ifxonline-blog

[ifxonline-blog]

IFA Convention Supplier Prep: How to Engage Franchisor Decision Makers in 27 Minutes or Less...

IFA Convention Prep SessionHow to Engage Franchisor Decision Makers in 27 Minutes or Less...

Hi Denise,

If you're a Franchise Supplier whose attended the IFA Convention before, you know the focus is on identifying, attracting and engaging Franchisor Executive Decision Makers. There are very few elevators at the MGM Grand. So your "elevator pitch" has to switch to an "escalator pitch" which means you need to "speak franchise" and pitch real-world solutions in a matter of seconds.

1st Rule: it's all about relationships.

2nd Rule: it's all about associating a face with a name... and a name with a brand.

Why?

Because franchisors live each day for their franchisees. If franchisees lose, their franchisor loses as well. And... who gets yelled at?

If franchisees win, their franchisor looks pretty darn smart.

3rd Rule: make the franchisor look good!

Rules 4-12:

Click here

to view our exclusive IFA Prep Session Quick Supplier Tips ReadyTalk Video:

"How to Engage Franchisor Decision Makers in 27 Minutes or Less..."

We figured out how to leverage 200+ franchise brands to service 30,000+ franchisees.... So Can You!

www.ifxonline.com/FSblueprint

Sincerely,

Dan Martin, CFE

President/CEO

IFX

Former Member, IFA Board of Directors

Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors

Former IFA Executive Committee

Certified Franchise Executive

www.ifxonline.com

www.ifxsuppliersummit.com

About Dan

Dan Martin, CFE began his career in franchising in 1983. After a few years of working with some well known franchise organizations and franchise law firms, Dan decided to move to the next level and start his own Franchise Management & Marketing Firm that would ultimately result in a 200+ franchisor client base servicing 30,000+ franchisees in 23 countries.

Dan has always recognized opportunities and capitalized on his knowledge of franchising and his desire to expand his knowledge base, as well as his company's client base. Dan's experience as both franchisee and franchisor is an absolutely invaluable combination that allows him the ability to recognize new opportunities, identify mission critical issues and develop powerful and practical strategies and solutions beneficial to virtually any type or size of franchise organization. For any inquiries e-mail Dan directly at [email protected]

About IFX

IFX Online is a Strategic Franchise Management Firm servicing 300+ franchise brands and 30,000+ franchisees in 23 countries since 1996. IFX’s Strategic and Technology Divisions work hand-in-hand to assist franchise organizations in implementing key growth management strategies and web-based applications designed to maximize operations, improve communications, implement compliance initiatives and boost ROI.

IFX offers proven franchise development, training, management, marketing and compliance strategies to both start-up and established franchise organizations. IFX’s Strategic Franchise Blueprint outlines 138+ Actionable Items that franchisors and franchisees can implement to immediately improve operations and their bottom line.

IFX’s SaaS applications include Intranet Support Systems; CRMs for franchise development, unit build-out tracking and local store customer acquisition; Learning Management Systems; Mobile Platform Development; Sales & Royalty Reporting with benchmarking and more. All of IFX’s modular applications are both powerful and affordable and can be up and running in 2-6 weeks as fully-hosted solutions. Perfect for small and large franchise organizations on a budget that would like to have IFX host, support and co-administrate their applications.

As both a strategic firm and a technology firm, IFX is mostly known for its Best in Class Service, Hands-on Franchise Experience and Leading-Edge “Gravity Free Thinking”®.

IFX’s CEO, Dan Martin, has 30 years of franchise management experience serving in the roles of franchisee, Area Developer and Advisor. Mr. Martin has served on the IFA’s Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Membership Committee and Technology Committee. Mr. Martin was also Chairman of the IFA’s Supplier Forum Advisory Board and is a Certified Franchise Executive.

[ifxonline-blog]

Franchisor Focus: Turn Your Ad Fund into a Win/Win Fund...

      How Start-up and Established Franchisors

Can Turn the National Ad Fund into a Win/Win

   Back when I was a franchisee, I remember having to write a lot of checks to my vendors, my employees, my landlord and my franchisor each and every month. Some checks were easier to write than others. After a few months, I grew accustomed to ranking certain checks on my own personal PITA Meter:

  Check                             PITA Rank

Rent                                Moderate

Labor                              Moderate

Supplies                         Fair

Alimony                          High

Royalty                          Moderate

Ex Mother-in-Law       Off Scale!

Insurance                      Fair

* AD Fund                   Off Scale

  Notice that my monthly royalty check ranked as "Moderate" on the PITA Meter. Whereas, paying my Ex Mother-in-Law and paying into the National Ad Fund far surpassed the pain of paying the regular royalty, ultimately heading off-the-scale!

  The lesser of two evils: many franchisees associate the royalty with the amount of support they receive each month. Wrong! As we all know, the "royalty" is for a) rights to the trademarks; b) rights to operate the system; and c) rights to the manuals... all of which can be revoked based on termination and are generally never actually owned by franchisees. Unfortunately, many franchisees often think otherwise.

  I remember writing out my royalty check each month and thinking to myself, "Did I receive any support this month?". I knew that, technically, the royalty wasn't actually tied to support. But, I figured "what the heck" and tied it to support anyway. Still... paying the royalty was only a "Moderate" on my PITA Meter.

  It wasn't the royalty that broke my PITA Meter. It was a combination of having to pay my Ex Mother-in-Law and the National Ad Fund! In fact, I'd have to say "it was" the National Ad Fund!

  Why?... Because I was paying 2% per month for seemingly nothing! No bueno!

  Regional or National Ad Fund Tips:

  1 - Have your franchisees pay into the Ad Fund even if you are just starting out and have only a few franchisees. If you don't start collecting it now, you'll have to approach your franchisees later and trust me, they will have forgotten about the Ad Fund contribution entirely and think you are pulling a fast one on them.

  2 - If you have to... consider rebating back a portion of the ad fund to your franchisees if you're not going to use it to benefit regional or national promotions. In short, get them into the habit of paying it, but rebate it back with the stipulation that they apply it to their local ad spend or promotions on the local level.

  3 - Better yet... redirect contributions to the Ad Fund to specific local marketing and promotional programs in each franchisee's area. Consider leveraging a national buy for local benefit by applying a pro-rated portion of the Ad Fund that takes advantage of better group pricing while benefitting franchisees at the local level. Account for the spend and the conversions that it generates and you've go a "win/win" that franchisees will appreciate

More Strategies?...

  Find out more about IFX's Franchise Executive ROI Blueprint Series 2.0:

  1. 138+ Key Franchise Development, Management and Marketing Strategies outlined in step-by-step format;

  2.  Three (3) Audio/Visual Recorded Sessions:

  a. Franchise Development ROI Strategies

  b. Franchisee ROI Strategies

  c. Franchisor ROI Strategies

  Plus...

  3. Special A/V Recorded Session "Milestones & Mindsets: How to Generate Coachable, High Performance Franchisees Who Actually Follow Your System!"

  Feel free to contact me personally for information on our newest Franchise ROI Blueprint Series 2.0 for you and your team! We can start with some specific strategies to boost your franchise ROI... now!

    Continued Success,

Dan Martin, CFE  President/CEO  IFX  Former Member, IFA Board of Directors  Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors  Former IFA Executive Committee  Certified Franchise Executive  www.ifxonline.com  www.ifxconference.com 

  Share:

  About Dan 

Dan Martin, CFE began his career in franchising in 1983. After a few years of working with some well known franchise organizations and franchise law firms, Dan decided to move to the next level and start his own Franchise Management & Marketing Firm that would ultimately result in a 300+ franchisor client base servicing 30,000+ franchisees in 23 countries. Dan has always recognized opportunities and capitalized on his knowledge of franchising and his desire to expand his knowledge base, as well as his company's client base. Dan's experience as both franchisee and franchisor is an absolutely invaluable combination that allows him the ability to recognize new opportunities, identify mission critical issues and develop powerful and practical strategies and solutions beneficial to virtually any type or size of franchise organization. For a ny inquiries e-mail Dan directly at [email protected]

About IFX

 IFX Online is a Strategic Franchise Management Firm servicing 300+ franchise brands and 30,000+ franchisees in 23 countries since 1996.  IFX’s Strategic and Technology Divisions work hand-in-hand to assist franchise organizations in implementing key growth management strategies and web-based applications designed to maximize operations, improve communications, implement compliance initiatives and boost ROI.

