In society, we see people along a spectrum: aggressive to shy, Olympian to coach-potato, cautious to uninhibited. People take their place on a spectrum and most of us are in the gray area: neither black nor white. Somewhere in the middle. But for development teams, seeing franchise candidates on a spectrum is the recipe for wasting time and unproductive conversations that never lead to closing the deal. Because candidates are not analog. Franchise candidates are digital. 1’s and 0’s. On or off.

Either they will be successful owners or they won’t. And the most productive sales people find that out within 2-3 conversations.

Salespeople who follow the old routine of building rapport and a relationship out of shared experiences and wait until late in the sales cycle to uncover critical information are the same people who complain about long hours and low pay. There is a proven insider method to selling that quickly determines if a candidate is a 1 or a 0. On or off. In other words, determine the way the franchise candidates are digital. And the quicker a sales person makes that ruthless determination, the quicker they can move on to better prospects or close the deal.

Too many candidate calls sound like this:

Sales person            “Why do you want to be a business owner?”

Candidate                 “I have always wanted to own my own business.”

Sales person            “Why? What do you mean.”

Candidate                 “I just want a better life. Nice vacations. Send the kids to college. You know."

Sales person            “Sounds like you want to be a provider by owning your own business.”

Candidate                 “That’s right – exactly!”

That sales person did not uncover the candidate’s true motivations and desires. Everyone wants a better life and nice vacations. But at the end of a long hard day in year 3 is that going to see them through? Will “a better life” get someone to sign a 10-year agreement and part with most of their life savings? Franchisors have to uncover that thing inside a candidate that will drive themselves to sign an agreement that will change their life, to work hard during the start up, to drive through the tough times in year 3 and 4 and 5. Development teams armed with the right questions and process can uncover those drivers and then help connect people with the right franchise to help them reach their own goals. Contrary to some sales principles, you can’t move a candidate along a continuum to a successful sale. But you can quickly ascertain if they are a 1 or a 0. The Insider Series™ created through thousands of successful (and some unsuccessful) franchises is the key. Let’s talk about how to identify those on or off candidates.

Because, baby, it’s a digital world.