Five of the most important focus points in year 1 as a franchisee

With more than 1,000 franchise opportunities in the UK , careful research is essential to find the one that best suits you. A franchise is a big commitment, typically five or 10 years, sometimes more, so you need to know you have a business partner you can rely on and trust in your franchisor.

There’s plenty of information out there on ‘things to know before becoming a franchisee’. But what about the things you should know AFTER you’ve become one?!

Often, there are things you wouldn’t consider; what’s important is that your franchisor has already considered them for you, and has proven steps in place to keep your business development on track.

Here are five key elements to be aware of, based on our years of experience supporting franchisees.

Following up leads

Most franchisors will provide you with new customer leads, either directly through head office or via the proven systems they have in place to help you gain them yourself (or a mix of both).

However, those leads won’t convert themselves.

You can have thousands of leads but if you don’t get in touch with them quickly, the chances of converting them into sales becomes less and less as time goes on.

We’re constantly analysing our branches’ sales techniques, and assisting them in improving conversion rates so that they can turn more leads into paying customers.

We are always willing to provide additional training and assistance in this area as requested, which leads nicely onto my second point…

Ask for help

We always get slightly nervous if a franchisee goes dark on us after their doors open. That’s because we know it’s a time when there should be lots of questions as they settle into their new venture and build confidence in every aspect of their business.

Growing a TWS business to reach £500K+ turnover with strong profit margins is a journey, so remember that in a franchise, you’re not doing it alone.

We have our dedicated team of support staff in place to assist with any query, from a technical process to business development and everything else in-between. Use them: they know how to help, and it’s one of the best parts of being a franchisee.

Sales techniques

Whether its B2B or B2C, nothing works unless you do! We have a very strong website and social media presence to provide you with a substantial number of leads day in, day out… but it’s up to you to turn them into sales and profits.

For some franchisees, sales is one of their biggest concerns. But you don’t need a sales background to succeed with TWS because of the processes we have in place to support you.

We have telephone recording software built into the franchise which makes improving sales technique extremely easy. We’re big on training you in lead follow-up because we have the data to show how much it matters: the right follow-ups can give conversion rates of 45-54%. Having quoted more than £30m in work across the TWS network in 2020, it’s obvious how important this is!

Going out and getting trade work from local dealers is equally as important as it accounts for 40-60% of the work our network do. Although we provide national account work once you’re established and ready for it [subject to location], there is always a wealth of local automotive businesses ready to be wowed by The Wheel Specialist.

We also put you through an intense ‘on the road’ multi-day course with an existing franchisee who has proven themselves in the field of obtaining and keeping high level trade accounts.

Prioritising

There are two key elements of the TWS business model: front of house/sales, and technical operations i.e. the management of the workshop.

We know both are as important as each other: if your team don’t do good technical work, you won’t have returning customers; if you don’t manage front of house/sales, you wont book anyone in to be able to do any work!

Especially if you’re practical and love cars, it’s very easy here to almost bury your head in the sand and focus on the workshop side of the business. This can work well for a short time while your and our marketing efforts yield results… but you’ll see an eventual decline in sales if the business development side is ignored.

Front of house and sales & marketing must be focused on just as much as the quality checks on technical work. This ensures you have a steady stream of new customers… and by keeping your technical side up to standard utilising our systems, you will keep a steady flow of return and referral customers.

Fear of overbooking

In franchising, marketing is a two-way street, with efforts from both the franchisee and franchisor. On occasion we’ve seen franchisee sales & marketing activities being postponed because a franchisee may have sufficient work in at that time, leading to a fear of overbooking.

Something we cover over and over again during your training is that active marketing needs to be consistent throughout the year. It needs to cover for any quieter periods, with the aim of a constant flow of hot leads ready to be converted.

Combining local marketing efforts employed by the franchisee with national marketing campaigns and brand-building by the franchisor, you will yield significant results. In 2020 our reach on Facebook alone was 6 million people, all interested in the service you are providing!

Our marketing team work alongside you to create a bespoke marketing plan for you and your territory that spans across the year and can be tailored to your goals and preferences.

Summary

Your first year in business, franchising or not, is always going to be a massive learning curve. Make sure you partner up with a brand that recognises any common start up mis-steps and has proven resolutions and training in place to deal with any situation that arises.

Any franchisor who tells you it’s all smooth sailing from the get go is probably not painting a true picture. Here at The Wheel Specialist our priority is your success – after all, we’re only successful when you are – and we’re prepared to assist you in any way possible to ensure you keep on track to achieve your goals and ambitions.