Franchisors Need to Manage Their Brokers

As more franchisors turn to franchise brokers to assist in their franchise development program, it is important that brokers are properly managed. Contrary to the hype, the majority of brokers are marketing franchises from their portfolio of franchise opportunities. Because the broker is representing a specific group of franchises, there is a potential problem whereby a broker will “push” a particular franchise. In addition, once the broker has a qualified candidate interested in a franchise, the franchisor needs to take over and do the heavy lifting. In order to maintain control over their brokers, franchisors need to take certain steps:

• Make sure the brokers have a profile of your ideal franchise candidate including key strengths.
• Emphasize the importance of the candidates being financially qualified. You don’t want a broker presenting a marginal candidate.
• Have a list of FAQ’s and responses. This will make the broker’s job easier and avoid possible misunderstandings.
• Brokers need to know which items in the franchise agreement are negotiable and which are non-negotiable.

If you follow these tips, it should provide an opportunity to better manage franchise brokers.