A lot of time, energy and resources are poured into lead generation for franchises. However, neglect and lack of attention to details can undo all your hard work, making your endeavours fruitless. That's why lead follow-up is imperative.
Utilizing an established contact follow-up process, you can show the soundness of your franchise; demonstrate it has a proven track record, that it offers adequate and relevant training, and anything else worth communicating to potential investors.
But before we go on….
How does your business generate leads?
That’s where Franchise Direct come in; we are a leading global portal for quality lead generation.
We cover five continents: Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Our expert team can quickly turn your profile into a dynamic lead generator, and we are constantly looking at ways to build on our 25 years of expertise in this area. However, what is the point in putting all that effort into lead generation if there is no follow-through?
That is why we need to define…What is lead nurturing?
Do a quick search and you will see that a wide array of different websites will provide alternative definitions for ‘lead nurturing’ and they usually involve buzz terms, such as “funnels and sales cycles”.
However, when it comes to franchisors, lead nurturing is the relationship building process with your lead, from the first moment of interest, through every stage of their journey to becoming a franchisee. It sounds simple, right?
What problems can lead nurturing solve?
According to research undertaken by Hubspot and Marketo, 74 percent of businesses say converting leads into customers is their top priority, while over 95 percent of visitors who come to your website aren’t ready to buy yet.
Lead nurturing aims to be close the gap between these two figures. When leads fill in their details to be contacted, they are saying that they want to receive further information about what your brand has to offer them and their entrepreneurial ambitions. The correct type of content and appropriate communication can be the catalyst for budding entrepreneurs to invest in your franchise business.
Lead nurturing has been described as the link between marketing and sales, and is a process that requires effort, but effort which yields great rewards.
So, why is nurturing vital for your business?
Research from Harvard revealed the optimum time to reach out to sales’ leads is within an hour of receiving the initial query. However, this isn’t, nor should it be where the nurturing method ends. According to research by Ascend2, approximately half of businesses cited their leads require “long cycle” nurturing, with many influences. Research conducted by Hubspot also illustrated that ordinarily there are on average, 10 nurturing steps before converting a paying customer, and when it comes franchises, the number of steps in this journey can be greater.
It sounds like a tough task, but inaction can have a detrimental effect on your business. To put it simply, if you fail to nurture your leads, you are allowing a massive number of sales to fall by the wayside.
So, what are the stages of the lead nurturing process?
Everything is easier to understand when broken down into smaller digestible sections and lead nurturing is no different.
For franchises, we can divide the process into four distinct sections, and it can be easily remembered by the acronym ‘FIND’ (Focus, Interest, Nurture, Deal).
Stage One – Focus
First, you need to focus on what your ideal franchisee would be, their skills, experience, personality etc. and use the right tools to connect with them. This can be achieved by advertising on the right channels, becoming an information leader on these channels and recognizing what other franchise businesses do and don’t do well during the sales process.
Stage Two – Interest
When a potential franchisee has reached out for more information about your franchise opportunity, and provided their contact details, it is vital to follow up on this interest gently. Of course, you need to follow up promptly with the prospective investor, but it is just as important not to overwhelm them with information overload.
Email marketing campaigns can and should be utilised, but the message and content needs to be appropriate and not correspondence for the sake of it. This content needs to be useful and practical, with the likes of short videos, blog posts and online discovery days all useful examples.
Stage Three – Nurture
This is when the lead is interested in discovering more and shows potential for becoming part of your franchise system. During this stage, the content can become more personal and specific to the individual candidate, try cultivating a rapport and develop a one-on-one dialogue and schedule further contact down the line.
This is where the sales and marketing teams come together, working in tandem to recognise the needs of the leads and to try to fulfil them and close the deal.
One-on-one conversations are a fundamental component to this stage, with franchisor-franchisee meetings, follow-ups, and details of potential return on investments being discussed. At this point, social networks such as LinkedIn, SMS or WhatsApp can play a really useful role in delivering information and contact, in a less formal and more casual consumption.
Stage Four – Deal
This is the point where the franchisee has decided to join your franchise family. You want to sustain that existing relationship to guarantee it is a fruitful one for both parties, and all going well, it the deal brokered can extend beyond the initial franchise agreement.
A welcoming gesture, as well as tailored personalised help and franchise privileges are crucial her to ensure a successful onboarding is achieved.
Where do we go from here?
According to the IFA Franchise Sales Index (International Franchise Association), franchisors are only closing on average 1.2 percent of deals that enter their sales funnel. There are numerous reasons for this, but a lack of focus on lead nurturing is a major contributing factor.
Too many leads are not fully realised due a lack of adequate time being devoted to lead nurturing, and simultaneously, the communication and content that is required during the process is often not up to the required quality.
Obviously, not every potential franchisee will invest in your franchise opportunity, but not investing your time and energy into lead nurturing will ensure that less and less prospects complete the journey from enquiry to franchisee.
Franchise Direct New Zealand is here to help you, from getting leads, to nurturing them, to ensuring more of them become buyers. Contact us today to discover more about how we can work together.