In honor of Paris Fashion Week I thought I’d write this month about the trends for 2012 lead generation:

Leveraging Vendor Relations: Franchisors are leveraging vendor relationships to maximize ROI and increasing lead flow. For example, our clients are asking their brokers, lending sources, and franchisees to refer qualified candidates and the referral fees have never been higher. We are rolling out more in store promotions and franchisee contest for referral programs than ever before.

Franchise portal websites are being asked to: provide more detailed analytics, refunds for bad leads, and insight to best practices. Eric Bell of Franchise Gator has embraced this perfectly by providing a monthly webinar on portal lead management and best practices. If you haven’t had an opportunity to attend a webinar, you can view his recorded version here: view webinar.

Social Media continues to be a hot trend. However, across the Frandeavor client base, we continue to see this as more of a branding exercise than a true lead generator. Ways to integrate social media into your lead gen strategy include: adding a own a store tab to your Facebook page, creating a franchising profile on LinkedIn, and by adding tweets about development to your twitter feed.

We are also seeing some changes to the long-standing in-market sales seminar. Franchisors are hosting events in a more intimate environment and bringing more corporate staff member for one-on-one face time.

Lastly, email marketing continues to be one of the most effective lead drivers. Franchisors are stepping outside of the traditional portal lists and buying profile lists and targeting specific markets. We are also seeing a transition from a single email blast to a series of messages building a campaign through frequency.

In case you are curious, looks like we are going to see heavy bangs, lots of flowers, 1920’s inspired dresses, geometric shapes, and sorbets color in the Fall Fashion collections. Contact Christine@Frandeavor.com for further lead generation information.

First, before I go on the blog record about Social Media.  I need to state two facts.  First, I am not an expert on leveraging social media for business promotion. In fact, I do a horrible job of it for Frandeavor.  Primarily because I’ve kept my social media interactions for my personal life. I love sharing pictures of baby Mudd with family or chatting about a recent trip with friends we’ve made on the road. I enjoy this so much that I cringe at the idea of tainting it with business chitter chatter.

As a result, I rarely “like” facebook pages (even declined a Kate Spade discount because it would intrude on my personal space).  Second, I stole the below content 100% from a facebook post, which was stolen from a lamebook post.

So, for all my franchise friends who will be running around IFA this weekend touting Social Media is the future, below is a cheat sheet to how/why/what each platform is used.  And for the record, I really do like donuts.

TWITTER: I AM EATING A DONUT

FACEBOOK: I LIKE DONUTS

FOURSQUARE: THIS IS WHERE I EAT DONUTS

INSTAGRAM: HERE IS A VINTAGE PHOTO OF A DONUT

YOU TUBE: HERE IS A VIDEO OF ME EATING A DONUT

LINKEDIN: MY SKILLS INCLUDE EATING DONUTS

PINTEREST: HERE IS A RECIPE FOR MAKING HOMEMADE DONUTS

LAST FM: HERE IS A SONG BY “THE DONUTS”

G+ I AM A GOOGLE EMPLOYEE WHO EATS DONUTS

The next time you eat a donut and you aren’t sure where to post it, you’ve got options.

Yea, me either.

But it’s only the 13^th and I have 352 days left in 2012 to make it happen.

This is a question you should be asking your 2011 dead leads. (Okay, maybe not the skinny or spiritually enlightened part but certainly the rich part.)

Chances are your dead leads woke up on January 1^st and wrote down a New Year’s Resolution that THIS is the year to realize the dream of business ownership.  THIS is the year things are going to be different.  THIS is the year to take risks.

January is the time to reach out to these folks.  Tell them resolutions aren’t just for blog posts, refrigerator doors, or facebook walls.  They are for dreamers, entrepreneurs, and winners.  Be Bold. Inspire. Give them a reason to re-engage.

Include a testimonial from a franchisee that signed up last January and how their life has changed.

While I am on the topic of resolutions, add the following to your To Do’s:

• Update testimonials
• Change your portal copy
• Revive your franchisee referral program – they’ve forgotten all about it
• Send a survey to your franchisees – find out what has changed
• Send new franchise brochures and holders to all you retail locations
• Hold a webinar in the evenings or on a weekend
• Refresh your Discovery Day presentation – it’s stale
• Get a list of new validators, give your 2011 guys a break

I will say it again.  Be Bold. Inspire.  Give them a reason to re-engage.  You have about 90 days before we’ve all forgotten our life goals and are counting the days until Spring Break.

