Validation Questions

Talking with Franchise Owners

At the core of a successful franchise evaluation is ‘Validation.’ This is where everything you think you know and understand about a franchise opportunity will be put to the test. You speak directly to franchise owners to allow them to either ‘validate’ or refute what you know about the franchise opportunity.

More often than not this is where the picture of the opportunity becomes very clear as you learn first-hand what it is like to launch the business, expand the business and profit from the business. If there is any point during the evaluation where your assumptions will be tested it is during validation.

This part of the process usually takes a full two weeks and sometimes more. Catching up with busy franchise owners can take some perseverance! Be persistent, polite and positive!

Time Commitment

Getting Authorization

Most franchise companies require that a franchise “candidate” must gain a solid understanding of their business model before being allowed to speak directly with franchise owners. Franchise representatives must also believe you are a viable candidate before they will allow you to request to spend time talking with their franchisees.

Once you are authorized to make calls you should begin to reach out to franchisees.

Call Scheduling

You will be responsible for contacting franchise owners to schedule time with them on the phone. The franchise representative should be able to advise you as to what is the most effective way to reach their franchisees.

This is largely up to you although it is recommended that you call around five owners. Some people call more, some less.

Number of Calls

Conference Calls

Many franchise companies organize group conference calls on a regular basis, where a single franchise owner is featured and multiple parties can participate in the call. This helps reduce the amount of time that individual franchise owners spend on the phone with different candidates, and also distributes the responsibility for sharing information with potential franchisees. This can be a useful way to get information but it should not replace one-on-one conversations with owners.

Narrowing Your List

If you have been evaluating more than one franchise up until this point then you have likely developed a high degree of understanding about their opportunities, and more importantly, have formed a solid sense of whether your interest in each concept is increasing or waning. If you are now certain that one or more of the concepts is not a good fit, it is appropriate to eliminate the one(s) that are no longer of interest and focus only on those that still hold your interest.