who will call us if they see someone they have concerns about."

Art Coley, senior director of franchise development for visual, communications franchisor AlphaGraphics, said his system first wants to understand the prospect's goals. "What are their own personal life goals, vision statements, passions, interests?" Next, is the person's personality a good fit for the AlphaGraphics model? And finally, Coley said, the investment range must be truly comfortable for the prospect. "If someone would have to drain all their resources and there is no margin of error for them, would we really be doing them a favor?"

Direct mail franchisor money mailer looks for two specific profiles, said Dennis Jenkins, vice president franchise licensing. "We look for someone who has had consultative sales experience or who has owned and operated a successful business in the past. People with these backgrounds tend to have a very strong work ethic and the ability to develop relationships with people, and that is critical for our business."

Jenkins said the Franchise Navigator survey had proved a reliable indicator of compatibility for his system. "Before we even send sales material to a candidate, we ask them to complete the survey."

Consultant Craig Slavin, president of Franchise Architects, created the Franchise Navigator profile, which measures the skills, values and behavior of his franchisor clients' existing franchisees. Franchisee candidates take the survey to help determine how well they match up with the characteristics of a particular system's top performers.

Conversely, to help prospective franchisees find matches among the companies he works with, Slavin recently introduced MatchMe, where prospective franchisees take a survey online, then pick their state on a map and click on their investment range. Then, Slave said, "Within seconds they get and email indicating which franchisors' top performers' scores they match up with."

Even with the sophisticated methods now employed to bring compatible franchisee candidates and franchise systems together, experienced franchisors such as Batteries Plus, AlphaGraphics and Money Mailer admit the search for the ideal franchisee remains a challenge. "We talk to an average of 163 people to find one that we recommend to the candidate review committee," said Money Mailer's Jenkins. "It is an exhaustive process."