Franchise discovery day
Whether you’re buying into a large multinational brand or a fast-growing start up, investing in a franchise of any size is a big decision. As well as being confident that the products, services and business model offered by the brand are all viable, you need to ensure that you’ll receive enough support from the franchisor to make your new venture work.
One of the best ways to get a better idea of the brand you’re investing in is to attend a discovery day. These events are a fantastic opportunity to meet the franchisor, ask questions and put your worries to rest. Once the discovery day is done, you should be in a position to fully commit to the opportunity and put your money into becoming a franchisee.
However, as well as being an opportunity for you to get a feel for the brand you’re considering investing in, discovery days also offer the franchisor a chance to assess your abilities. In many cases, these events act as a type of extended interview and many franchisors use them to help decide who they’re going to grant a license to.
How to prepare for a franchise discovery day
Before you attend a franchise discover day, you need to do your homework. Think of the day as a job interview and research the brand as if you were applying for a full-time position. For example, you should look closely at the company’s history. Find out when it began franchising, how quickly it grew and how many locations it has today. You should also look closely at how profitable the company has been over the years and find out if it’s had any major setbacks during its history.
As well as looking to the past, it’s important to look to the future. See if you can find information about any announcements the brand has made regarding future growth and try to find out if it’s planning any major investments in the near future.
A good place to get a feel for the brand is its marketing department. Take a look at past advertising campaigns to get an idea of the corporate personality the company is trying to project. Looking at past marketing strategies should also give you a clear idea of the brand’s target audience, their approach to marketing and the way they’re trying to position themselves within the industry.
What do you want to get out of a franchise discovery day?
In most cases, prospective franchisees attend discovery days in order to get a clear and in-depth idea of both the brand they’re considering investing in and the people behind it. Originally, in the days before the internet, discovery days provided entrepreneurs with the opportunity to find out all about the franchisor. They’d be given information on everything from the founders and the managers to the way the business has evolved. Often, entrepreneurs would attend a discovery day at a relatively early stage in their journey to becoming franchisees. According to one business just half of those who attended an older style discovery day would go on to put their money into the franchise.
These days, however, things are a little different. More often than not prospective franchisees have read up extensively about a brand online before they visit in person. In most cases they will have been able to find out all about the company’s founders and its history and possibly even read media articles relating to the brand. A lot of franchises have online materials available to franchisees. These videos, documents and statistics give potential investors a valuable insight into the business and mean that most of the people attending a discovery day are very well informed before the event even begins.
As a result, those who do attend are generally more serious about becoming franchisees and so a much larger percentage will go on to invest. In fact, if you’re planning on attending a franchise discovery day you’ve probably already done a huge amount of research about the brand you’re considering and may well have done all the relevant sums before the discovery day rolls around.
If you’re like many franchisees, you’re probably planning on using the discovery day to get a real feel for the brand and the people behind it. It can be difficult to tell if people are genuine and fully committed to the brand just from online material, so a discovery day gives you the chance to make sure you’re comfortable with the franchisor and feel you can work together.
During the franchise discovery day, you should have the opportunity to meet existing franchisees and ideally to tour a site that’s currently operational. Make sure you take full advantage of this section of the day to ask franchisees about their experience with the franchisor and to learn what you can about the on-going relationship the franchisor and franchisee enjoy.
What does the franchisor want to get from a franchise discovery day?
The exact goals of the franchisor will depend on the business and the way it’s run. In most cases, the franchisor will have two main goals: to sell their franchise and to assess potential investors. This means that, as well as having your questions answered, you may well have to listen to an extended sales pitch during the franchise discovery day. Although most companies will probably try to keep overt pitches to a minimum, it’s important to remember that the information you receive on the day will probably be slanted in order to paint the business in a positive light.
This means that you should always do your own independent research in order to verify the brand’s claims and statistics. If you find any major discrepancies, it could be a sign the franchise is being a little too flexible with the truth.
As well as selling you the concept of the brand and the franchise, franchisors use these discovery days as an opportunity to really get to know their potential franchisees. While some franchises will accept most people who want to invest in their business, many companies will decline up to 50% of those who attend discovery days. This means making a good impression is essential if you want to continue down the road to becoming a franchisee.
When to attend a franchise discovery day
If you’re currently considering putting your money into an exciting franchise opportunity, it can be tempting to go to the first discovery day available. Although this can be a good idea in some cases, generally it’s better to research the brand thoroughly before you take part in a discovery day. The more research you do, the easier it will be for you to ask relevant questions and get the most you can out of the day. Being well informed about the brand, its history and its future plans will also help you to make a good impression with the franchisor on the day.
Giving you the opportunity to ask questions, network with other potential franchisees and get to know the people behind the brand, attending a franchise discovery day is an important part of becoming a franchisee. If you want to find out more about the benefits of franchising, or about the franchise opportunities currently available, take a look around our site.