 IFX offers proven franchise development, training, management, marketing and compliance strategies to both start-up and established franchise organizations.  IFX’s Strategic Franchise Blueprint outlines 138+ Actionable Items that franchisors and franchisees can implement to immediately improve operations and their bottom line.

  IFX’s SaaS applications include Intranet Support Systems; CRMs for franchise development, unit build-out tracking and local store customer acquisition; Learning Management Systems; Mobile Platform Development; Sales & Royalty Reporting with benchmarking and more.  All of IFX’s modular applications are both powerful and affordable and can be up and running in 2-6 weeks as fully-hosted solutions.  Perfect for small and large franchise organizations on a budget that would like to have IFX host, support and co-administrate their applications.

  As both a strategic firm and a technology firm, IFX is mostly known for its Best in Class Service, Hands-on Franchise Experience and Leading-Edge “Gravity Free Thinking”®.

  IFX’s CEO, Dan Martin, has 30 years of franchise management experience serving in the roles of franchisee, Area Developer and Advisor.  Mr. Martin has served on the IFA’s Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Membership Committee and Technology Committee.  Mr. Martin was also Chairman of the IFA’s Supplier Forum Advisory Board and is a Certified Franchise Executive.

#franchising #frantips #startup

[ifxonline-blog]

Franchisor Social: 6 Steps to Boosting Social for Franchisees & Franchise Social Webinar

                          6 Steps to Boosting Social for Franchisees

 Launching a cohesive social initiative... made easy! That's the dream of most franchise organizations. It's time to make that dream a reality. Consider following these simple steps and sign up for IFX's 6 Steps Social Webinar set for Wednesday, September 24th:

1 - Create a Macro, Sub-Macro and Micro approach that allows subsets to manage their areas in terms of content and analytics. Single or Multi-Brands, Master Franchisees, Area Developers, Multi-Unit Franchisees and Single Unit Franchisees should have their own dashboard "views" that roll-up at higher levels.

  2 - Consider implementing a social media policy that address the engagement of potential and existing customers, as well as potential franchisees (Customer Acquisition, as well as Candidate Acquisition). Bring in your Franchise Development Department to engage the program and periodically promote the franchise opportunity to your customer base.

  3 - Pre-Target territories by promoting new locations and/or territory availability across all franchisee social media channels. Build a base of followers before a specific territory has been granted and promote it to targeted franchisee candidates.

  4 - Create engaging, informative and entertaining content that promotes the brand. Localize that content to each specific unit's social media channels. Remember, franchisees have zero time to spare when it comes to creating and managing content. 

  5 - Provide analytics that allow you and your franchisees to view and respond to reviews. Provide for an approval component that required your advance authorization if necessary.

  6 - Establish incremental expectations and channel them down to each franchisee so that they have a relative understanding of the gains and ROI that this application generates.

        IFX NEW APPLICATION FREE PREVIEW WEBINAR

  Announcing the launch of IFX's latest platform designed to maximize social media content, engagements and ROI for both start-up and established franchise organizations:

  IFX eMedia Centralized Social Media Publishing & Analytics Platform

  What: 6 Steps to Boosting Social for Franchisees & Franchise Social Webinar

  When: Wednesday, September 24, 2014

  Time: 11am PT (2pm ET)

  Duration: 40 Minutes

  Who Should Attend: Franchise Management Team Members responsible for managing corporate, franchise opportunity and franchisee social media content and analytics.

  Register: Email [email protected] for access information

  Goal: Show you how ONE dashboard can be utilized to publish, manage and analyze social media campaigns and metrics to help you:

  1. Sell more franchises

  2. Drive new customers to your franchised and company-owned locations

  3. Engage and convert existing customers

  4. Maintain your brand integrity across multiple social media channels

  Now you can pull-the-trigger on powerful and affordable* social media campaigns that produce tangible results!

    More franchisor strategies?... register to attend IFX's Annual Strategic Franchise Conference for Emerging Franchisors, Dec. 11-12 in San Diego www.ifxConference.com

      Continued Success,

Dan Martin, CFE  President/CEO  IFX  Former Member, IFA Board of Directors  Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors  Former IFA Executive Committee  Certified Franchise Executive  www.ifxonline.com  www.ifxconference.com 

#franchising #technology #frantips

[ifxonline-blog]

Franchisor Focus: P&L Benchmarking Made Easy

    Proactive Franchisee Benchmarking

   P&L: The Three Letter Word - The bottom line is that you (the franchisor) need to know the bottom line of each and every one of your franchisees. You likely have a clause in your Franchise Agreement that states you can request Profit and Loss (P&L) statements from franchisees. Some companies mandate submission of P&L statements on a regular basis. However, whereas generally all franchisors have the clause, only about 20% enforce regular submission of P&L statements.

  If you can format your P&L statements so they are uniform, even if you have to sacrifice a few line items that are generally not associated with the business, you will be ahead of the game. If you have an application that tracks business activity daily and/or imports from your franchisees’ accounting program or CRM, you are way ahead of the game.

Automate the process of receiving your franchisees’ P&L statements and automate the reporting of what they “mean” at the franchisor level (macro) and the franchisee level (micro). You can even accommodate sub-macro reporting for Area Developers or Master Franchisees. This provides franchisees with reports THEY can generate that display their information as baseline data against the average unit and/or the goal established for their unit.

Expenses are just as important as revenues. It’s all part of The New Franchise ROI, but you need to get the data and you need to put it into a format where it makes sense to you and your franchisees. In today’s economy, there’s a very positive spin to requiring P&L statements. It’s all about being proactively reactive and ultimately proactively proactive.

    More franchisor strategies?... register to attend IFX's Annual Strategic Franchise Conference for Emerging Franchisors, Dec. 11-12 in San Diego www.ifxConference.com

    Continued Success,

Dan Martin, CFE  President/CEO  IFX  Former Member, IFA Board of Directors  Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors  Former IFA Executive Committee  Certified Franchise Executive  www.ifxonline.com  www.ifxconference.com 

  Share:

#franchising #p&l #frantips

[ifxonline-blog]

Franchisor Focus: How to Sell Franchises Using Social - 4 Tips for the price of a Margarita!

    4 Simple Tips:

  Leveraging Social to Engage Your Franchisees and Sell More Franchises!

  "When they work for you... just send me a Margarita!" - Dan Martin, CFE

  Social Media: A Franchisor’s Perspective: Franchisors have a unique perspective when it comes to social media that necessitate a slightly different approach than non-franchised companies. The key is to increase exposure AND protect the brand. This is in addition to engaging customers and driving revenues. Franchisors are finally recognizing social media’s impact and they’re asking the following areas:

  a. Generate revenues for franchisees

b. Generate potential franchisee candidates

c. Address customer feedback (positive and negative)

d. Address franchisee feedback (positive and negative)

  Franchisors need to develop a uniform social media policy. “Who” handles complaints about a particular franchise location that are posted on the web? Who handles complaints about the franchisor’s brand or system from the franchisor’s OWN franchisees? You can bet that every franchisee will want to know the franchisor’s position on these issues.

  The key is to understand what's happening on individual franchisee social media pages and recognize patterns. In doing so, the franchisor can map out strategies that grow exposure, track feedback and ultimately protect the brand starting with a base foundation based on current activity.

  Can social media benefit Franchise Development? YES!

  1 - showing how the franchisor has designed a uniform approach to engaging potential and existing customers on various franchisee social media channels is a big plus at Discovery Day.

  2 - showing how the franchisor can develop pre-approved, engaging posts that franchisees can "borrow" from manually or automatically in order to copy down to their own social media pages means that potential franchises won't have to worry about writing content themselves when/if they are approved.

