How to Work With Franchise Brokers

Whether you’ve already franchised your business or you’re just starting to think about it, you’ll need to address one major issue: how to find prospective franchisees who are sufficiently qualified to represent your brand well. The people whom you sign as franchisees will be responsible for the growth of your company and your brand’s reputation in localized areas, so it’s important to choose wisely.

In order to find qualified leads, you may choose to work with a franchise broker. Let’s take a closer look at the franchisor-broker relationship and some best practices to facilitate successful outcomes for your brand.

Understanding the Franchise Broker Relationship

A franchise broker’s role is predominantly one of lead generation and lead qualification. These industry experts find franchisee prospects, verify their qualifications, and connect them to relevant franchisors. 

Essentially, it’s like a match-making service for franchise businesses. When evaluating franchisors, here’s what franchise brokers are looking for:

• Competent management with a commitment to transparency
• Financial track record (for established franchises)
• Specific documents and data (e.g., Franchise Disclosure Document, EBITDA calculations, etc.)
• Trustworthiness and accountability

Are you still figuring out how to transform your business into a franchise and have little to show to a franchise broker? Not to worry. Pinnacle Franchise Development can help you shape and grow your franchise with our expert consulting services.

Not every broker is right for every franchisor. What should franchisors look for in a franchise broker? Here’s a look:

• Industry-specific knowledge and franchise-related experience
• Strong track record of successful matches
• Well-defined process for qualifying leads and matching them
• Good network of franchisee leads

One of the advantages of working with Pinnacle is that you won’t have to worry about finding and choosing a broker. We already have a robust network of trusted franchise brokers at your disposal. We will work with you to strategize which group is the right fit for your brand and budget. Then we’ll assist in the onboarding process with each group that is selected.

Best Practices for Working With Franchise Brokers

Although the role of a franchise broker is to connect franchisee prospects to franchisors, it’s important to remember that they are an independent third party in this process. This means that if they don’t feel confident in the qualifications of the lead or the viability and suitability of the franchise, they won’t connect the two.

In other words, as the franchisor, it’s your responsibility to convince franchise brokers that your brand can be a great match for qualified leads who are interested in purchasing a franchise in your particular niche.

Follow these best practices:

• Develop professional marketing materials. Just like everyone else, franchise brokers don’t appreciate spam. However, they will definitely appreciate professional-looking and informative marketing materials that provide plenty of details about the brand.
• Encourage open communication. Follow up with franchise brokers via their provided contact information and consider connecting with them on professional platforms, such as LinkedIn. Let them know that you’re always available to answer questions or address concerns.
• Provide resources and be transparent. Above all, brokers need to know that they can trust your brand; they don’t want to steer franchisees wrong. Go the extra mile to provide all of the tools and resources the broker needs to understand your brand and how your business operates.

It’s also important, especially for new or emerging franchisors, to have a well-developed brand story that encompasses your vision for your brand’s future. Create lots of transparent, informative content, and make sure the broker knows you’re interested in long-term success—not a quick sale.

Work With an Established Franchise Development Company

At Pinnacle Franchise Development, our team of franchise experts has more than 40 years of combined experience in the industry. Our network of trusted franchise brokers can enable you to take the guesswork out of finding qualified franchisee prospects.

By turning to our experienced professionals to handle the heavy lifting for you, you can focus more on the day-to-day operations of your franchise business. In addition, our franchise consulting services will help you improve your brand so that it attracts highly qualified candidates.

Contact us today and request a consultation to discuss how our franchise development company can elevate your brand. We’re pleased to work with established and emerging franchises alike.