Selling Your New Franchise Concept: How to Get Noticed

Turning your business into a franchise model can be an exciting time. You can’t wait to start selling franchises, and reap the benefits of being a franchisor ….

You are ready to sell franchises if you have done the following:

• Written a complete operations manual
• Have your Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) completed
• Have your franchise opportunity registered properly in all states
• Created your business plan
• Created a profile of your typical franchise owner
• Created your marketing plan
• Hired your franchise sales and operations team

Now it is time to spread the word. Of course, there are 3,000 other franchisors who are trying to find franchisees too. What can you do to help your offering stand out?

You can choose to be different. Look around online and see how other franchisors are marketing their concepts. Is there a pattern? Is it the same old thing? Are other franchisors using traditional advertising methods to get the word out? For instance, are they putting a tile ad in a franchise directory, and hoping that someone with the right profile will click their ad, and turn into a franchisee? That method could work for you, but as a young franchisor, you may want to look at some different, more creative options, like getting involved in Social Media, to help you spread the word. 

One way to get the word out is to start networking on the major Social Media sites. Such as:

• Facebook. I suggest opening up a Facebook account, and putting your profile up. There is a place where you can put in your company information, and your company website address. You can also search for people that you know in and out of the business world. Start building a network.
• LinkedIn. Do the same thing on LinkedIn. You can do start building a network there, too. One advantage of spending some of your time over at LinkedIn is that a lot of job seekers are on the site, and some may have entrepreneurial aspirations.

You need some PR. There are a couple of Public Relations agencies that specialize in Franchise PR, and they have a deep network of media connections. I use Sanderson PR, when I need a major PR push. Another popular Franchise PR firm is Fishman PR.

Lastly, I highly recommend that you start reading and subscribing to some franchise and small business blogs. Once you are comfortable, throw in a few comments on those blogs, but don’t promote your franchise. It takes a while, but you will start to build a network just by commenting on blogs.

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About the Author: Joel Libava is President and Life Changer of Franchise Selection Specialists. He blogs at The Franchise King Blog.