  3 - building a social media presence for a territory before you actually have a franchisee for the territory allows you to start building the business before you have the franchisee in place. Impressive to show a potential franchisee how their potential territory's social media is already engaging customers!

  4 - if the franchisor owns/controls their franchisee's social media channels, then, if the franchisee moves on, the social media channels are simply transferred along with the franchise. In a sense, the followers, or "likes" or engagements stay with the franchise and not the franchisee (or ex-franchisee). They become an asset of the franchisor and an asset of the franchised unit.

                       IFX NEW APPLICATION FREE PREVIEW WEBINAR

  Announcing the launch of IFX's latest platform designed to maximize social media content, engagements and ROI for both start-up and established franchise organizations:

  IFX eMedia Centralized Social Media Publishing & Analytics Platform

  What:  Preview Launch Webinar: IFX eMedia Social for Franchise Organizations

  When: Tuesday, August 26, 2014

  Time: 11am PT (2pm ET)

  Duration: 40 Minutes

  Who Should Attend: Franchise Management Team Members responsible for managing corporate, franchise opportunity and franchisee social media content and analytics.

  Register: Email [email protected] for access information

  Goal: Show you how ONE dashboard can be utilized to publish, manage and analyze social media campaigns and metrics to help you:

  1. Sell more franchises

  2. Drive new customers to your franchised and company-owned locations

  3. Engage and convert existing customers

  4. Maintain your brand integrity across multiple social media channels

  Now you can pull-the-trigger on powerful and affordable* social media campaigns that produce tangible results!

  Questions:  Contact Dan Martin, CFE at 858-724-1024 or email [email protected]

    Continued Success,

Dan Martin, CFE  President/CEO  IFX  Former Member, IFA Board of Directors  Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors  Former IFA Executive Committee  Certified Franchise Executive  www.ifxonline.com  www.ifxconference.com 

  Share:

  About Dan 

Dan Martin, CFE began his career in franchising in 1983. After a few years of working with some well known franchise organizations and franchise law firms, Dan decided to move to the next level and start his own Franchise Management & Marketing Firm that would ultimately result in a 300+ franchisor client base servicing 30,000+ franchisees in 23 countries. Dan has always recognized opportunities and capitalized on his knowledge of franchising and his desire to expand his knowledge base, as well as his company's client base. Dan's experience as both franchisee and franchisor is an absolutely invaluable combination that allows him the ability to recognize new opportunities, identify mission critical issues and develop powerful and practical strategies and solutions beneficial to virtually any type or size of franchise organization. For a ny inquiries e-mail Dan directly at [email protected]

    About IFX

  IFX Online is a Strategic Franchise Management Firm servicing 300+ franchise brands and 30,000+ franchisees in 23 countries since 1996.  IFX’s Strategic and Technology Divisions work hand-in-hand to assist franchise organizations in implementing key growth management strategies and web-based applications designed to maximize operations, improve communications, implement compliance initiatives and boost ROI.

  IFX offers proven franchise development, training, management, marketing and compliance strategies to both start-up and established franchise organizations.  IFX’s Strategic Franchise Blueprint outlines 138+ Actionable Items that franchisors and franchisees can implement to immediately improve operations and their bottom line.

  IFX’s SaaS applications include Intranet Support Systems; CRMs for franchise development, unit build-out tracking and local store customer acquisition; Learning Management Systems; Mobile Platform Development; Sales & Royalty Reporting with benchmarking and more.  All of IFX’s modular applications are both powerful and affordable and can be up and running in 2-6 weeks as fully-hosted solutions.  Perfect for small and large franchise organizations on a budget that would like to have IFX host, support and co-administrate their applications.

  As both a strategic firm and a technology firm, IFX is mostly known for its Best in Class Service, Hands-on Franchise Experience and Leading-Edge “Gravity Free Thinking”®.

  IFX’s CEO, Dan Martin, has 30 years of franchise management experience serving in the roles of franchisee, Area Developer and Advisor.  Mr. Martin has served on the IFA’s Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Membership Committee and Technology Committee.  Mr. Martin was also Chairman of the IFA’s Supplier Forum Advisory Board and is a Certified Franchise Executive.

#socialmedia #franchising #frantips #ifx

[ifxonline-blog]

Franchise Supplier: How being a "Go To" can lead to more franchisor business...

       "That Will Cost You A Margarita!"

  How Being a 'Go To' Can Lead to More Franchisor Business

  Simply put, franchisors and franchisees are looking for a singular point-of-contact (or as few contacts as possible) for leveraged products and services from a franchise savvy supplier.  It's all about maintaining close relationships with key suppliers... suppliers who can deliver and make the franchisor look good... something every franchisor needs more of.

  Suppliers should promote the singular point-of-contact approach in all of their promotional materials and programs. With each program, product or service, the franchise supplier ties their company into the needs and mindset of franchisors and/or franchisees depending on the ideal customer profile for that supplier. That leads to the supplier being sought after for more than just their products and services.  That leads to suppliers being sought after by franchisors and franchisees (customers and non-customers alike) for “strategic advice” as well.

It's all about leveraging more than just what you do... it's about leveraging your experience and the advice that you can provide to a franchisor on how to better run their franchise organization.

The prime directive of a franchise supplier is to become a “go to” for anything related to franchising. This leads to greater exposure, greater credibility, increased revenues and the ability to leverage a wide variety of leveraged strategies applicable to the franchise channel.

One company - One solution - Full accountability... that's the key. A "set and forget... we'll provide the infrastructure" is what franchisors want to hear from suppliers who march in the door looking to make a pitch. Franchisors have needs. They have pain points. They don't care 'how' your solution works. They just care 'that' it works and that it addresses their pain points and the pain points of their franchisees.

Everything you do and everyone you recommend needs to operate on this premise... it's all about relationships and it's all about leveraging your expertise. That's what brings franchisors onboard. You are selling yourself.

 _________________________________________________________________

  IFX Franchise Supplier Advisory Services:     IFX offers Franchise Suppliers opportunities to capitalize on its growth in the domestic and international franchise channels.  If you're interested in maximizing exposure, contacts and revenues, you should consider becoming an IFX Advisory Services Client.  We'll teach you everything we know and everything we didn't know so YOU TOO can grow your business startingNOW.     Contact: Dan Martin, CFE @ 858-724-1024 or via email at [email protected] for more information on IFX's Franchise Supplier Advisory Services.     FREE Franchise Supplier Strategic Advice? Contact Dan Martin, CFE at [email protected] for a Complimentary Strategy Session for your supplier organization. 

    Continued Success,

Dan Martin, CFE  President/CEO  IFX  Former Member, IFA Board of Directors  Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors  Former IFA Executive Committee  Certified Franchise Executive  www.ifxonline.com  www.ifxconference.com 

  Share:

  About Dan 

Dan Martin, CFE began his career in franchising in 1983. After a few years of working with some well known franchise organizations and franchise law firms, Dan decided to move to the next level and start his own Franchise Management & Marketing Firm that would ultimately result in a 300+ franchisor client base servicing 30,000+ franchisees in 23 countries. Dan has always recognized opportunities and capitalized on his knowledge of franchising and his desire to expand his knowledge base, as well as his company's client base. Dan's experience as both franchisee and franchisor is an absolutely invaluable combination that allows him the ability to recognize new opportunities, identify mission critical issues and develop powerful and practical strategies and solutions beneficial to virtually any type or size of franchise organization. For a ny inquiries e-mail Dan directly at [email protected]

    About IFX

  IFX Online is a Strategic Franchise Management Firm servicing 300+ franchise brands and 30,000+ franchisees in 23 countries since 1996.  IFX’s Strategic and Technology Divisions work hand-in-hand to assist franchise organizations in implementing key growth management strategies and web-based applications designed to maximize operations, improve communications, implement compliance initiatives and boost ROI.

  IFX offers proven franchise development, training, management, marketing and compliance strategies to both start-up and established franchise organizations.  IFX’s Strategic Franchise Blueprint outlines 138+ Actionable Items that franchisors and franchisees can implement to immediately improve operations and their bottom line.

