What Makes a Successful Franchisor
Over many years of providing outsourced bookkeeping services to franchisors and their franchisees, we have discovered that certain characteristics are required for a franchisor to be great.
Not all successful entrepreneurs make excellent franchisors—it takes a special skill set and personality type to run a truly successful franchise.
In our experience guiding franchisors in financial recordkeeping practices that lead to well-informed business decisions, we have identified 10 super powers that every franchisor needs.
10 Ingredients for Being a Successful Franchsior
1. Passion
A good franchisor needs to be able to inspire their team of franchisees, as well as the customers who are buying the product or service. Enthusiasm and passion, paired with a belief in the values and goals of the business, can cascade down the chain.
2. Supportiveness
The signing of the franchise agreement is just the beginning of your relationship with the franchisee. Good franchisors know the value of investing in ongoing support and training for their team. They listen to stay in touch with what the group needs from management.
3. Communication Skills
A great franchisor will be able to communicate the vision for the brand to the franchise team and model two-way communication.
In addition to being able to initiate communication, a good franchisor will also be open to receiving feedback. A franchisor who ignores feedback is being short-sighted. Franchisees working on the front lines often provide valuable information about
- What’s working and what isn’t
- What’s profitable and what isn’t
Capturing this information and acting on it is critical to the long-term success of the brand.
3. Openness
A good franchisor is open about
- Any hurdles the business has or may face
- How the brand can adapt to challenges
- How the brand has learned from its mistakes
- Business developments
- How business developments may impact franchisees
4. Adaptability
In today’s world, business is changing faster than ever. Consumers are fickle, new trends pop up suddenly, and competitors show up out of nowhere. A good franchisor is always looking forward to see how the brand and its products and services are going to need to pivot. This is where financial forecasting and timely financial reports can come into play — when a franchisor has access to up-to-date bookkeeping information from their franchisees, they are better able to spot trends and adapt to market changes.
5. Gratitude
A great franchisor nurtures a positive culture, values the contributions of each team member and shows appreciation regularly.
6. Leadership
The person at the top of the business needs determination and resilience to lead. It’s also important that the franchisor be visible to their franchisees and inspire them from their own experiences, rather than dispense orders and demands from afar. Franchisees are much more likely to perform well when they feel connected to brand the person leading them.
7. Ability to Get Personal
As a franchise network grows, it becomes more and more difficult for the franchisor to keep in close touch with every franchisee. But doing so pays dividends. Personal site visits go a long way toward maintaining bonds with the team. These visits say, “You matter. I care about you.” During the time on-site, the leader can gain insights by reading the atmosphere and interacting with franchisees and their employees.
8. Collaboration
A good franchisor believes in and models collaboration, both internal and external. This means:
- They know the benefits of franchisees working.
- They also know the value of collaborating with industry leaders outside the brand to help keep it relevant and advancing. This may include partnering with outside collaborators to outsource bookkeeping, marketing, and other core business tasks when it will serve the brand.
9. Operating in a bubble doesn’t work today.
To be great, a franchisor must understand the critical nature of a strong franchisor-franchisee relationship. A team of franchisees is not only a way to expand the brand; it’s also a talented pool of people to respect, value, and trust.
A tight team gives you an opportunity to share experiences, advice and best practices, as well as support one another on the business journey. When you work to foster a spirit of collaboration on your franchisee team, you’re much more likely to experience shared growth and success.
10. Ability to Seek Help
A franchisor can’t be everything to everyone all the time. It makes sense to outsource tasks that don’t contribute to revenue, like payroll, bookkeeping and tax accounting. BookWerksTM specializes in meeting the unique bookkeeping needs of franchises.