To become a master franchisee is a dream for many regular franchisees. Well, why not, when the title comes with multiple benefits: financial security, prestige and influence, additional profits, exclusivity of territory, equity and value, and fewer customers to deal with because the franchisees are the master franchisee’s only customers.
Sounds good, right?
However, a master franchisee can only enjoy the abovementioned benefits if he plays his role well. Otherwise, his business is doomed to fail.
So what role must a master franchisee play to ensure business success? Read on.
Master Franchisee: What Roles Must You Play?
The Recruiter
As a master franchisee, it is your responsibility to find the right people for your product, not just anyone who has the funds to buy into the franchise. Do not be fascinated with a person’s bank account or educational attainment. These may help, but not determinants to being an ideal franchisee. What matters is a person’s people skills, confidence and leadership abilities, willingness to learn, critical thinking skills, and most importantly, his awareness and alignment to your franchisor’s values.
The Connector
You, as the franchisor’s representative, serve as the “link” between the franchisor and the franchisee. All issues encountered by the franchisees in your territory must be reported by you to the franchisor. In some cases, master franchises cannot act on their own. They have to wait for the franchisor’s instructions and cooperate accordingly. This, of course, depends on what’s stipulated in the Master Franchise Agreement (MFA).
The Analyzer
You must keep abreast with the goings-on in your territory. For example, if you have a burger franchise, do a competitive research on burger restaurants in your territory. Which are the most popular and what makes them so? Is it the extra cheese? Or the low price? It will also help to do an analysis of your target demographics. At what times do they usually buy burgers? Which age group prefers that type of burger? Gather as much data as you can then analyze, analyze, analyze. What can you do to make your franchise stand out from all the rest?
The Manager
You don’t really need a degree in management to be an effective master franchisee, but you need to have great people skills to manage and motivate your staff and franchisees to do the best they can every time, all the time. Don’t be a pushover, though. Be considerate, empathic, transparent, patient, and competent. Create an atmosphere of warmth and harmony to maximize each other’s potentials.
The Trainor
Yes, part of your responsibility as a master franchisee is to ensure that all members of your staff, your franchisees and their employees are trained according to the franchisor’s standards, no more, no less. Thus, you need to be aware of all the franchisor’s rules and regulations, standard operating procedures, etc. to be able to pass that knowledge to the people involved.
The PR Officer
As we mentioned earlier, you are your franchisor’s representative in your territory. You’ll likely be invited to business events, chamber meetings, and even receive requests for speaking engagements. Take advantage of these to promote your products.
Becoming a master franchisee does have a lot of advantages, but these benefits come with responsibilities too. You need to be the recruiter, the connector, the analyzer, the manager, the trainor and the PR Officer to make sure that your business runs as smooth as possible.
Always bear in mind that you are your franchisor’s representative. You play a key role in the growth and development of the franchise. If you don’t play your roles well, the whole system will suffer.
Want to learn more about master franchisee or franchising in general? Visit the DetailXPerts Franchise Blog. We have a lot of information, tips, and tricks that you can benefit from.
