Co-chair of Dwyer Group, Dina Dwyer Owens has over 30 years of franchise experience and has twice been featured on TV’s Undercover Boss. In her latest column, Dina talks about the importance of high-quality and enthusiastic franchisees.
Signing up quality franchisees is essential for building a successful franchise system. Franchise consultant, Mark Siebert, wrote in a recent magazine article, “Franchise sales is not a hunt for the next check. It’s a true screening process through which you’ll identify the best candidates to join your franchise family.”
Picking the right franchisee is not just the person who can afford the franchise, or a person who maybe understands that line of work, or even a person who likes the potential money that can be made as an owner. The best franchisee not only shows interest in the franchise opportunity, but also likes the culture within the business. Do they have a strong understanding and attraction of the overarching values and ethics the company embodies?
Dwyer Group’s Code of Values, with the theme to Live R.I.C.H. following the principles of Respect, Integrity, Customer Focus and Having Fun in the Process, has attracted franchisees over the years to our network who credit not only Dwyer Group’s strong business systems, but also the company culture. And similarly, we have acquired like-minded businesses because they prioritize company culture and a value-driven purpose as well. This has ultimately translated into a rapidly growing organization that is doing more than $1.7 billion in annual system-wide sales around the world.
However, that’s not just the headquarters team talking. It’s also existing franchisees who validate the grassroots experience to a strong pipeline of similar prospects. Those connections are critical to sharing a “day in the life” of the business, both monetarily and culturally. A network of successful and happy franchisees can be your greatest asset when recruiting new franchisees. When franchisees feel respected, engaged and part of a team, they are enthusiastic to be advocates of the company and share their journey with other like-minded individuals.
At the end of the day, we strive to make sure that Dwyer Group’s Code of Values are being lived out on a daily basis. Although it’s not easy and we’re certainly not perfect, rest assured our values are not just a poster hanging above the water fountain, and that is what ultimately drives the right individuals to our business.
