How Franchisees Can Outsource to Their Franchisor

by Ed Teixeira

Here are three ways that franchisors can help generate more sales and improve the performance of their franchisees. In some franchise systems these services may already be available.

It’s a reality of franchising that once a franchisee successfully completes training and has had their grand opening they become responsible for the day to day operation of their franchise. Of course franchisors should provide support when needed and audit the performance of their franchisees; however the frequency of these activities will vary among franchisors.

There are services that a franchisor can provide that could enable a franchisee to more effectively operate their business and generate more sales. The franchisor could provide these services for a number of franchisees and as a result the cost could be much lower compared to what a third party might charge. In this case the franchisee is outsourcing particular services to its franchisor.

Here are three services a franchisor can provide for their franchisee through outsourcing:

1. Telemarketing- In business to business franchise concepts, the franchisor could perform targeted telemarketing services for their franchisees. A franchisor managed team could contact prospects in a franchisee territory and schedule appointments and perform other activities. This cost of these services could be much lower than what a vendor would charge.

2. Franchisee Employee Training- In a number of franchise companies a franchisee could benefit from having an employee trained in management and leadership skills. The franchisor could charge a reasonable training fee to each franchisee. A major benefit would be to have a key employee trained by professionals without imposing on the limited time and responsibilities of owner operator.

3. Financial Services- There is financial services that a franchisor could provide for their franchisees. These include payroll, billing and accounts receivables management. By providing some or all of these services at a reasonable cost the franchisee could be more focused on sales generating activities.

These are three examples of services that could be outsourced to the franchisor at a reasonable cost. This could free up the franchisee to direct their focus and attention to revenue producing activities. It’s very important that before a franchisor implements any of these programs that they work with their franchise attorney to make sure that a program doesn’t create any legal or regulatory problems.

© 2011 FranchiseKnowHow, LLC

Ed Teixeira is the President of FranchiseKnowHow, LLC. He can be reached at franchiseknowhow@gmail.com