I have been approached by a franchise broker on behalf of a franchisor. Should I go through them?

It’s always preferable for a franchisee to deal directly with the franchisor during the purchase of a franchise, as their pre-contractual meetings are laying the foundation for a possible long-term relationship. The franchisor is best positioned to explain the proposition to a franchisee. The franchisor will understand the motivation and concerns of the prospective franchisee about to go into business on his own. There is a danger if the franchisor uses a broker that the broker would not know the franchise business and the franchisor may not know the broker well enough to rely on his judgement as to the suitability of franchisees. From the franchisee’s point of view, if initial screening is carried out by a franchise broker he will not get experience of meeting franchisors, allowing him to judge whether he could work with them based on their personal approach and management styles. It is always vital that a prospective franchisee talks to a franchisor personally and other franchisees in the network before he makes a decision on whether or not to purchase a franchise.