Just like you and I, millions of Americans will sit down to a Thanksgiving feast next week.  For some of us the experience is just like the Hallmark movie of the week, for others, it’s a little bit more like a Griswald feature film.

If you part of the latter, you may find yourself checking your smart phone more times than the day of your next Board Meeting.  Which is why, against all reason, Thanksgiving weekend is a great opportunity to communicate with your leads and prospects.

• You WILL receive leads on Thanksgiving.  These folks are information seekers, so give them what they want.  Set your auto responder to be very informative, include links to a recorded webinar, brochures, videos, etc.
• Don’t expect them to remember on Monday.  I’m not sure if it’s the turkey coma or the black Friday shopping, but don’t expect to engage these candidates via phone.  Continue to push electronic information to them through the end of the year.
• Send a holiday message out to your entire lead database.  Again, give them something to read and engage in during their weekend downtime.  This may be the first time they will have an opportunity to actually READ what you’ve been sending them.
• Acknowledge their state of mind with appropriate creative. Something along the lines of…You’ve got 45 days left to make your 2010 year resolution of business ownership.

Gobble Gobble

Often times in lead generation we need to change lanes in order drive the momentum of lead flow.

Sometimes this is as simple as changing the creative message, sometimes it’s pulling an “old school” tactic that we do because (quite honestly) it’s what we’ve always done, or sometimes it’s testing an entirely new media.

As an entrepreneur working in an industry of entrepreneurs, this behavior is a little easier for me than others. So I wanted to post a link to an article of GREAT, innovative companies, who had to change lanes to reach their current success: Click Here to Read More

Let this inspire you to try something new. Can’t think of anything?  Reach out to your various vendors and ask, “What new an innovative programs do you have?”.  I am always surprised by the answer and even more surprised at the low cost test campaigns.  Simple put, change lanes and change your momentum.

One of my early mentors in franchising always reminded me that football games are won in inches not yards.  A franchise lead qualifier gives franchisors that extra inch needed to hit sales goals.

Recently one of Frandeavor’s clients put a lead qualifying team in place, and miraculously the quality of their franchise leads improved! As much as I’d like to take credit for implementing a secret strategy increasing the quality of franchise leads overnight, the truth is the qualifiers did all the hard work.  Snapshot of metrics are as follows:

(Note: 100% of the leads included in the below metrics came from portals.  Metrics would increase significantly for high quality campaigns such as seminars, email blasts, XM radio, etc)

Within 120 days:

% of raw leads contacted increased from 2% to 9%

% of raw leads to Discovery Day increased from 1.46% to 2%. This may not sound like a huge increase.  However, annualized over 12 months, our super client will see 30 more candidates at Discovery Day.  Assuming a 50% closing out of Discovery Day, this will add 15 new franchisees to the system.

Bottom line, if you are looking to increase the quality of your lead generation strategy put a lead qualifier in place.

• Leads will be called quicker.
• Leads will have a clear understanding of the next steps.
• Sales Directors will perform at a higher level, focusing their talents on candidates who are engaged in the process.

Just this week, my phone rang twice with a question I’m hearing more and more. Franchisors want to know, “How do we generate leads in small markets?” For whatever reason, this seems to be the hot topic of the week.  Well, it just so happens I know a little bit about this, as I spent 14 punishing months on the road hitting hotspots like Bowling Green, KY; Billings, MT; and Waco, TX.  I learned a ton, and here’s what I know for sure:

• Uncle Joe needs to vouch for you. Once you identify a target market, reach out to three key members of the community: The Banker, The Commercial Real Estate Broker, and The Mayor. As you begin to work leads in this market, candidates will reach out to their friends and relatives for feedback. The more you can network in the community, the more successful you’ll be.
• Farm (no pun intended) a location. Candidates in small markets know the area inside and out. By identifying a prime location, you establish yourself as an expert and give the candidate a clear vision of where their business is going to be. Oftentimes, you can work together with the landlord to hang an “own your own (insert your name) franchise here” banner. I’m always surprised how effective this lead-generating tool can be.
• Sunday afternoons are still about lemonade and reading the Sunday paper. As a result, half-page newspaper ads are an effective way to generate leads. Tailor your creative to the audience and leverage the prime location you’ve secured. Make sure to pepper the ad with franchisee testimonials from other small town markets.
• Like molasses in winter. Know that candidates in small- to mid-size markets take their time evaluating a business opportunity. Adjust your sales cycle and allow the candidates to establish a pace that is comfortable for them.
• Look ‘em in the eyes: If you are serious about developing smaller markets, make the time to visit candidates face to face. No only will it give you credibility, it will reinforce the support they can expect from their Franchisor.

