Franchise Talk

Boosting Year-End Franchise Sales

November 20th, 2008 | Author: Jack

Sales pros offer tips and tactics for closing out 2008

On the Friday morning after Congress voted down the first, “unsweetened” $700 billion bailout package–and with credit frozen and the lending climate getting icier by the hour–franchise sales executives at Franchise Update’s Leadership & Development Conference put their heads together in a Friday morning “mindshare” session to brainstorm answers to some tough questions on what they’re doing to make sales.

No matter what the economic environment, franchisors still must sell franchises if they are to grow and thrive. To do that, the majority of franchisees must be able to borrow, whether to start up or to expand existing operations. But with credit and lending frozen, nobody can borrow. So what’s a franchisor to do?

That’s exactly what Tom Wood asked more than three dozen franchise owners and sales executives in Chicago in late September. Wood, president and CEO of Floor Coverings International, asked attendees to answer the following question as they approached the last quarter of 2008:

“As a group, what are one or two things you can do right now to drive more results in the next 12 weeks?” Here’s what they had to say.

1) Work with lenders

1. This includes lining up financing in advance–and staying in touch with lenders as their requirements change. As the economic environment shifts like sand under their feet, bankers may cut back on lending to a specific industry segment (QSR, for example), or to a specific brand if its sales decline. Just because you had an agreement with a banker or lender in October doesn’t mean it will be there when a franchisee shows up for a loan in November or December–whether to open their first unit or to add a second, third, or fourth unit.

2. Prepare lender packages that franchisees can take to the bank. Bankers like certainty and security–especially nowadays. Equipping franchisees with a solid report on your concept’s finances makes it easier for lenders to say yes–and provides your franchisee with added confidence throughout the borrowing/lending process.

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