how to sell a franchise idea

Five Secrets To Selling A Franchise

Full Answer

What are the steps of buying a franchise?

• Matches your financial resources
• Provides you with the lifestyle you imagined
• Uses your particular skills and experience
• Provides a recession-resistant product or service
• Has a majority of happy and successful franchisees
• Employs an experienced and enthusiastic staff of personnel who will help you achieve your dreams of business ownership success

How to get financing to buy a franchise?

What is the Best Way to Buy a Franchise?

• 401 (k) Business Financing. Even better, ROBS allows you to finance your business without debt, early withdrawal fees or tax penalties.
• Small Business Administration Loan (SBA Loan) An SBA loan is a government-backed loan aimed at helping American entrepreneurs fund their businesses.
• Other Ways to Fund Your Franchise. ...

How to increase sales in a franchise?

• In-Store Advertising. Although it may seem simple, you can use your own stores to broadcast your business. ...
• Networking. Typically, when people think of networking, many think of finding a job. ...
• Internet Marketing. One of the largest and most powerful franchise marketing tools is the Internet. ...

How to make your own franchise in 5 steps?

• Set Realistic Goals. Franchising is more of a marathon than a sprint. ...
• Research Your Competitors. ...
• Develop Your Franchise Offering for Both Individual and Multi-Unit Sales. ...
• Make Sure Your FDD Is Compliant for Every State. ...
• Learn Franchising and Get Involved in the Franchise Community. ...

How do you sell a franchise?

Selling Your Franchise in Three Simple StepsStep 1: Prepare Your Franchise for Sale. Start by contacting your franchisor. ... Step 2: Market Your Franchise for Sale. Most business brokers use online portals and their own proprietary databases to market businesses for sale. ... Step 3 – Negotiate and Close the Deal.

How do I sell my first franchise?

Here are some effective ways to sell your first franchise:Talk to Customers.Get Signage and Physical Presentations.Focus on Social media.Offer incentives to your employees.Sell Opportunity by Being Early.

How much do you sell a franchise for?

Franchises are often valued based on a multiple of revenue, cash flow, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). As the name implies, the EBITDA method adds back some expenses to the earnings total, and a franchise can be valued at 4 to 5 times EBITDA.

Can a franchisee sell their franchise?

For most franchise owners this reward means selling their franchise business to a new owner for the greatest price and at fair terms. But, once the decision to sell your franchise operation is made, it doesn't take long for franchise owners to realize there are multiple paths to consider.

How do you get people to buy a franchise?

However, if you follow these simple tips you will be on the right track!Position Your Brand as an Expert in its Domain. ... Make Yourself Appealing to Franchisees. ... Strong Communication with Your Current and Potential Franchisees. ... Use Existing Franchisees as Brand Evangelists. ... Create a Strong Web Presence.More items...•

Can I sell my McDonald's franchise?

McDonald's requires that the buyer of an existing restaurant pay a minimum of 25% cash as a down payment, and the balance must be financed for no more than seven years. Each franchise applicant must have at least $500,000 in liquid assets in order to apply.

How much does a franchise owner make a year?

According to a survey done by Franchise Business Review involving 28,500 franchise owners, the average pre-tax annual income of franchise owners is about 80,000 dollars.

Can franchise be sold?

A franchise is an investment. So long as you have a franchise agreement in place you will have the right to sell your business and the franchisor cannot unreasonably withhold their consent to the sale. Like any business, the more profitable and successful your business is, the higher the price you can sell it for.

What is a typical franchise royalty fee?

Franchise royalties range from 4% of your revenue all the way up to 12% or more. The amount has to do with the type of franchise business. For example, a food franchise is a high-volume business.

How do you sell a failing franchise?

CONSIDER SELLING THE BUSINESS Often the best answer to a franchise that is not succeeding is for the franchisee to sell the business to a third party who becomes the new franchisee for that territory. This allows the failing franchisee to terminate its obligations under the franchise agreement and under any lease.

Can a company buy back a franchise?

Franchise contract agreements vary by corporation, but some franchisors will buy back the franchise directly. Other franchisors may help locate a new buyer qualified to purchase your franchise operation.

How long does it take to sell a franchise?

The average franchise sales cycle is 12 to 20 weeks On average, the total time to close a franchise sale can be up to 20 weeks.

What is the most profitable franchise?

Most Profitable FranchisesDunkin'7-Eleven.Planet Fitness.JAN-PRO.Taco Bell.Orangetheory Fitness.Great Clips.Mac Tools.More items...•

How long is a typical franchise agreement?

between five and 20 yearsThe typical length of a franchise agreement is between five and 20 years. A common reason for this general length of time is often the size of the franchisee's initial investment, though market conditions and the type of franchise can also be factors.

How much does a McDonald's franchise cost?

