What are the most effective ways to uncover a franchisee's hidden objections or concerns?

Franchise Brokers play a valuable role in helping franchisors uncover potential candidates' concerns. Candidates frequently find it easier to share their reservations with a broker who maintains a degree of separation from the franchisor. This stems from concerns that raising such issues directly with the franchisor could potentially jeopardize their chances of securing the franchise opportunity. A broker can help the candidate talk through the best ways to express their questions, creating more transparent and healthy communications. Everybody wins from the improved communication.

Ask this question to franchise candidates who may be on the fence about something or that just won't commit to moving forward. "What would need to happen on your end or our end for you to say 'I'm ready to move forward and become a franchisee?'" Asking an open-ended question like this may flush out a concern you hadn't thought of, so you can address it and close the deal.

Be sure to also ask follow-up questions. If you’d like them to elaborate or feel like you need more, ask a SPECIFIC question to prompt them.

I would say step one is to ask. Ask them. You would be surprised how many franchisors don’t ask. If there are no answers when asking directly, have one of your FAC ask. Franchisees might be more open with other franchisees. Have your FAC listen to concerns and have them bring it to you for system wide improvements.

Don’t be afraid for franchisees to hear directly from others. For instance, ask your satisfied franchisees if they’d be willing to be filmed with their testimonials, advice, or answer to a common objection franchisees have (or ask if they can drop in on a Discovery Day). It’s a lot more effective hearing it from the source.

Recommend NOT creating an artificial sense of urgency and scarcity. In most, but not all, franchise sales scenarios there is no queue to buy a location, market or territory. Better to find out why your franchise candidate is not advancing in your new franchise owner recruitment process.

All decision-makers must be involved in the WHOLE due diligence process. It starts with a spouse or business partner. But, who else has the buyer's ear? Attorneys, accountants, a respected friend or family member? Any of these people can sway or delay a decision. To diffuse this potential bomb, simply say, “Typically, when someone gets excited about our franchise, the candidate will ask respected people in their circle what they think of the concept and franchising in general. Aside from you and your spouse or partner, who else would you talk with about this decision? If they say no one else ask again in a different way or share a story about a previous deal that blew up because of an outside person who knew zero about franchising.

One line of questioning that I found useful is asking: "what are you good at and not so good at?". After some time to think and answer, I'd ask the question a different way: "if I asked your friend/family member/work colleague the same thing, what would they say?". You will really get a sense of where future potential choke points are in your process based on the answers.