Pitching Yourself to a Franchisor

How Can You Change the Game for the Franchisor?

Before we begin this guide, let’s start off by diving into what you can do to stand out during your application process.

The franchisor offers help and supports the franchisee, but the franchisee needs to contribute to the expansion and success of the industry.

While having experience in the industry is a good start, what are some other qualities that you’ll contribute to ‘wow’ the franchisor? Think about refining:

• Leadership skills
• Effective team management skills
• In-depth knowledge of marketing practices to effectively advertise the unit
• Nuanced skills to develop the franchise even further

Once you’ve worked on these elements, the next step is to ensure that the partnership you’ll get into will be the right fit for you.

Choosing the Right Partnership

To protect brand reputation and secure the future of a franchise business, a franchisor must embark on a thorough interview process when choosing the right franchisee.

In the same way, it is also important that a franchisee chooses the right franchisor to grow professionally and enjoy the benefits of a strong brand reputation, which can lead to an increase in customers, generation of greater revenues, and more business opportunities for the franchisee and franchisor.

After you have chosen the franchise that you’d like to join, you must consider the next processes.

Conduct Thorough Research on the Franchise

It is important to conduct nuanced research on the franchise to stand out amongst other applicants and to understand the vision, mission, and other relevant information of the franchise. As there are several ways to know a franchise better, you should consider these important steps in your research process:

Getting insights from franchise events

Attending franchise events - like expos and shows - will give you basic knowledge of relevant information you need to know regarding the franchise you have chosen in your locality.

Visit the franchise’s website

Another way of getting relevant information is to visit the website of the franchise. There is a lot of knowledge you can acquire about the leadership and management of the franchise through its website. You can have access to the ‘about us’ page to know more about the establishment and history of the brand.

Consult the franchisees

Talking to other franchisees is important, as you get an authentic reflection of what you're getting yourself into. You can do this by giving questionnaires to around 10 franchisees to understand their experiences (both positive and negative) to make a more informed decision.

Developing Experience in Your Industry

As a potential franchisee, you have to prove that you understand what you are getting into to convince the franchisor that you will run the unit effectively. For some brands, having industry experience is not a pre-requisite, but it will give you an advantage over other applications.

You can develop experience through the process of interacting with professionals and experts in the field. Your interaction with them gives you relevant information and knowledge that you may not be able to acquire from the internet. You should demonstrate a willingness to learn by seeking support from experts to prove to your franchisor that you're competent.

Anticipating the Application Process

Through the franchise application, the franchisors get to know the franchisees that best fit their system. To qualify as a potential franchisee, you must understand how to make your application more captivating and informative.

You must include what you have and why you think you can contribute to the success of the franchise, including how you will be committed to its development.

After you have filled in the application and you have ascertained that it is good enough to convince the franchisor, you will then submit the application. You’ll likely fill in an online application, and, depending on the franchise, you may be called to meet with representatives for a formal presentation or interview after you have successfully applied.

Preparing for the interview is an integral (but often stressful) process.

You’ll need to prepare properly for the interview to stand out amongst other applicants and to convince the franchisor that you are the best candidate for them.

Select a smart outfit and show the franchisor that you are ready to take on this challenge by preparing honest answers to their questions. Some examples of these questions are:

• What made you choose this franchise?
• What are your plans for the success of the franchise?
• Do you know any franchisees that are unhappy? Why?
• What profits can I expect in your first, second and third year?

You should prove to the franchisor that you have the skills and experience necessary to ensure the success of the franchise.

You’ll also need to get your referrals ready to respond. You must inform the referrals to be ready if they are contacted to avoid wasting time. It’s crucial to maintain close communication with your referrals.

Some Helpful Examples

It is essential to know how a franchise application looks and how to answer important questions asked by the franchisor before applying. Here, we’ll give some examples of franchise applications from top franchises in Canada.

Tim Hortons

Tim Hortons is known to be one of the most famous restaurants in Canada. Tim Hortons franchise application form is divided into sections and each section contains information to be filled in and questions to be answered. These are contact information, personal information, background and relationship, experience, education, business interest, and so on.

Subway

Subway is another famous fast food restaurant franchise in Canada. Its franchise application form is also divided into sections. These are personal information, spouse's personal information, education background, business information, financial information.

Elements that Make a Successful Application

For you to have a successful application and to convince the franchisor that you are the prospective candidate they are looking for, you must make sure that the following elements are clearly articulated in your application:

• The interest and contributions you will add to the success of the franchise.
• How you'll fund the franchise and go over all the lending agreements you plan to use.
• The experience and background knowledge you possess as a competent franchisee.
• The leadership skills you have in managing the franchise business.
• Your commitment to the success of the franchise.

How to Fund Your Franchise Journey

To successful run a franchise business – particularly in the beginning, there must be adequate funding for the business. That is why it is important to generate funds for your franchise. There are several ways of generating funds to purchase a franchise, but the most common can either be through business loans or small business grants (if you want to fund specific areas of the franchise). If you are considering a business loan, ensure that you understand the following:

• Evaluate how much you’ll need to buy the business.
• Check your credit strength to know if taking out the loan won't lead to bankruptcy and hurt your business.
• Consider the requirements of the loan if you're eligible.
• Gather the required documents for the loan.
• Apply for the loan, and ensure you remain responsible with your borrowing.

Onwards and Upwards – Toward the Franchise Agreement

It’s important for you to thoroughly prepare for the franchise application and interview, highlighting how your personality, skills and objectives will contribute to the growth and prosperity of the franchise.

Once you’ve gone through this process, your next step will be the franchise agreement. We’ll go through this document in detail in our next guide.

If case you need more help and support, you can contact us.