  IFX’s SaaS applications include Intranet Support Systems; CRMs for franchise development, unit build-out tracking and local store customer acquisition; Learning Management Systems; Mobile Platform Development; Sales & Royalty Reporting with benchmarking and more.  All of IFX’s modular applications are both powerful and affordable and can be up and running in 2-6 weeks as fully-hosted solutions.  Perfect for small and large franchise organizations on a budget that would like to have IFX host, support and co-administrate their applications.

  As both a strategic firm and a technology firm, IFX is mostly known for its Best in Class Service, Hands-on Franchise Experience and Leading-Edge “Gravity Free Thinking”®.

  IFX’s CEO, Dan Martin, has 30 years of franchise management experience serving in the roles of franchisee, Area Developer and Advisor.  Mr. Martin has served on the IFA’s Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Membership Committee and Technology Committee.  Mr. Martin was also Chairman of the IFA’s Supplier Forum Advisory Board and is a Certified Franchise Executive.

#franchising #supplier #frantips

[ifxonline-blog]

Every day I meet people who dream about starting their own business, but wonder if they have what it takes. Some have been in corporate jobs for years and have great skills but not a great idea for a business. Or they may not be a big risk taker. B...

[ifxonline-blog]

Only a few more spots left for our #suppliersummit!! Reserve your spot today > http://bit.ly/1msd0YC

#suppliersummit #ifx #strategicmentoring #sandiego

[ifxonline-blog]

Franchise Supplier Series: How to Sign Hundreds of Franchisees through Leveraging

    Franchise Suppliers:

  It's All About Leveraging One Point-Of-Contact

The franchise channel consists of certain structures which are largely duplicated across multiple, seemingly unrelated brands or concepts.  There is a common thread that can be identified.  If the common thread can be identified, it can be attacked.  More importantly, your company’s business model can be (or should be) systematized.  Leveraging the common denominators found in franchising is what it’s all about.  The goal is to be expert in “franchising” beyond the specific product/service expertise you already have that’s associated with your company.

  You need to understand the common threads applicable to the MAJORITY of franchise organizations so that you can “talk the talk and walk the walk”.  It is critical to differentiate your company from the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of direct competitors who may, or may not, have franchise expertise and/or a franchise approach.  

  Your company needs to have a defined and visible franchise approach even if for token purposes.  Your website, your materials, your advertising, your public relations and the way you talk have to reinforce this approach to both potential and existing franchise clients.

  IFX Annual Franchise Supplier Summit - Aug. 1-2, 2014 in San Diego, CA

  What if you could gain 300 new clients and significantly grow your business in the next 30 days? IFX has identified over 50 Powerful and Practical Strategies to grow your business immediately. 

  Register for the IFX Franchise Supplier Summit on August 1-2!

  This summit will show you how to expand your business while reducing your sales costs. You don't have to go it alone! Learn from those who have been there before with this step-by-step Strategic Franchise Supplier Blueprint you can implement to grow revenues now. Not only can you gain expert knowledge you can also leverage the power of franchising to gain 300 new clients in just one month!

  Check out the proven ways to grow your business in the next 30 days by attending this summit. 

Register Now

      “It was well worth it for every supplier who deals with franchising, new or old. There were over twenty ‘Ah Hah!’ moments... We have used and will continue to use many of the strategies outlined in the Summit. This was a game changer!”                                                                                                                 –Jason Yost, FETCH Graphics

Are you ready to be the next IFX Success Story?

  What Summit Attendees Say!

  August 1-2, 2014  San Diego, CA 

  You have less than 2 weeks left!

How will you reach 300 new clients this month?

Find out by registering today: 

 www.ifxsuppliersummit.com

      Continued Success,

Dan Martin, CFE President/CEO IFX Former Member, IFA Board of Directors Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors Former IFA Executive Committee Certified Franchise Executive www.ifxonline.com

  Share:

  About Dan

Dan Martin, CFE began his career in franchising in 1983. After a few years of working with some well known franchise organizations and franchise law firms, Dan decided to move to the next level and start his own Franchise Management & Marketing Firm that would ultimately result in a 300+ franchisor client base servicing 30,000+ franchisees in 23 countries. Dan has always recognized opportunities and capitalized on his knowledge of franchising and his desire to expand his knowledge base, as well as his company's client base. Dan's experience as both franchisee and franchisor is an absolutely invaluable combination that allows him the ability to recognize new opportunities, identify mission critical issues and develop powerful and practical strategies and solutions beneficial to virtually any type or size of franchise organization. For any inquiries e-mail Dan directly at [email protected]

    About IFX

  IFX Online is a Strategic Franchise Management Firm servicing 300+ franchise brands and 30,000+ franchisees in 23 countries since 1996.  IFX’s Strategic and Technology Divisions work hand-in-hand to assist franchise organizations in implementing key growth management strategies and web-based applications designed to maximize operations, improve communications, implement compliance initiatives and boost ROI.

  IFX offers proven franchise development, training, management, marketing and compliance strategies to both start-up and established franchise organizations.  IFX’s Strategic Franchise Blueprint outlines 138+ Actionable Items that franchisors and franchisees can implement to immediately improve operations and their bottom line.

  IFX’s SaaS applications include Intranet Support Systems; CRMs for franchise development, unit build-out tracking and local store customer acquisition; Learning Management Systems; Mobile Platform Development; Sales & Royalty Reporting with benchmarking and more.  All of IFX’s modular applications are both powerful and affordable and can be up and running in 2-6 weeks as fully-hosted solutions.  Perfect for small and large franchise organizations on a budget that would like to have IFX host, support and co-administrate their applications.

  As both a strategic firm and a technology firm, IFX is mostly known for its Best in Class Service, Hands-on Franchise Experience and Leading-Edge “Gravity Free Thinking”®.

  IFX’s CEO, Dan Martin, has 30 years of franchise management experience serving in the roles of franchisee, Area Developer and Advisor.  Mr. Martin has served on the IFA’s Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Membership Committee and Technology Committee.  Mr. Martin was also Chairman of the IFA’s Supplier Forum Advisory Board and is a Certified Franchise Executive.

[ifxonline-blog]

Don't miss this opportunity to dramatically grow your business... NOW!

You have invested a significant amount of time and money into your company – from getting everything set up, to building relationships, to jumping on every opportunity. So what's next? How do you expand your reach? How do you leverage the types of businesses you work with?

  Get your questions answered and rapidly increase your revenues in the next 30 days!

  Join Us at the IFX Franchise Supplier Summit on August 1-2 in San Diego, CA!

  Who is IFX? IFX has consolidated over 30 years of franchise management experience and over 17 years of franchise supplier experience. IFX currently represents over 30,000 franchisees in 23 countries and now offers a remarkable step-by-step Strategic Franchise Supplier Blueprint for you to take advantage of.

  Here are just a couple of the topics we will be presenting to help you generate more revenues from franchisors and franchisees in the next 30 days:

Strategies on branding your company to maximize exposure in the franchise channel.

Accommodating Master Franchisee and Area Developer structures to rapidly expand your customer base.

The summit offers insights and tactical strategies to immediately improve your business.

"...I walked away with usable strategies that increased our value proposition to hundreds of franchise organizations." Steve Givens – FulCircle

  Come be another IFX success story!

  August 1-2, 2014  San Diego, CA 

  Don't miss this opportunity to drastically grow your business! Register today! www.ifxsuppliersummit.com

#ifxsuppliersummit #strategic #mentoring

[ifxonline-blog]

IFX Supplier Summit 2014

                               IFX Franchise Supplier Summit

                              August 1-2, 2014 • San Diego, CA

                    50+ Strategies on How Suppliers Can Dramatically

                    Increase Exposure & Revenues in the Franchise Industry

                                   www.ifxSupplierSummit.com

    Since 1996, IFX has offered its 200+ base of domestic and international franchisor clientele exclusive strategies on how to maximize operations and increase their bottom line.

