Several attributes can give you an edge if you’re considering a master franchise. Establishing a perfect master franchisee means involving a buyer whose profile, plans, and goals align with your organization’s international plans.
The success of a franchise significantly depends on how the business is run by the transacting parties–the franchisor and franchisee. However, drafting a master franchisee contract can simplify the management of a franchise because it specifies the crucial aspect required to make the franchise a success, such as duties, obligations, expectations, and others.
Key Traits to watch out for When Recruiting a Master Franchisee
A franchisor should watch out for the following traits when recruiting or interviewing a prospective investor–master franchisee.
1. Knowledge of the Business or Industry
Recruiting a master franchisee who has an idea or knowledge about your business or industry you operate in can increase the chance of success. For instance, if your business deals with heavy machinery, you might prefer an experienced engineer to a person who doesn’t have an engineering background. Although lack you’ll train the qualifying candidate after recruitment, onboarding a knowledgeable candidate is easier and will enable faster growth of the business.
2. A Person who Understands Franchising
Remember the master franchisee will effectively become a franchisor in their country or new market–meaning they’ll be responsible to recruit, train, monitor, and motivating new franchisees. Consequently, the process of establishing a master franchise and growing it can be smooth if a prospective buyer has a basic understanding.
3. Networking
It’s not easy to succeed in business, more so in franchising, without a good network of clients, suppliers, financiers, and professionals who can help your business grow and thrive. For instance, the master franchisee will undoubtedly need various services, such as legal, financial, and more for a smooth start. It will be easier for them (buyers) if they are well connected with service providers like financiers, lawyers, advertising companies, and others.
4. Reliable Management Team
The success of a business (master franchisee) can be determined by its management or management team. A management team with a good reputation, track record, and experience in the business is essential. It’s therefore important to ensure that the qualifying candidate can form a reliable management team in the new outlet.
5. Familiarity with Legislations and Customs in the Target Market
Legislations and customs in different countries or markets can vary and that’s why a prospective buyer should be familiar with the target market’s laws & regulations, practices, traditions, or customs. Understanding “how things are done here” is one of the vital attributes of a reliable master franchisee.
6. Negotiating Skills
The franchisor’s style of operating the business might not be applicable in the target market, which could contribute to the failure of the business before it even takes off. However, there might be a good reason why the master franchisee needs to stick with the franchisor’s style. A master franchisee with good negotiating can help the business by explaining to stakeholders why the business is run or operated in a certain way.
7. A Sound Business Development Strategy
A prospective master franchisee should be able to explain how such franchised businesses operate in their home countries and the growth potential. The information given should be used to develop a realistic growth strategy to be incorporated into the franchise agreement.
8. Patience
One of the biggest concerns when starting a franchise is when the business will start making money. The best way to evaluate performance realistically is by looking at the performance history of successful franchises in the target sector. However, you must always remember that different factors can the performance of a business and impact your journey to profitability. Patience should be a key virtue to look out for when interviewing a prospective candidate.
Research shows that being patient, committed to the business, and recruiting well can be worth the effort, profiting a new franchise in the long term. Patience must be exercised daily when interacting with all stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers, and others.
9. Willing to learn
A good master franchisee should be willing to learn and open to change and corrective feedback. Successful franchisees take corrections positively thereby avoiding similar mistakes in the future and achieving efficiency and profitability.
Any franchisor would want to work with a franchisee who can achieve and maintain profitability–meaning the right candidate must be willing to learn and ask for support when stuck.
10. Entrepreneurial Spirit
Besides having good business skills, you should be ambitious if you expect to succeed and grow your franchised business. Although franchisors simply most aspects of a franchise, the master franchisee must be enterprising to promote the growth of their designated franchise units.
The characteristics of a successful master franchisee include business acumen, financial awareness, and patience among others–continuous self-assessment can help a master franchisee achieve the desired results.