Franchise Sales Improvement

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Increasing Franchise Sales

Franchisors occasionally are not able to sell franchises as fast as they need to in order to meet their franchise sales objectives.

The first step in correcting a sales problem is to identify the nature of the problem. This can be done with through the use of the Franchise Sales Audit or, depending on the nature of the problem, through simple statistical analysis.

Depending on the nature of the industry, a franchisor can anticipate that their advertising costs-per-lead will usually run between $100 and $250, sometimes higher. Costs that are too high indicate ineffective marketing, and can be caused by problems related to specific media allocations, media mix, message, timing, or target audience selection. Costs that are too low can also be a problem if they result in large numbers of unqualified leads.

Given the two-step nature of the franchise sales process, the next factor to be examined is conversion to a face-to-face meeting. Depending on the size of the investment and the nature of the franchise concept, this conversion rate should be between 3% and 10% of leads. If your conversion rate is too low, it may involve problems with lead follow-up, marketing materials, or sales techniques. Again, if your rate is too high, you may not be doing an effective job of qualifying franchisees.

Finally, we need to look at the close rate. Close rates may range between 30% and 60% of all prospects who have face-to-face meetings, or between 1% and 2% of all leads received, again depending on the specifics of the franchise in question. Close rates outside of this range generally indicate sales problems which can vary substantially from one salesperson to the next.

The iFranchise Group, with its proprietary diagnostic systems, can help you identify why your sales are slow. And, depending on the nature of the problem, we can help you fix it. In addition to marketing planning and the development of marketing tools, we can act as your sales coach — employing the skills of some of the nation’s foremost franchise sales experts help you achieve your sales goals.

If you have an internal sales force, call us today at 708-957-2300 to see how we can help.