  For the past 18 years, start-up and established franchise companies representing 30,000+ franchisees in 23 countries have utilized IFX’s unique success management strategies to improve their ROI and that of their franchised and company-owned units.

NOW... as one of the top supplier companies in franchising today, IFX's management team shares its wealth of experience with other suppliers interested in entering and maximizing the franchise channel.  Serving as Chairman of the International Franchise Association's Supplier Forum Board of Directors, as well as the IFA's Board of Directors and Executive Committee, IFX's CEO, Dan Martin, CFE has first-hand knowledge of what it takes to attract and engage franchisors and franchisees alike with strategies and tactics designed to boost their bottom line.

A Solution-Oriented Event Specifically Designed for Franchise Suppliers!

IFX hosted its own “Franchise Success Management” conferences exclusively for its own client base for 18 years.  However, now IFX has consolidated 30+ years of franchise management experience and 18+ years of franchise supplier experience into a remarkable step-by-step Strategic Franchise Supplier Blueprint that is being offered to all IFX supplier clients!  This is a "technology" conference.  It is a "Franchise Supplier Strategy Summit" designed specifically for executive level suppliers interested in engaging hundreds of franchise brands throughout North America and abroad.  

A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR SUPPLIERS OF ALL TYPES AND SIZES! 

Register at www.ifxSupplierSummit.com

     STRATEGIC FRANCHISE SUPPLIER BLUEPRINT

Step by Step Actionable Strategies Outlined in a Linear Blueprint Format

The Prime Directive of IFX's Franchise Supplier Summit is to provide suppliers with a series of no-cost and low-cost actionable strategies designed to maximize operations and immediately boost their company's bottom line in the franchise industry. 

What makes this conference unique is that it incorporates IFX's Strategic Franchise Supplier Blueprint outlining key strategies in linear format. This linear approach is designed to walk attendees through a specific order of Strategic Tracks, with each track providing strategies designed to boost revenues, maximize efficiencies, streamline operations and increase their bottom line and ROI.

Strategic Summit Topic Coverage:

Key fundamentals of franchising including terms, structures, legal, practical and political areas that specifically impact how suppliers secure business with a wide variety of franchise organizations.

Strategies on branding your company to maximize exposure in the franchise channel.

Metrics covering pricing, lead production, close ratios, costs per close and sales process duration.

Specific marketing approaches designed to capitalize on “real world” franchisor and franchisee needs.

Accommodating Master Franchisee and Area Developer structures in order to rapidly expand your customer base.

How to develop “win-win” cooperative marketing programs with non-competing franchise suppliers.Strategies on how to leverage Franchise Consultants referring agents using “Affiliate Programs”.

How to specifically maximize Social Media to generate more exposure, leads and deals.

Key franchise events to attend and how to make them produce revenues for your company.

Leveraging membership in franchise-related associations and groups.

Maximizing public relations to increase exposure, build brand integrity, generate more deals and position your company as having significant experience in the franchise channel.

How to use technology to generate more revenues, operate more efficiently, track and boost ROI.

Strategies outlining “Where” and “How” to promote your company’s products and services to generate increased exposure and revenues while reducing costs and time-to-close.

Best Practices on “What Works” as well as “Blunders to Avoid” as a supplier entering the franchise channel.

How to apply IFX’s Gravity Free Thinking® strategies to expand your business on a domestic and international level.

Focused brand management and growth strategies provided in special “Shark Tank” Session!

  Visit www.ifxSupplierSummit.com to register.  Seating is limited.  

     IFX Supplier Advisory Services - What Clients Say:

  "Cadence9 has been a client of IFX since January 2013.  Cadence9 is a hosted software platform that helps marketing teams plan, publish, engage and measure their social media and content marketing activities.  Prior to our engagement with IFX, the company played in a much more horizontal space.  As a result of some early projects, we concluded that we should consider focusing our resources on the franchise industry.

  To start this shift, we decided it was critical to find a “trail guide”.  Being new to the world of franchises, we didn’t have the time nor budget to explore and develop lessons learned.  Rather we wanted to work with someone that knew the industry, was also a supplier and could relate to our technology.

  By calling around it didn’t take long to see that IFX and Dan Martin were repeated references. After a couple of meetings, we started our relationship.  IFX has been instrumental in helping us “cut-to-the-chase”.  In hind sight, we have pretty much adopted the recommendations Dan made to us.  In the year we have been working with Dan, we have made a 100% shift toward the franchise industry, modified our technologies and messaging, and participated in numerous events including sponsorship participation in Dan’s own conference and the most recent IFA 2014 event in New Orleans.  Equally as important is that we have signed on franchisors as customers."

  Martin van der Roest

President

Cadence9

  Continued Success,

Dan Martin, CFE President/CEO IFX Former Member, IFA Board of Directors Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors Former IFA Executive Committee Certified Franchise Executive www.ifxonline.com

#ifxsuppliersummit #maxmizeroi #leadership

[ifxonline-blog]

3 'Must Have' Words for Franchise Supplier Growth...

    Like you, we are a Franchise Supplier. We design applications that revolve around the real-world needs (pain points) of franchise organizations. Everything we write incorporates 3 Words.  Always. Always. Always! 1 - Political:  is your product or service designed to address the real-world needs of real-world franchisees (Mom and Pops who are totally slammed, under financed and who don't know what they don't know... in some cases)? Is your product or service perceived as ultimately beneficial to franchisees by franchisees? Is it obvious? Your answers should be, "YES!". 2 - Practical:  is your product or service easy-to-use?  Is it user friendly? Is it franchisee friendly?  There is a difference! Do you require special hardware or software or certification or anything that could make signing with you a bit too complex? Can you keep in simple both in terms of signing up and in terms of pricing levels? 3 - Legal:  let's face it, franchising sometimes involves litigation. Franchisees sometimes look for legitimate loopholes or questionable loopholes. Does your product or system provide for some kind of compliance or accountability tracking? Do you maintain access and/or use records? Can your client document their franchisees' use of your product or service so franchisees cannot come back and say they never received support?  

                                   These 3 Words relate to franchising because franchisees are most often considered as independent contractors.  Sometimes they follow the franchisor's system and sometimes they don't. Franchise Suppliers cannot assume that their product or service will actually be used by franchisees. Just because the franchisor endorses your company doesn't mean that franchisees will automatically buy-in. Everything you do to generate and support business with franchise organizations should incorporate these 3 Words. Everything! A huge advantage and a huge card to play when you're working with franchisors and especially their franchisees.

 _________________________________________________________________

  IFX Franchise Supplier Advisory Services:

  IFX offers Franchise Suppliers opportunities to capitalize on its growth in the domestic and international franchise channels.  If you're interested in maximizing exposure, contacts and revenues, you should consider becoming an IFX Advisory Services Client.  We'll teach you everything we know and everything we didn't know so YOU TOO can grow your business starting NOW.

  Contact: Dan Martin, CFE @ 858-724-1024 or via email at [email protected] for more information on IFX's Franchise Supplier Advisory Services.

  IFX Annual Franchise Supplier Summit - Aug. 1, 2014 in San Diego, CA

  In addition to our Franchise Supplier Advisory Services, IFX hosts its own summit each year in San Diego designed to provide suppliers with a leg up on how to truly leverage the franchise channel.  1.5 days on how to generate more exposure, generate more contacts, increase revenues and leverage each deal to grow your business.

  Check out IFX's Annual Franchise Supplier Summit at www.ifxsuppliersummit.com

  We know we can help your company to generate more business.  We've done it... so can you!

IFA Opening General Session Video: http://www.ifxonline.com/videos/2014IFA/

    FREE Franchise Supplier Strategic Advice? Contact Dan Martin, CFE at [email protected] for a Complimentary Strategy Session for your supplier organization and mark your calendar for IFX's 3rd Annual Franchise Supplier Summit set for August 1, 2014 in San Diego (see www.ifxsuppliersummit.com).

