Want to make the highly exclusive Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500? Use these 6 Strategies daily!

You’re funny. You’re smart. You’re a hard worker.

You’re a multi-talented, able to juggle-ten-things-at-a-time, never-gets-tired, won’t-back-down-from-a-challenge, outside of the box thinker who is ready to tackle the world. When it comes down to it, you’re the best franchise person you know!!!!

2017 Top Franchises from Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 List contains a group of tremendously successful franchises! Congrats to each of you for your hard work and your success!!! I LOVED seeing LINE-X ranked as #1 in their category this year (see press release here)! It’s no easy task!!!!!!!

Yes…it’s hard work to build a successful franchise! Harder work still to get on this list. Hardest work of all is GETTING TO THE TOP AND STAYING on this list! Even though there are great products, processes and people in so many franchises, what is that separates the good…from the GREAT???

I’m a professional assassin of the average, ordinary and mediocre mindsets and have consistently worked with extremely successful franchises (including LINE-X). Based on my personal experience and extensive study, there is a replicable pattern in each of the best of the best franchises! It’s simple really…

It’s the basics. Do them well and do them often. It’s having well defined systems and processes, it’s having consistent and relevant products, and it’s about having AMAZING, INCREDIBLE PEOPLE on your team!!! Here are some other strategies I see the winners doing!

Don’t bunt. DO Swing big and go for the fences. Aim for the stars! Be the BEST!!

Your franchises are depending on you, not the other way around! If you allow yourself to take shortcuts or present a less than compelling product or service, then you’ve failed. As an entrepreneur, business leader or executive, you simply cannot afford to be mediocre or average. If you cannot achieve excellence on your own, then you should hire someone who can!

Business leaders who ignore research are more dangerous than military advisors who ignore the input of their soldiers from the front lines!

You cannot have a successful franchise unless you know:

•  Who you’re selling to

•  Why they need your product or service

•  How that person thinks

•  What you have that aligns with what that person needs

If you haven’t done your research, then you’re simply faking it, and it’s that type of mindset that gets business leaders in trouble! We need to sell to people who want our products and are already buying. Too many franchises attempt to create a need for the marketplace instead of delivering what the market wants.

To have a great franchise, you need to understand your audience better than anyone else, so that you know how you can best serve them. You have to be real, relevant, timely. Nothing else will do.

Your franchises are not idiots or morons. They are your best friend!!! Don’t insult their intelligence and don’t make it hard for them to do business with you!

Speaking on behalf of franchises everywhere, as great as your product may be, speaking down to your audience is DEFINITELY going to turn them away!!! As much as you’d love them to be infatuated with your charming pitch, understand that, at the end of the day, they simply want your product or service to solve a problem for them. They want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They want to be a part of your success. They want to provide for their families.

Treat your franchises with respect, dignity, and excellence!!! Make them do more than tolerate you…make them actually like and respect you!!! Turn your franchises into RAVING FANS!!! And while you think you’re on equal footing, always remember you need the franchises to be successful so that you can be successful. Get (and keep) a servant heart in your business to be truly successful!

How are you spending your time and and using your resources? The reality is we waste a LOT of energy on tasks and events that don’t bring a lot of return.

For example, in marketing your product or service, you should spend 80% of your efforts on one simple question. Before someone decides to buy from you, they want to know one thing:

WHY???

Why is the product important? Why is it a good deal? Why should they be interested? Why should they buy it from you? Why should they buy it now, rather than later? Why should they trust you?

Consciously or subconsciously, all of those questions are going through a franchisee’s head. If you want them to act, you need to answer them, and you need to do it in a way that is relevant and timely to your franchise. Spend 80% of your efforts on the right things and you will get maximum results!

The main thing? DO YOUR BEST TO MAKE THE FRANCHISEE SUCCESSFUL!

This is a simple fact and pure truth. If you want people to buy more franchises, you need them to see your culture, products or services in their lives and be able to envision how a franchise will improve their lives. Everything else is secondary. If you can awe them with your words, videos, or pictures in the process, fine, but don’t do it at the expense of the Franchisee. Don’t overcomplicate things. KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!! MAKE THE FRANCHISEE SUCCESSFUL!!!!!!

MARCH 2, 2007: “HELLO, Hello, How ya doin’, Bon Jour”

For many, this was a life-changing event that started with a simple commercial. There was a new product being announced called an “iPhone”. It promised an easy-to-use tool that would be both fun and intuitive. And they were right!!! Whether or not you like Apple, Apple took an old product, and made it extremely relevant. In doing so, Apple changed our lives forever!!!

In order to avoid going the way of the dinosaur, you HAVE to remain relevant! This is NOT AN OPTION!!!! You MUST be relevant in today’s fast paced, rapidly changing world!!! Apple continues to demonstrate this simple, yet powerful concept in that a company has to pursue…and deliver…excellence daily!!! You must do the same to be truly successful!!!!

You have to nurture them, grow them, help them develop and fight for it during tough times. You have to keep continually demonstrate excellence in order to see them fully mature. If you take care of your franchisees now, they will take care of you later on!!!

NOW WHAT?

If there was ever a time to differentiate your franchise and STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD, it is NOW! In today’s world, where change happens faster than the click of a mouse, franchises want the strategies, leadership and technology that will empower them to tackle our crazy 24/7 world so they can: Increase sales. Be better leaders. Attract more customers. Manage change. Maximize productivity. Maintain Integrity. Communicate effectively. Stay healthy. Enjoy life more along the way. And….experience more success than they ever thought possible.

Many Franchises are brilliant with products and processes, and are less skilled at leading people. I help franchises with powerhouse strategies that will increase your profits, sales, customer base and good will, while engaging employees for maximum success and peak performance.

Is your franchise performing the way you want it to? Are you committed to the highest levels of excellence in every aspect of your franchise? Are you leading with a warrior spirit and a servant heart? Are you relevant? Are you making the sales you need to be making?

If not, give me a call or drop me an email. No pressure…just a brief honest conversation about how to get the BEST results possible from yourself and your team!

Here’s to your massive success and I hope to see you on the Top 500 someday!!!