Q&A

Q. What do franchisors look for in a franchisee?

Nigel Toplis, Managing Director of ComputerXplorers and Recognition Express

A: Franchising is a powerful blend of the best elements of ‘big’ and ‘small’ businesses. It is an effective mixture of conformity and individuality allowing the franchisee the opportunity to build a genuine business and a capital asset whilst diligently following the proven systems laid down by the franchisor.
Good franchising is a marriage of two parties with different skill sets but with a common purpose – business development.

To this end franchisors look for a high work ethic, ambition, people skills (good communicators), willingness to follow a proven system and good organisational ability – plus specific skills that relate to their own particular business/industry – these may include IT, sales, marketing, education and finance.

However, in my experience the specific skills are less important than work ethic, people skills and organisational ability – as the franchisor will be training the specific skills required to run their system. If a franchisee doesn’t have the right ethos then no matter how good the training they will almost certainly be unsuitable for life as a franchisee.

Andy Knights
Head of Business Development at LighterLife
A: Finding a franchisee with everything a franchisor needs is a rarity, instead it is more about providing the franchisee with the means to develop the full range of skills required to run a successful franchise.

A franchisor needs to identify the skills and qualities that they require from their franchisees and use this as a basis in which to accept or reject applications. Whether it is business flair or past experience, once these fundamental areas have been established selecting franchisees becomes a lot easier. It should never be just about accepting people with the necessary funding.

Each franchise is unique and therefore what they are looking for in a franchisee differs vastly, just as what a potential franchisee is looking for from a franchisor is different in each individual case.  

However, ultimately all franchisees need to have the passion,
drive and desire to run their own business. Ambition, excellent communication skills, planning and time management skills and willingness to work hard are just some of the skills that franchisors look for, but what is absolutely essential is a strong desire to succeed.