McDonald's franchisee applicants must have a minimum of $500,000 available in liquid assets and pay a $45,000 franchise fee. Those looking to launch a new McDonald's franchise can expect to shell out between $1,314,500 and $2,306,500. Existing franchise prices can cost upwards of $1 million or more.

How much do Dunkin Donuts franchise owners make?

Average Sales / Revenue per Year The average Dunkin' franchise is getting around $620,000 to $1.3 million in sales per year. This results in the average Dunkin' franchise owner to have an annual salary of around $124,000.

Selling an existing franchise

For franchisees who are ready to sell their established businesses, here’s a piece of good news: According to a study conducted at Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Rinker School of Business, franchise resale prices are higher than those of non-franchise businesses.

Step 1: Prepare Your Franchise for Sale

Start by contacting your franchisor. There is no reason to keep the sale confidential from your franchisor who is accustomed to their franchisees exiting at some point. Ask if they can help you with a resale or transfer. Find out the extent of assistance they offer. The process varies significantly from franchise to franchise.

Step 2: Market Your Franchise for Sale

Most business brokers use online portals and their own proprietary databases to market businesses for sale. If your franchisor does not aggressively market the sale of your business, a business broker can do this for you.

Step 3 – Negotiate and Close the Deal

Once you’ve found a buyer who is interested in both your business and the franchise model, you can negotiate a price and begin with the closing process.

Selling your franchise opportunity

Every franchisor knows that the success of a franchise system is dependent on franchisee success. So simply selling a franchise is not enough. It really comes down to awarding a franchise to the right person. For franchisors who want to grow their brands with quality candidates, here are three simple ways.

Step 1 – Work with Quality Franchise Brokers

Working with quality franchise brokers is an effective and popular way for franchisors to find ideal candidates. In fact, franchise referral consultants (a.k.a brokers) have been found as the top source for lead conversions.

Step 2 – Exhibit at Trade Shows

Exhibiting at trade shows is a great way for franchisors to get in front of potential candidates face-to-face. Trade shows allow franchisors to market their brands to a large number of qualified prospects at one time. This in-person opportunity gives both parties a chance to get to know each other in a casual setting.

What do you need to do before selling a franchise?

Before the sale of a franchise business, the buyer must sign a franchise agreement created by the franchisor. This is the same agreement that the seller had to sign when they first started the franchise business. In addition, the current franchisee (seller) must settle all debts and payment defaults related to their franchise business ...

How long does it take to sell a franchise?

Most sales involving franchise businesses can take anywhere from 2 to 3 months to be completed. This is good because you’ll want to use this time to prepare your budget for leaving the business.

Why are franchisors important?

The reason these rules exist is because the corporate office wants to maintain their company image and they don’t want a franchisee to tarnish that with a business model that is different than their own. Franchisors are always involved in every big decision that a franchise business makes, including the sale of the business. Since franchisors must approve when someone starts a franchise business, they also have to approve the buyer who is purchasing the franchise business from the seller. Like with the original owner of the franchise, the franchisors want to make sure the new buyer is capable of running their proprietary business model and implementing their methodologies into it the same way the seller did before.

What happens after a franchise is sold?

After the sale of a franchise business, the franchisee will still have some obligations left after the transfer of the business has been made. A lot of these obligations must do with what businesses or jobs they can and cannot take after the completion of the sale.

What do franchisees do?

So, what a lot of franchisees do is build up their franchise business to the most profitable and successful that it can be and then they sell their franchise business to another buyer. Then, the franchisees move on to another franchise business and try to make that successful so they can do the same thing there.

Why would a franchise owner want to sell their business?

There are two main reasons why a seller would want to sell their franchise business. Either the business is very valuable and they want to cash out or they simply aren’t running the business well and they want to get out before they lose everything. Since there’s a steady flow of buyers who want to purchase franchise businesses, ...

How long after selling a franchise can you start a competing business?

Most franchise agreements have non-solicitation provisions and non-competition agreements which outline that franchisees cannot start a competing business for the next 2-3 years after they sell their franchise business.

What is a franchise agreement?

The franchise agreement that is executed by the franchisor and the franchisee contains, among a lot of other detailed requirements, strict and copious rules and restrictions for the transfer of the franchise rights. Specifically, if you own a franchise – whether it be for burgers, healthcare, fitness, hotels or any other franchise system – there ...

How long do franchise rights last?

Franchisors typically award franchise rights to a franchisee for a minimum of five years and many times quite a bit longer. Most sales of existing franchised units happen in more mature franchise systems rather than in very young ones; though occasionally, a new franchisee realizes early on that they are in over their heads and need to be bailed out – usually by the franchisor.

Why do franchisors have in-house programs?