Interested in learning how Frandeavor can help you generate leads? Contact Christine@Frandeavor.com.

Why? Simply put, because they hit the road.  Hitting the road and presenting your franchise sales opportunity in designated markets is the single most effective way to generate leads and close deals in target markets.  Couple of key benefits:

• Controlled growth: Where you grow is as important as when you grow and how fast. More often than not, franchisors award franchises where they have leads. This results in opening franchises in B & C markets before major markets are mastered. Ultimately, pulling down average unit volumes in exchange for minor top line sales growth.
• Looking a candidate in the eye: Even in today’s world of social media, blogs, and interactive websites, candidates still buy franchises from people they like and trust. Showing up in a market builds creditability and creates trust between the sales person and the candidate.
• Sense of Urgency: Using the seminar strategy to present a limited number of opportunities to a room full of candidates creates a sense of urgency as candidates petition to be awarded the prime locations.

Having executed hundreds of franchise sales seminars, the FRANDEAVOR team can assist you in all aspects of planning a franchise sales show. Contact us today at Christine@frandeavor.com or call 949-498-2611.

Yesterday I sat down to sketch out a lead generation plan for a small start up franchisor. With a small monthly budget, I found myself having to reallocate dollars originally intended for SEO/SEM.  Since leads generated by the franchisors website are far more qualified than other lead sources, I found myself asking, “How can I still focus on SEO without allocating significant dollars”?  After looking back at what FRANDEAVOR has achieved for Snipits.com (44% increase in website traffic), I focused in on the following tactics:

1. Internet Press Releases – Submit monthly press releases to webwire.com. Webwire will push the press release out to multiple PR and news websites for indexing. A couple of things to remember in drafting your press release: content needs to be news worthy, include target key words, and link key words back to your website.
2. Blogs – Add a blog to your website. Each blog posting adds to the number of website pages reviewed by the search engines. The more blogs you post incorporating your target key words the better your optimization. In addition, you can reuse blog content for article submissions on industry sites. Make sure to include a bio and a link back to your website.
3. Social Media – Trying to get your arms around social media can be challenging at best. It’s easy to feel like you are running all over the place without any direction. Think of Social Media as a branding tool. It’s an extension of your brand – just like the sign on the front of your building. Create profiles on facebook, twitter, and LinkedIn with key brand information including photos, website address, and up-to date content.
4. Participate in Media Sites: Remember the more times your URL is posted out in the World Wide Web in the same context as your key words, the higher your website will rank.  YouTube and Google Video are great sites to post newsworthy video supporting your brand. If you aren’t comfortable with a video recorder, post a PowerPoint slideshow to slideshare.com. (Hint: use stats, graphs, and lots of photos in your presentation). Tag all of the above with your key words and URL.

To quote an over used cliché, “boot-strap SEO… less than $300, seeing your website on the first page of a Google search… priceless!”

Interested in having FRANDEAVOR take a look at your lead generation or franchise sales process? Contact Christine@frandeavor.com or 949-498-2611 for a free consultation.

This month I took on a special lead generation project for a major sub franchise (for those of you who know me, yes it is the same major sub franchise that I gave the better part of a decade to).  Our goal was pretty simple, generate as many leads as possible, stay on budget, and oh yeah try and come up with something new.

With my proposal in hand, I went to one of the major franchise portals. (No, I didn’t actually have to speak to the devil to get an appointment).  Working with a web portal is about as far from “new” as I could get.  However, I took advantage of a new service many of them are offering: an opportunity to send an email blast to their database. Using the portals database of prospects, I sent out an exclusive offer to 120,000 prospect email addresses.  Huge results!  The email blast yielded over 1000 leads within a week.

Couple of things to keep in mind in a portal email blast:

1. Confirm how many blasts are going out in the month. You may not get a straight answer but you don’t want your blast going out on the heels of another brand.
2. Get everything the portal promises in writing, this is still a new service for most and they don’t have all the terms worked out.
3. Content: the portals are not writers and they aren’t experts on your brand. Stay active in the creative development of both the email content and landing page.

If you are interested in having FRANDEAVOR manage an email blast on your behalf, please call 949-498-2611 for more information.