Just this week, my phone rang twice with a question I’m hearing more and more. Franchisors want to know, “How do we generate leads in small markets?” For whatever reason, this seems to be the hot topic of the week.  Well, it just so happens I know a little bit about this, as I spent 14 punishing months on the road hitting hotspots like Bowling Green, KY; Billings, MT; and Waco, TX.  I learned a ton, and here’s what I know for sure:

• Uncle Joe needs to vouch for you. Once you identify a target market, reach out to three key members of the community: The Banker, The Commercial Real Estate Broker, and The Mayor. As you begin to work leads in this market, candidates will reach out to their friends and relatives for feedback. The more you can network in the community, the more successful you’ll be.
• Farm (no pun intended) a location. Candidates in small markets know the area inside and out. By identifying a prime location, you establish yourself as an expert and give the candidate a clear vision of where their business is going to be. Oftentimes, you can work together with the landlord to hang an “own your own (insert your name) franchise here” banner. I’m always surprised how effective this lead-generating tool can be.
• Sunday afternoons are still about lemonade and reading the Sunday paper. As a result, half-page newspaper ads are an effective way to generate leads. Tailor your creative to the audience and leverage the prime location you’ve secured. Make sure to pepper the ad with franchisee testimonials from other small town markets.
• Like molasses in winter. Know that candidates in small- to mid-size markets take their time evaluating a business opportunity. Adjust your sales cycle and allow the candidates to establish a pace that is comfortable for them.
• Look ‘em in the eyes: If you are serious about developing smaller markets, make the time to visit candidates face to face. No only will it give you credibility, it will reinforce the support they can expect from their Franchisor.

Interested in learning how Frandeavor can help you generate leads? Contact Christine@Frandeavor.com.

Tags: franchise development, franchise lead generation, franchise sales
Posted in Franchise Lead Generation

Why? Simply put, because they hit the road.  Hitting the road and presenting your franchise sales opportunity in designated markets is the single most effective way to generate leads and close deals in target markets.  Couple of key benefits:

• Controlled growth: Where you grow is as important as when you grow and how fast. More often than not, franchisors award franchises where they have leads. This results in opening franchises in B & C markets before major markets are mastered. Ultimately, pulling down average unit volumes in exchange for minor top line sales growth.
• Looking a candidate in the eye: Even in today’s world of social media, blogs, and interactive websites, candidates still buy franchises from people they like and trust. Showing up in a market builds creditability and creates trust between the sales person and the candidate.
• Sense of Urgency: Using the seminar strategy to present a limited number of opportunities to a room full of candidates creates a sense of urgency as candidates petition to be awarded the prime locations.

Having executed hundreds of franchise sales seminars, the FRANDEAVOR team can assist you in all aspects of planning a franchise sales show. Contact us today at Christine@frandeavor.com or call 949-498-2611.

Tags: franchise development, franchise lead generation, franchise sales
Posted in Franchise Lead Generation

Yesterday I sat down to sketch out a lead generation plan for a small start up franchisor. With a small monthly budget, I found myself having to reallocate dollars originally intended for SEO/SEM.  Since leads generated by the franchisors website are far more qualified than other lead sources, I found myself asking, “How can I still focus on SEO without allocating significant dollars”?  After looking back at what FRANDEAVOR has achieved for Snipits.com (44% increase in website traffic), I focused in on the following tactics:

1. Internet Press Releases – Submit monthly press releases to webwire.com. Webwire will push the press release out to multiple PR and news websites for indexing. A couple of things to remember in drafting your press release: content needs to be news worthy, include target key words, and link key words back to your website.
2. Blogs – Add a blog to your website. Each blog posting adds to the number of website pages reviewed by the search engines. The more blogs you post incorporating your target key words the better your optimization. In addition, you can reuse blog content for article submissions on industry sites. Make sure to include a bio and a link back to your website.
3. Social Media – Trying to get your arms around social media can be challenging at best. It’s easy to feel like you are running all over the place without any direction. Think of Social Media as a branding tool. It’s an extension of your brand – just like the sign on the front of your building. Create profiles on facebook, twitter, and LinkedIn with key brand information including photos, website address, and up-to date content.
4. Participate in Media Sites: Remember the more times your URL is posted out in the World Wide Web in the same context as your key words, the higher your website will rank.  YouTube and Google Video are great sites to post newsworthy video supporting your brand. If you aren’t comfortable with a video recorder, post a PowerPoint slideshow to slideshare.com. (Hint: use stats, graphs, and lots of photos in your presentation). Tag all of the above with your key words and URL.

To quote an over used cliché, “boot-strap SEO… less than $300, seeing your website on the first page of a Google search… priceless!”

Interested in having FRANDEAVOR take a look at your lead generation or franchise sales process? Contact Christine@frandeavor.com or 949-498-2611 for a free consultation.

Tags: franchise development, franchise lead generation, franchise sales
Posted in Franchise Lead Generation

This month I took on a special lead generation project for a major sub franchise (for those of you who know me, yes it is the same major sub franchise that I gave the better part of a decade to).  Our goal was pretty simple, generate as many leads as possible, stay on budget, and oh yeah try and come up with something new.

With my proposal in hand, I went to one of the major franchise portals. (No, I didn’t actually have to speak to the devil to get an appointment).  Working with a web portal is about as far from “new” as I could get.  However, I took advantage of a new service many of them are offering: an opportunity to send an email blast to their database. Using the portals database of prospects, I sent out an exclusive offer to 120,000 prospect email addresses.  Huge results!  The email blast yielded over 1000 leads within a week.

Couple of things to keep in mind in a portal email blast:

1. Confirm how many blasts are going out in the month. You may not get a straight answer but you don’t want your blast going out on the heels of another brand.
2. Get everything the portal promises in writing, this is still a new service for most and they don’t have all the terms worked out.
3. Content: the portals are not writers and they aren’t experts on your brand. Stay active in the creative development of both the email content and landing page.

If you are interested in having FRANDEAVOR manage an email blast on your behalf, please call 949-498-2611 for more information.

Tags: franchise development, franchise lead generation, franchise sales
Posted in Franchise Lead Generation

Although web portals continue to be the most cost effective source for franchise lead generation, deep down I am holding out for a campaign that is not only cost effective but also provides a franchise lead that is only looking at my clients brand. When I came across an ‘affiliate’ program, I was a little confused but hopeful.

So to be clear, or as clear as an “affiliate” program can be:

• Websites of all shapes and sizes group together and form a “network”.
• Based on the quality of a franchisor banner ad and landing page, these websites and networks will “opt” to advertise your banner ad on their site for free.
• When a candidate clicks on the banner ad, reviews your landing page, and submits a request for franchise information, you pay a flat cost per lead.
• The cost per lead varies by network. The better your banner ad and landing page are, the lower your cost per lead.
• The averages cost ranges from $35 – $50 per lead.

I am now five weeks into a campaign and have learned a couple of things. First, it takes time for the websites who “opt” in to actually post the banner ads. The first few weeks are slow, with about 10 leads a week. As time goes by, the leads steadily increase to as many as 25 leads a day.

I dislike that I never know exactly what websites are running the ads and I dislike even more that I don’t know which ones are most effective.

However, I love this program because it has little risk. If a banner ad runs 1 million times and no-one request information no harm no foul.

How qualified are these leads? It’s hard to say in at five weeks in. 

-Christine Mudd, founder of FRANDEAVOR

Tags: franchise development, franchise lead generation, franchise sales
Posted in Franchise Lead Generation