  IFX Supplier Advisory Services - What Clients Say:

  "Cadence9 has been a client of IFX since January 2013.  Cadence9 is a hosted software platform that helps marketing teams plan, publish, engage and measure their social media and content marketing activities.  Prior to our engagement with IFX, the company played in a much more horizontal space.  As a result of some early projects, we concluded that we should consider focusing our resources on the franchise industry.

  To start this shift, we decided it was critical to find a “trail guide”.  Being new to the world of franchises, we didn’t have the time nor budget to explore and develop lessons learned.  Rather we wanted to work with someone that knew the industry, was also a supplier and could relate to our technology.

  By calling around it didn’t take long to see that IFX and Dan Martin were repeated references. After a couple of meetings, we started our relationship.  IFX has been instrumental in helping us “cut-to-the-chase”.  In hind sight, we have pretty much adopted the recommendations Dan made to us.  In the year we have been working with Dan, we have made a 100% shift toward the franchise industry, modified our technologies and messaging, and participated in numerous events including sponsorship participation in Dan’s own conference and the most recent IFA 2014 event in New Orleans.  Equally as important is that we have signed on franchisors as customers."

  Martin van der Roest

President

Cadence9

    Continued Success,

Dan Martin, CFE President/CEO IFX Former Member, IFA Board of Directors Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors Former IFA Executive Committee Certified Franchise Executive www.ifxonline.com www.ifxconference.com

    About Dan

Dan Martin, CFE began his career in franchising in 1983. After a few years of working with some well known franchise organizations and franchise law firms, Dan decided to move to the next level and start his own Franchise Management & Marketing Firm that would ultimately result in a 300+ franchisor client base servicing 30,000+ franchisees in 23 countries. Dan has always recognized opportunities and capitalized on his knowledge of franchising and his desire to expand his knowledge base, as well as his company's client base. Dan's experience as both franchisee and franchisor is an absolutely invaluable combination that allows him the ability to recognize new opportunities, identify mission critical issues and develop powerful and practical strategies and solutions beneficial to virtually any type or size of franchise organization. For any inquiries e-mail Dan directly at [email protected]

  About IFX

 IFX Online is a Strategic Franchise Management Firm servicing 300+ franchise brands and 30,000+ franchisees in 23 countries since 1996.  IFX’s Strategic and Technology Divisions work hand-in-hand to assist franchise organizations in implementing key growth management strategies and web-based applications designed to maximize operations, improve communications, implement compliance initiatives and boost ROI.

IFX offers proven franchise development, training, management, marketing and compliance strategies to both start-up and established franchise organizations.  IFX’s Strategic Franchise Blueprint outlines 138+ Actionable Items that franchisors and franchisees can implement to immediately improve operations and their bottom line.

IFX’s SaaS applications include Intranet Support Systems; CRMs for franchise development, unit build-out tracking and local store customer acquisition; Learning Management Systems; Mobile Platform Development; Sales & Royalty Reporting with benchmarking and more.  All of IFX’s modular applications are both powerful and affordable and can be up and running in 2-6 weeks as fully-hosted solutions.  Perfect for small and large franchise organizations on a budget that would like to have IFX host, support and co-administrate their applications. 

As both a strategic firm and a technology firm, IFX is mostly known for its Best in Class Service, Hands-on Franchise Experience and Leading-Edge “Gravity Free Thinking”®.

IFX’s CEO, Dan Martin, has 30 years of franchise management experience serving in the roles of franchisee, Area Developer and Advisor.  Mr. Martin has served on the IFA’s Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Membership Committee and Technology Committee.  Mr. Martin was also Chairman of the IFA’s Supplier Forum Advisory Board and is a Certified Franchise Executive.

#frantips #franchisemanagement #ifx #suppliergrowth #gravityfreethinking

[ifxonline-blog]

FranTips: 4 FAQ Steps to Proactive Franchisee Support

Generating High-Performance Franchisees:                             4 FAQ Steps to Proactive Franchisees Support 

Track Patterns of Commonly Asked Questions and Develop FAQ Directories:  1 - Centralize the tracking of all questions from your franchisees in a singular Help Desk so that you can spot patterns.  2 - Identify key category types and how often specific topics are raised by franchisees on a regular basis.  Assume that, although the same question may have been asked by several individual franchisees at different times, there may be other franchisees that did not know that “that” was a question.  Often times “franchisees don’t know what they don’t know”.   3 - Take the proactive approach of assembling the most commonly asked questions each week into an “FAQ Directory” of Frequently Asked Questions and publish it often to all your franchisees.  Give credit to the franchisees who first submitted the question and then provide your subsequent response. 4 - Continue tracking commonly asked questions and issues in order to determine if you need to make adjustments to your manuals or training and support programs.  You may even see patterns that ultimately end up as new programs designed to further maximize operations of all your franchisees.

  Note that the key to the success of this program is to centralize all questions (and responses from your support team) into one directory or location so that you can see patterns.  Take the proactive approach of updating your FAQ Directory on a weekly basis and promote, promote, promote the FAQ Directory to all your franchisees.

_________________________________________________________________

  IFA Opening General Session Video: http://www.ifxonline.com/videos/2014IFA/

  Free Franchise Strategic Advice? Contact Dan Martin, CFE at [email protected] for a Complimentary Strategy Session for your franchise organization and mark your calendar for IFX's 17th Annual Strategic Franchise Conference set for December 11, 2014 in San Diego (see www.ifxConference.com).

  IFX Technology Sampling:

  IFX's Online Training Module (OTM) - IFX’s Online Training Module (OTM) provides a web-based interface for developing and conducting courses and scoring associated tests online based on user access levels. The administrative interface is designed to provide administrative personnel with the ability to build their own courses and tests online using a variety of formats. Administrators can "assign" courses and associated tests to individuals and/or groups based on levels achieved within the system. Courses and tests can be programmed to automatically flag certain test results, as well as record which users have accessed specific courses and completed certain tests. Course advancement can be programmed to allow users to move on to secondary courses and tests based on achieving pre-set test result benchmarks as outlined by the administrator. Courses and tests can be archived for future access and/or reactivation. Passed, Failed, Taken, Not Taken status reports can be accessed along with pre-set notification templates. Use for profiling prospective franchisee candidates; franchisee training; franchisee employee training and corporate employee training. Unlimited storage space.  Unlimited courses.  Unlimited user accounts.  One low monthly cost.

  Ask IFX about our NEW Online Training Module specifically designed for franchise organizations!  

    Continued Success,

Dan Martin, CFE President/CEO IFX Former Member, IFA Board of Directors Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors Former IFA Executive Committee Certified Franchise Executive www.ifxonline.com www.ifxconference.com

#franchisefocus #franchisemanagement #growthstrategies

[ifxonline-blog]

FranTips: Suppliers Can Pick Up Your Support Tab!

      Generating Additional Revenues by Leveraging Your Approved     

    Supplier Relationships:                                          Tagging Your Approved Suppliers                                            to Help Pick Up the Tab

  Do you host a convention for your franchisees? Do you invite your approved suppliers to exhibit in front of your franchisees? Do you charge your approved suppliers to exhibit in front of your franchisees? Do your approved suppliers pay you to attend (plus, cover their own travel and lodging costs)? Do they actually get the opportunity to promote their respective products/services in front of your franchisees? Do they transact business as a function of the direct exposure? Do they pay you for all of this? Do your approved suppliers complain that they didn’t get enough “face time” with your franchisees? If the answer is “yes” to any/all of the above, keep reading...         Develop a Year Round Approved Supplier Sponsorship Program to promote approved suppliers in front of all your franchisees on a regular basis and structure it so that it increases revenues for your franchise organization in return. For example, when you roll-out a new technology application (Extranet, POS System, Accounting System, Online Training Module, CRM, etc.) brand it with your brand and ALSO the brand of one of your participating approved supplier(s). For example: “Powered by Quickbooks” or “Sponsored by U.S. Foods”. Incorporate the supplier’s logo on the application and link it to the supplier’s website (or, even better to a tracking page and then to the supplier’s website and/or social media pages). This approach works for virtually any major application or informational campaign you direct to your franchisees. “Feature” selected approved suppliers using an infotorial approach in your electronic news updates. Dedicate a blog, bulletin board or online chat forum to a particular supplier and let them field questions about their particular products and services directly in front of your franchisees. IFX has clients that have incorporated this strategy into their technology applications that franchisees use everyday, as well as into notices and information exchange forums that franchisees depend on to help each other. Most clients generate between $50 and $500 per supplier per month to be affiliated with a daily exposure program in front of all of their franchisees. That’s 30 straight days of exposure to all franchisees for $50 to $500. A typical franchise convention costs suppliers $2,500 and more, plus travel and lodging for only two days of exposure. Imagine how this form of sponsorship revenue could increase a franchisor’s bottom line. Imagine if the franchisor offered to direct revenues from Supplier Sponsorships into the National Advertising Fund? A great marketing/PR tool for both existing and potential franchisees... and something you could formally disclose and promote in your FDD.