Some franchisors have in-house programs designed to assist their franchisees in selling their existing units. This is particularly true for a mature brand. One reason for this is that most franchisors award territorial franchises; that is, each franchisee, for as long as it meets minimum operating standards (including sales targets, inspection scores, etc.) has the exclusive right to operate that franchise in a specific territory (subject to the other terms of its franchise agreement). If the franchisor has another qualified candidate for that specific territory, the franchisor is likely to assist its existing franchisee in selling its franchise rights.

What is the importance of knowing what the other fees a buyer will be obliged to pay?

This is particularly pertinent when establishing a price for your business.

Can a franchisor sell a franchise?

Some franchisors will contract with unrelated firms such as Worldwide Business Brokers to sell existing franchise units. This does not eliminate or reduce the resale restrictions in the franchise agreement but only takes the franchisor out of the re-sale business. The existing franchisee that wants to sell and the potential franchisee that wants to buy still need to meet all the requirements outlined in the franchise agreement and the franchisor still needs to approve the sale.

Do you vet a potential buyer before selling a franchise?

All of this means that you would be wise to vet your potential buyers early on – before you even disclose any financial information – by finding out what your franchisor’s requirements are; or enlist the assistance of a business broker with experience in the sale of franchises. Such experienced brokers know the ropes, understand the FDD ( Franchise Disclosure Document) and work with legal counsel that specializes in franchise law, all to your benefit.

Do you have to have the same training for a franchise?

The buyer and its managers will have to meet the same educational requirements, meet the same financial and net worth qualifications, attend the same training classes, go through the same franchisor vetting process, sign a new, current and possibly more onerous franchise agreement and essentially meet all the franchisor’s standards that you did; and maybe more, if those standards have changed which, if your franchise is more than a couple of years old, is probably the case.

What is franchise business?

A franchise business is a licensing model of business where a successful company allows you to run a version of its business using its logo, processes, and in-house resources.

What companies are franchises for coffee?

Consider working with companies like Dunkin ’, Aroma Joe’s Coffee, and Scooter’s Coffee.

How does a car wash franchise benefit?

Car wash franchises with strong branding can benefit from repeat-purchase loyalty, helping you attract new customers and build long-term relationships—keeping your business profitable.

What is home service franchise?

Home service franchises offer services related to moving and housing. These work best for regional companies as most people prefer using local home repair and renovation services to save time and money.

What is the first industry that comes to mind when you think about shopping?

When people think about shopping, retail is one of the first industries that come to mind.

Is pizza a good franchise?

Popular food items like pizza have the potential to sell well, offering you a chance to build a profitable franchise business. This is one of those categories where there’s tight competition, but great growth potential.

Can you work with nothing but noodles?

You can work with companies like Nothing But Noodles and Noodles & Company to launch noodle franchise businesses .

How to sell an idea?

1) Research Your Idea. The first step in selling your idea is to gather as much information as possible. This involves knowing the market or markets in which your idea will be most valuable. Once you’ve identified where your idea can have the most impact, compile data on similar solutions.

What is the first step in selling an idea?

One of the first steps involved in selling an idea is to establish a professional image. Big companies don’t necessarily want to deal with John or Jane Doe coming in off the street. They want to work with other corporate entities.

What is a sell sheet?

Sell Sheet — A one- or two-page document that clearly states the need your idea meets as well as the features and benefits, applicable markets, and legal status of your solution.

What are some good resources to test an idea?

Family and friends are a great first resource for testing your idea on a theoretical level. If you already have a tangible product in hand, even better.

Why is it important to have new ideas?

New ideas are essential for the success of our current, fast-paced business market. If you’ve got a unique solution to a common problem, you may be wondering how to sell your idea for maximum benefit.

What do large companies think about?

Most large companies live and breathe their business model. They think about novel solutions and ways to develop their product every day.

How easy is it to start a business?

Fortunately, starting your own business is as easy as choosing a name, filing some papers, and paying a small fee. But that’s only half the equation. The other essential part of starting your own business is where you work.

What does franchising want to do?

The franchisor will want to make sure that the buyer can meet its financial obligations under the franchise agreement (in addition to paying its other bills as they come due), and is not overextended as a result of a hefty loan.

What is a franchisee's execution of a general release?

The franchisee’s execution of a general release, waiving all potential lawsuits against the franchisor

Can a franchisee sell a franchise?

In either case, the franchisee’s right to sell the franchise will be governed by the transfer provisions in their franchise agreement.

Can a franchisee take advantage of the customer list?

Similarly, even if the selling franchisee is able to start a competitive business , they may still be prohibited from taking advantage of the customer list and goodwill they developed during the term of their franchise agreement , as these assets were built by leveraging the mark and processes of their former franchisor.

Rules and Restrictions

Benefits

• Hiring a franchise sales professional can be the next logical step for some franchisors. If the salesperson has a track record of success, you'll benefit from the experience and training they've gained elsewhere. The primary benefits to this strategy include: 1. They're likely to be more productive than the DIY approach. 2. You'll be developing an ...

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