The Franchise King Blog

Franchises For Sale! Huge Savings! Franchise Prices Slashed! Huge Rebates!

2010-02-09T12:25:20-05:00

Will 2010 be remembered as the year franchising as we know it, went totally down the tubes?

Check this out;

In an effort to boost sales of new franchises, a certain franchise coaching company has decided to offer rebates. (If you'd like to know more about coaching franchises, this is a must read.)

I'll say it again. In an effort to boost the sale of new franchises, a franchise coaching company has decided to offer rebates. You know...

Rebates!

When I think of rebates, I think of receiving a $40 rebate from Sears for the installation of my castle's new dishwasher, a couple of years ago. My Mitsubishi Outlander had a $1250 rebate, when I leased it.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mitsubishi_Outlander_Facelift_front.jpg

But rebates for purchasing a franchise?

A children's photography franchise just entered the fray, also. This particular franchisor is giving (for a limited time) a $10,000 rebate of the up-front franchise fee.

As several hundred franchise executives make their way back from the International Franchise Association's Conference that was held over the weekend, I wonder if they'll bring this new rebate bug back with them. Actually, I'm wondering if it will be only a little contagious, or if will turn out to be a fast-spreading virus.

I know that new franchise sales have been impacted by our choppy at best, economy, here in the US. I also know that things of high quality and value shouldn't have to be discounted.

There are other ways to sell. Informational webinars, some well-placed articles in influential places, media interviews, and franchise social media marketing, are just a few ways to get the word out about your concept.

Using rebates as a short-term solution to make a few new franchise unit sales is weak. You may also be creating a long-term problem. Ask yourselves if new franchise candidates are all of a sudden appearing just because of price. If so, are you creating potential problems by allowing them into your system? What kind of franchisees will they turn out to be, two or three years down the line?

Will these price-shopping franchisees turn out to be winners, or losers? If they turn out to be under- performing franchisees, they're not going to validate your system well, and they won't even come close to helping you reach your revenue goals.

" But Joel, what do you expect me to do? I need to sell franchises, and grow my system."

I understand. But don't lower your prices. It's probably not about price, anyway.

Learn about franchising, learn how to select a franchise, and finally, and learn exactly how to research franchises, right here.

Search for franchises, here

My Franchise Business Advice For The Week Of February 8th, 2010

2010-02-08T07:15:38-05:00

This week's advice is for franchisees;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jayntguru/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Make one new connection in your franchisee community. Go to your franchisor's corporate website, and pick a franchisee to call that you've never talked with. Call them and introduce yourself. Ask a question about their business. Find out how they're getting through this rough patch in our economy. Share what you're doing too. You never know; Maybe you'll come up with an idea together, that can get both of your businesses to the next level.

Write for Discussion Boards: $1200 per week...
Administer a Web Business from Home: $4000 per month...
Transcribe Authors' Notes: $80 per hour...
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Constant Contact Announces The Recipients Of The Franchise Excellence In Email Awards

2010-02-05T21:20:04-05:00

It was an honor to be asked by the great folks at Constant Contact to help judge the 1st Annual Franchise Excellence In Email Awards. We received some stellar entries, and the votes have been tallied...

The Franchise Excellence in Email Awards attracted submissions from franchisors and franchisees across the country and spanned multiple industries.

The winning entries were selected in the following three categories:

Best in Show 2009: Abrakadoodle

This award-winning franchise impressed the judges with its high open rates and significant subscriber growth by using best practices and continually incorporating reader feedback into future campaigns.

Best Overall B2C Email Campaign: Geeks On Call

High open and click-through rates caught the judges' attention, but it was the creative use of templates and content designed to meet the needs of their audience, that helped Geeks On Call win in this category.

Best Overall B2B Email Campaign: EmbroidMe

In the challenging B2B category, EmbroidMe set the bar high with diverse, yet relevant content that met the needs of its audience and led to a significant increase in sales directly attributed to its email campaigns.

Honorable Mentions:
Constant Contact also would like to recognize the following franchises for receiving an honorable mention for their creativity and success in email marketing: BlackJack Pizza®, Great Clips®, SignARama®, and WSI.

Read about what these franchisors won!

Will More Franchise Businesses Start To Open In Small Town USA?

2010-02-05T06:43:46-05:00

Most franchisors stay the course when it comes to searching for new franchisees, and even new franchise locations. They open new franchises in, or at least close to, major population centers. Personally, I've received inquiries from people who live in small tows, and even rural areas, who've wanted to explore franchise ownership ideas with me. (Not a lot of inquiries, but a few)

When I've asked franchisors to take a look at those small areas, the answer I get, nine out of ten times is something like, "Joel, there's just not enough population to support a franchise location in Blue Ridge Manor, Kentucky, but thank you for thinking of us."

That always makes my day.

Recently, I was reading an article that I had asked Becky McCray to write for Small Business Trends. (Disclosure; I'm the Community promotions Director there) In the article, she pointed out the fact that " Baby boomers are migrating. The USDA is predicting more Baby Boomers will retire to small towns than previous generations. This is going to mean an increase in the active 50-75 age group in some small towns. Get your business ready to welcome these new residents."

This made me start wondering if we'll start seeing an increase in franchise chains in smaller, even rural areas. Franchisors; You've been looking for ways to grow your footprint for the last few years. Can you start taking advantage of this growing trend? More importantly, do you want to?

Becky shared several more "Rural Small Business Trends For 2010" that smart franchisors may be able to leverage to their advantage. I don't suggest waiting to long to do so....