   ______________________________________________________________

IFA Opening General Session Video: http://www.ifxonline.com/videos/2014IFA/

  Free Franchise Strategic Advice? Contact Dan Martin, CFE at [email protected] for a Complimentary Strategy Session for your franchise organization and mark your calendar for IFX's 17th Annual Strategic Franchise Conference set for December 11, 2014 in San Diego (see www.ifxConference.com).

  IFX Technology Sampling:

  IFX's Online Training Module (OTM) - IFX’s Online Training Module (OTM) provides a web-based interface for developing and conducting courses and scoring associated tests online based on user access levels. The administrative interface is designed to provide administrative personnel with the ability to build their own courses and tests online using a variety of formats. Administrators can "assign" courses and associated tests to individuals and/or groups based on levels achieved within the system. Courses and tests can be programmed to automatically flag certain test results, as well as record which users have accessed specific courses and completed certain tests. Course advancement can be programmed to allow users to move on to secondary courses and tests based on achieving pre-set test result benchmarks as outlined by the administrator. Courses and tests can be archived for future access and/or reactivation. Passed, Failed, Taken, Not Taken status reports can be accessed along with pre-set notification templates. Use for profiling prospective franchisee candidates; franchisee training; franchisee employee training and corporate employee training. Unlimited storage space.  Unlimited courses.  Unlimited user accounts.  One low monthly cost.

  Ask IFX about our NEW Online Training Module specifically designed for franchise organizations!  

    Continued Success,

Dan Martin, CFE President/CEO IFX Former Member, IFA Board of Directors Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors Former IFA Executive Committee Certified Franchise Executive www.ifxonline.com www.ifxconference.com

#frantips #franchisemanagement #keyapplications #franchisefocus #ifxonline

[ifxonline-blog]

FranTIPS: Double Franchise Multi-Unit Development in Half the Time.

                                 Dramatically Accelerate Multi-Unit Development

                                 Using a Franchise Stimulus Package Approach

Capitalize on Your Best Assets

  Develop a strategy that capitalizes on your Best Assets... your base of existing successful franchisees. They are the new “Prime Directive” and their success with singular or multiple units is paramount. To this end, consider dramatically reducing your secondary grant Franchise License Fee in order to encourage existing franchisees to expand their investment. Franchisors have generally always offered some form of slight reduction in secondary Franchise License Fees, but you really have to cut fees dramatically in order to further incentivize existing franchisees, as well as to make it easier for them to obtain the capital necessary to get a secondary unit up and running.

  Consider a Multi-Unit Stimulus/Incentive Package

  Consider a “Stimulus” package that rewards the franchisee with a graduated secondary Franchise License Fee that starts very low after “x” months and then gradually increases until they are granted their secondary franchise. For example, if a franchisee purchases a secondary franchise within 18 months of purchasing their first franchise, the Franchise License Fee is reduced by 75%. If they purchase after 18 months, but prior to 24 months, the fee is reduced by 50%, etc. You can apply the same “Stimulus” formula to royalty percentages that move downward based on increased unit sales volume over a set period of time.  Some franchisors reduce the royalty by 1%-2% for secondary units that open on schedule as per an overall development agreement. That's a significant amount of savings for opening secondary units on-time.

  The Net Effect

  The “Net Stimulus” can often be portrayed as a form of “backing” by the franchisor in the form of an identifiable amount of capital that was saved due to the original franchisee meeting the Stimulus performance criteria. Everyone wins with this model and it’s also a great marketing tool.

IFA Opening General Session Video:http://www.ifxonline.com/videos/2014IFA/

  Free Franchise Strategic Advice? Contact Dan Martin, CFE at [email protected] for a Complimentary Strategy Session for your franchise organization and mark your calendar for IFX's 17th Annual Strategic Franchise Conference set for December 11, 2014 in San Diego (see www.ifxConference.com).

  IFX Technology Sampling:

  One CRM = 4 Franchise-Specific Benefits: Designed specifically by IFX for Franchise Organizations to accommodate... 

  1 - Franchise Development/Lead Management with auto import, lead followup scheduling, auto campaigns and reporting;

  2 - Franchise Agreement Compliance with Auto Tracking and Reminders;

  3 - Unit Setup Task Tracking with Franchisee Task Assignment and Tracking;

  4 - Franchisee to Customer Lead Management and Marketing;

  Ask IFX about our NEW CRM Tracking System specifically designed for franchise organizations!  

IFX Franchise Technology Services - What Clients Say:

“I have been in Franchising for 21 years now, and am very picky about the tracking and analysis of the Franchise sales process. I am also a CMS snob, having tried so many, looking for the one that fit all of my needs for many years. I first found the IFX CRM about 7 years ago and was thrilled that I had finally found an exceptional and relevant Franchising CMS. It is extremely intuitive and very powerful. It has allowed me to track and analyze thousands of important franchise candidates in an exceptional manner. It has also allowed my Franchise Sales teams to become very productive and precise. More importantly it has allowed me to run a highly detailed process with very predictable results. Because of this, I am able to maximize my operations in ways that I wouldn’t be able to without this sophisticated and easy to use tool. I would strongly recommend IFX to any high powered Franchise group out there!” 

- Dan Fields, Senior VP & Partner - FocalPoint Coaching 

    Continued Success,

Dan Martin, CFE 

President/CEO 

IFX 

Former Member, IFA Board of Directors 

Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors 

Former IFA Executive Committee 

Certified Franchise Executive 

www.ifxonline.com 

www.ifxconference.com

#stratrgicfranchisemanagement #franchisedevelopment #gravityfreethinking #technologyfirm #keygrowth

[ifxonline-blog]

