Click here to listen to our latest Podcast on franchisee support systems advice for trades and service-based business owners considering franchising.

When it comes to franchising trades and service-based businesses, remember to Keep your decision-making firmly grounded in the reality that franchising is all about people. It’s no coincidence that one of the first things we do is profile our client’s ideal franchisees. We start by getting an understanding of who they are at a human level, such as age range personal circumstances, previous roles, skill sets and values. A great way to look at this is to think about good employees you have had and their traits.

To attract the right franchisees to your business, you should approach the support you provide to franchisees by addressing areas they won't likely be confident or skilled. This will provide a more appealing franchise model as it will allay potential fears, which will largely be based on their own knowledge gaps. So, I will run through some areas you might centralise in your model that could make it more appealing to franchisees.

1. Administration tasks such as customer billing – Head Office would handle all client invoicing on behalf of the franchisee, including collection and disbursement. This will also help with cashflow, and head office deducts royalties and other fees from payments to franchisees, reducing another task for them

2. Think about Providing a call centre service for franchisees. Often in service-based franchises, it simply isn’t possible for franchisees to answer their phones every time. This can frustrate customers and often result in lost leads and sales.

3. Marketing is a function not many people understand or have any experience in, aside from starting a Facebook page, so for a new franchisee who hasn’t run their own business before, this is often a big concern when buying a franchise. Ensuring you make marketing simple and straightforward for franchisees is important.

4. Lead generation and qualifying. Providing franchisees with qualified leads and customer enquiries to follow up and quote can be a very attractive model feature for franchisees. In this scenario, all marketing is directed to a central head office number or website and passed on to franchisees once the enquiry is qualified.

    By setting up your franchise to cater to your franchisee's strengths and weaknesses, you will build a much stronger model with a higher appeal to more potential franchisees.