This past month the FBA development team has been hard at work at several new upgrades for our members, most of which are going to be things that change the game for our consultants and their businesses. We are still hard at work on those improvements and I don’t want to spill the beans just yet. Just know that we have been listening, and you’ll be very excited about what is to come.
Today, I’ll share some of the updates we have been piloting on our own FranchiseBA.com website – updates that will soon be rolled out to our franchise consultant members’ websites.
Much like a Real Estate agent and their clients rely on a MLS to find a home, Franchise Consultants and their clients rely on our FLS (FranLink System) to help find a franchise. All FBA Franchise Consultants have access to the full FLS on our private members website, FBAMembers.com. From here they are able to quickly and accurately find the right concept that matches their clients’ needs out of hundreds of franchises by combining specific criteria. We also provide a mini version of this search for each of our consultants on their very own custom website.
In analyzing data compiled from these websites we’ve decided to institute some changes to help boost conversions. Better conversions = more franchise deals. It’s no doubt that a lead from your own website will be far more responsive than one that is purchased from a franchise directory site.
We’ve noticed that while sites are getting traffic, people visiting the sites were taking advantage of all the search options we provided. We want these visitors to find good information, but not too MUCH information. Oftentimes, a client on their own incorrectly misinterprets data and cancels out a perfectly good opportunity. This is just one reason why it is beneficial for them to work with a franchise consultant.
The issue then becomes how much information of themselves are they willing to provide to a consultant and what stage are they at in their franchise research? Are they just looking or very interested?
To better serve both of these stages, and be respectful of a visitor’s privacy, we’ve instituted new ways to use a consultant’s Mini FLS.
Client Research & The My Franchise List
When it comes to looking for the right franchise opportunity, someone can spend forever looking for a perfect match. We have seen that some of our consultants will use their website’s Franchise Search as a place to send their candidates. This gives them a safe way to have them browse some of the franchise inventory they represent while not circumventing the broker process. The result of doing this process provides insights into a client’s interests as as well as proving they are a serious candidate.
To help simplify this research process, and limit the amount of back and forth emails, we’ve developed a way to have a client be able to save “liked” franchises to a list. Once on this list the client can, at-a-glance, see a brief comparisons of all their “liked” franchises. This list can then be emailed to the consultant along with information such as desired location, time frame to purchase, and investment range.
A client can also choose the amount of information they are comfortable in sharing by selecting either a discreet form or a Territory Check request. In regards to the discreet form they are only required to provide a name and email. The Territory Check provides a full list of important information that a franchise consultant needs to move the process forward. We understand that some people want to simply “put a toe in the water” and get some information sent to them. By providing this option, we are not excluding these visitors and potentially losing out on a valuable contact.
It’s getting close towards Conference and if you haven’t yet heard its going to be a profitable experience for everyone who attends. Steve LeFever and his electrifying presentation: “Profit Mastery – A Focus on Profitability & Performance” will be our keynote speaker this year.
So if you have’t already done so…SIGN UP!! We can’t wait to see you this November!