5 Tips on How to Be FRANCHISEE Proactive!

Franchisees Don't Know... What They Don't Know. 5 Tips on How to Be FRANCHISEE Proactive! Franchising is designed to provide a proven system to franchisees. The franchisor's role is to provide guidance to their franchisees. What works. What does not work. What to avoid. How to capitalize on products, services and brand opportunities. Ultimately, franchisor guidance can dramatically improve the chances for franchisee success. Nice in theory... but ... What if your franchisees have never been franchisees before? What if your franchisees have never even been in business before? What if your franchisees forget what they learned in training? What if your franchisees forget to get out of bed? In fact... what if your franchisees don't realize that they may not know what they don't know? Yikes! Say it ain't so? Actually... it's very so! Here are 5 tips to being proactive so you don't have to worry about your franchisees being in-the-dark ALL the time: 1 - Develop an FAQ Directory: compile the most commonly asked questions from your franchisees and generate a daily or weekly update of FAQs available to all franchisees. You'll be surprised how many questions you can head off at-the-pass. In addition, franchisees often learn about questions that they'd normally never thought about previously. 2 - Benchmarking - It's All Relative: if franchisees don't know what they don't know, it's a pretty sure bet that they don't know where they stand compared to where they should be. Develop a benchmarking dashboard that provides franchisees with simplified graphs depicting how they are doing compared to other franchisees and/or a goal established by the franchisor. Franchisees that request certain date-range-reports can learn how they're doing relative to other similar franchisees without having to ask the franchisor first. 3 - Regularly Scheduled "We're Here" Skype Calls: don't wait for franchisees to call you for help especially when they often don't know where they need help. Schedule regular Skype visual support calls to each of your franchisees for a specific day and time every 2 to 4 weeks. Make it a standing appointment where you can both go online and see each other and talk about "how things are going". The visual impact is significant and assures franchisees that you are there for them. In fact, it's often assuring for both parties. 4 - Don't Repeat Tips 500 Times: franchisees sometimes pay attention to advice provided by their franchisor. On the other hand, sometimes they don't. And yet, franchisees definitely tend to pay attention to advice offered by other franchisees who, like them, are viewed as being on the front line and in the trenches. Being proactive sometimes requires that franchisors convey their best advice through other franchisees in order for everyone to jump in. Credibility and actual implementation increases when tips are conveyed by existing franchisees to existing franchisees. Franchisors that channel tips through franchisees have better buy-in on a proactive approach than franchisors who do not. 5 - Establish Incremental Milestones: being proactive is all about hitting goals or milestones... or, at least that's the objective of being proactive with your franchisees. After they have the information, they need to apply it. After they apply it, they need some way of knowing if they've achieved their objective. Franchisors can be proactive all-day-long. However, if franchisees don't apply the franchisor's advice and ALSO recognize when the advice has proven itself out, franchisees won't know how the advice has performed. Establishing expectations in increments is critical. What are the milestones associated with the implementation of a strategy? How will the franchisee recognize them? These can all be delivered at the time the advice is transmitted to the franchisee. The net result is that the franchisee has proactive advice they can gage in order to generate a tangible return based on achieving milestones. FREE Franchise Advice? Contact Dan Martin, CFE at [email protected] for a Complimentary Strategy Session for your franchise organization and mark your calendar for IFX's 17th Annual Strategic Franchise Conference set for December 9-10, 2014 (see www.ifxConference.com). ONE CRM = 4 Franchise-Specific Benefits: Designed specifically by IFX for Franchise Organizations... 1 - Franchise Development/Lead Management with auto import, lead followup scheduling, auto campaigns and reporting; 2 - Franchise Agreement Compliance with Auto Tracking and Reminders; 3 - Unit Setup Task Tracking with Franchisee Task Assignment and Tracking; 4 - Franchisee to Customer Lead Management and Marketing; Ask IFX about our NEW CRM Tracking System specifically designed for franchise organizations! What IFX CRM Clients are saying: “I have been in Franchising for 21 years now, and am very picky about the tracking and analysis of the Franchise sales process. I am also a CMS snob, having tried so many, looking for the one that fit all of my needs for many years. I first found the IFX CRM about 7 years ago and was thrilled that I had finally found an exceptional and relevant Franchising CMS. It is extremely intuitive and very powerful. It has allowed me to track and analyze thousands of important franchise candidates in an exceptional manner. It has also allowed my Franchise Sales teams to become very productive and precise. More importantly it has allowed me to run a highly detailed process with very predictable results. Because of this, I am able to maximize my operations in ways that I wouldn’t be able to without this sophisticated and easy to use tool. I would strongly recommend IFX to any high powered Franchise group out there!” - Dan Fields, Senior VP & Partner - FocalPoint Coaching Continued Success, Dan Martin, CFE President/CEO IFX Former Member, IFA Board of Directors Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors Former IFA Executive Committee Certified Franchise Executive

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A Picture is Worth 10,000 Words: Going Visual with Franchisee Support

              Dear Jennifer, 

Franchisees, often times, don’t know what they don’t know. After all, most franchisees have never been franchisees before. Many have never owned their own business before. Moreover, when they’re already slammed just trying to figure out the business, they’re generally not in-the-mood to read through pages and pages of manuals forced on them by a franchisor who tends to believe in quantity vs. quality.

  In today’s proactive franchisee support world, the premise of “a picture is worth a thousand words” has dramatically increased to “ten thousand words” simply due to franchisors “going visual”.

  It’s all about the impact of technology on franchisee support. Visual teleseminars, webinars, video conferencing, live exchange of franchisee-to-franchisee resources and virtual support sessions have evolved dramatically over the past 5 years. The common denominator? They all have greater impact and retention and they tend to put a franchisee’s mind at ease by taking a more personal, visual support approach to the dissemination of information.

  The impact of technology has clearly increased the impact of support at the franchisee level. Visual support in the form of images, videos and live video conferencing has considerably greater impact on franchisees in terms of getting the point across and involving franchisees in the process. It’s often a proactive and two-way medium that generates greater participation from franchisees and longer retention.

  Today’s generation of new franchise owners are visual. They’ve been raised on TV and video games, iPads, DVRs and smart phones. They’re communicating instantly with text messaging, various social media platforms and live audio/video communication. Franchisors are recognizing that their training programs, resource information and support services should utilize the same technology when it comes to communicating with franchisees. Virtually every support relationship involving franchisees can achieve greater impact and retention using today’s visual technologies:

  Franchisor-Franchisee Communication and Support

Franchisee-Franchisee Communication and Support

Franchisee-Supplier Communication and Support

Franchisee-Prospective Franchisee Communication, Disclosure and Due Diligence

      Franchisees, who often don’t know what they don’t know, need to know what they don’t know… now! All of the above forms of communications and support are designed to accommodate immediate and spontaneous sharing of information. Franchisors who have recognized that it’s not the amount of information directed towards their franchisees (quantity), but rather the proactive value of the information (quality) as it relates to addressing real-world support with franchisees.

  Visual Benchmarking: It’s always a plus for franchisees to know where they stand with regard to staying on track to achieve their financial objectives. Benchmarking reports in the form of visual pie charts, line charts and bar charts have significantly greater impact and a higher retention rate than columnar spreadsheets.

Peer Group Video Conferencing: Peer Groups and Focus Groups are often viewed as communities within communities. Franchisors can capitalize on a more personal and more effective visual approach by setting up video conferencing services between group members. Especially with Peer Groups, this medium is more personalized, tends to build greater trust and ultimately provides for workable solutions faster.

Visual Training Sessions: When it comes to franchisee buy-in with regard to taking training courses, going visual can not only increase the number of people taking courses, it can increase course scores. Again, going visual increases impact, retention and attention span. Greater attention equals better course results. Video-based sessions, animated slide presentations and even audio learning sessions have replaced old time training manuals while reducing costs.

Webinars: Email and newsletter updates have given way to group webinars that capitalize on group participation in a live, visual environment. Monthly group strategy sessions with key franchisor management and all franchisees are the norm for maximizing everyone’s time and generating solutions from both sides.

Regularly Scheduled Video Support Calls: Franchisors generally don’t wait for franchisees to call with questions these days. Rather, proactive franchisors schedule regular, one-on-one video support calls every two weeks at the same reoccurring time. There is no need to take a reactive approach. Further, going visual helps to assure the franchisee that, indeed, the franchisor is actually there and striving to directly assist the franchisee with proactive ideas to help them grow their business.

Get Acquainted Video Interviews with Prospective Franchisees: Why wait for Discovery Day to personally meet with candidates interested in investing in your franchise opportunity? You can get to know candidates and they can get to you know you much better and in a more caring and personalized way by conducting a series of face-to-face video interviews. It’s all part of the due diligence process and works well to relate the same personal approach you’ll be taking when the candidate qualifies to become a franchisee.

  When it comes to going visual, it’s not the technology as much as the way the technology is applied. Visual images are generally simpler to understand. Video technology can be simple, interactive and engaging. From a practical point-of-view, going visual is a real no brainer for franchise organizations. However, from a political point-of-view, going visual promotes a proactive sharing of ideas on a personal and tangible level. The sense of community is achieved faster and with better results. And community is ultimately what franchising is all about.

    IFX 16th Annual Franchise Summit 

Dec. 10th in San DIego 

www.ifxSummit.com

      Continued Success,

Dan Martin, CFE  President/CEO  IFX  Former Member, IFA Board of Directors  Past Chairman, IFA Supplier Forum Board of Directors  Former IFA Executive Committee  Certified Franchise Executive  www.ifxonline.com  www.ifxconference.com 

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