What Questions Should I Ask Established Franchisees About Their Businesses?

Talking to existing franchisees has always been the most important part of recruitment process research and while they may be understandably cautious about giving exact financial details for their business, it’s always worth asking about turnover and profitability.

However, I’d be more inclined to answer open questions about how well the franchisor supports their franchisees, what is the overall state of morale within the network, how well and how often do franchisees get together and so on.

Above all, did the franchisor fulfil the promises it made during the recruitment process, how accurate were the financial models that may have been provided and how effective was the initial on boarding and training process?

Then look to the future and ask about how they see the network developing, is there mileage in the sector and how well positioned is the franchisor to take advantage of new opportunities.

One important point to make is that it’s no longer necessary only to contact those franchisees whose contact details the franchisor gives you. Social media and websites enable you to track down just about any of a network’s current franchisees.

It may even be possible to find some ex-franchisees to contact to find out why they left the network.

Brian Duckett is chairman of The Franchising Centre, part of the world’s largest network of specialist franchise consultants.