How to Evaluate the Franchsor’s Services and Support

When interviewing different franchisors, each one will inform you of what they offer, how much support you will receive from them and how they will help you operate your franchise business. It all sounds fantastic to you. Except for one thing: How can you verify that a franchisor will actually do all that they have promised to?

Remember, franchisors are evaluating you just as mush as you are evaluating them. You are very wise to investigate and franchisors know you will do so. Therefore, franchisors will want to put their best foot forward when talking with a prospective franchisee.

There are a few ways in which one can evaluate and verify a franchise’s support program.

Firstly, as a potential franchisee, check Item 11 under the heading Franchisor’s Obligations of the UFOC. This item lists the support the franchisor is contractually promising to provide to franchisees. Remember that what is listed in the UFOC is the minimum amount of support they promise to provide. They may do more than they promised. Even still, you should still dig a little deeper in your research to be absolutely certain. Determine whether the level of support during your start-up phase is adequate enough to get you off on the right foot. This includes site development and training for you, your management team and staff as well as build out support.

Secondly, you should ask about the credentials of the support staff. You need to determine if they are professionals and have the necessary experience in their field as well as in the franchisor’s industry. In addition, find out how long they have been with the franchisor and how the franchisor trains their support staff. Franchisors with experienced and professional staff are almost certainly committed to supporting their franchisees.

In addition, remember that a great deal of your regular support will come from the franchisor’s field staff. Set up a time to meet the field manager as soon as possible and try determining answers to questions such as: How much experience does he/she have in operating and managing the franchise business? How often will this person visit me and how does he/she generally help franchisees during these visits? It is also very important that you chat with other franchisees the field manager works with in order to find out more about the field managers level of commitment and the usefulness of his/her advice.

Another step you should take is to visit a few of the franchise businesses and observe how they are run. If there are a few common problems this may signal a larger issue and a few warning signs to you.

In fact, why not work in one of the franchise locations for a few weeks to take a “test drive” of the system provided the franchisor allows it of course? In this way you can fully understand whether the franchisor’s services meet the franchisees’ needs.

When chatting with other as well as former franchisees, find out whether the franchisor has provided the level of support they promised. Be specific and go through each area in which you expect support including training, marketing, advertising, operations and others. In addition, determine the quality of support the franchisor has provided. Ask them about the results of their training program as well as the advertising campaigns.

Also, try to determine where the franchisor is placing their emphasis and investing their resources.

By doing your homework, you can access not only the quantity, but also the quality of support you will receive from the franchisor. Choosing the right franchise is one of the most important decisions you will ever make so do your research thoroughly and be sure!

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