Hey Everybody. Brandon Clifford here, Business Alliance Inc just gonna go over the franchise brokers role in the sale. You know, it's, it's kind of an important thing going on to this new venture of becoming a franchise broker and and to understand how to really stay in your lane. So that you can really, you know, scale and close a high volume of deals. So let's, let's dive right in. Before we get started, with this particular topic, it's always just a good reminder of, of who Business Alliance Inc is, right? And so it starts with our mission statement. So Business Alliance Inc is the premier resource of growth for consultants, brands and suppliers in the franchise industry, And the way we fulfill that mission is, it's really stands upon our brand pillars, ok? So we developed these pillars. They're very intentional, they're very purposeful. And hopefully you heard about this during the onboarding and recruitment process of becoming a BAI broker. But in case you haven't, these are our pillars, We C.A.R.E. and our BAI brokers C.A.R.E. And if, if you didn't embody these pillars you probably wouldn't be watching this video today. So we're looking for, for all of our partners, whether it's a broker, a brand or a supplier to, to exemplify these traits, right? So we want you to be collaborative, ok? We want you to be accountable. We want you to be respectful and we want you to be ethical and this goes really, really well it dovetails well into the topic of what the broker's role is in the franchise sale and that's why I wanted to share these today, So that being said, let's, let's let's jump right into this. So what exactly does a BAI broker do? I mean, you know, sometimes it may seem like, you know, you're getting into the franchise sales world world and you are right, But you're not necessarily a franchise seller. Ok? What you really do is you provide support, right You're gonna support franchise buyers with the tools and resources that they need to make a really smart decision. You're gonna make connections, you're gonna be connecting buyers with brands that potentially they never would have heard of on their own, right And you're gonna facilitate these transactions, you're gonna keep the the information exchange happening. you know, so you can facilitate a smooth transaction. And most importantly, you educate and you advise, right You are not a franchise seller, that's what the 400 brands that are in our network do. they sell their brands You're, you're an educator. You're, you're an advisor, you're focused on making connections. You know, it's really important to stay in that lane, right. So let's dive a little bit deeper to each one of these. And hopefully you can come away with a, with a better understanding of what your role is going to be in the sale. All right. So first and foremost, it is providing support, right So investing in a franchise is not a simple decision, it's not an impulse buy. Nobody wakes up in the morning. and says, oh, I'm gonna go run down to the store and buy a franchise today, right? This is a life decision and you have to support your candidates during the due diligence process. and really be their shoulder to lean on, you know, their shoulder to cry on sometimes. but also someone there to kind of give them a kick in the butt and keep them moving forward, right? So it starts in the very beginning, you wanna work really closely with your client, understand their goals, their desires, where they want to be in the future, where they are today and then which vehicle can help them get there, Really educate them on the process of buying a franchise, not on a specific franchise, itself, let the brands do the selling, right Your goal is to really, you know, I guess, kind of close them or encourage them to enter into the due diligence process and then give them, bread crumbs along the way to keep them on the, on the straight and narrow path. You know, things like connecting them with, a franchise attorney to help review their, legal documents, maybe a CPA to help, set up their business and, and what not. Um you know, encouraging them to make their validation calls and, and talk to existing owners of the brands you connected with them. Those little things will help, you know, inspire them to keep moving moving forward, And the second one is, is making connections, right First and foremost, a franchise broker or consultant is a connector. OK You are connecting buyers to brands, right You're opening up these potential investors to a world of opportunities that they probably never would have heard of on their own, right And so you have to be a connector, you have to be someone who wants to give a referral. You can't be someone who wants to control the entire process. Now, that being said, although you're a connector, the most successful franchise consultant, the most successful brokers in our network Stay very, very close. I like to call them sticky, they stay very close to their candidates throughout the process. It's not just a, a pass it off, throw it over the fence and see what happens, type of, of lead, right? You're giving a referral, you're making an introduction. It's, it's very common for top brokers to sit on discovery webinars, you know, with their clients, especially, the first discovery webinar that the client has ever been on where the first time you've learned about a brand, Um you know, regularly participating in calls and, and webinars and things like that, will really, you know, help, you know, your candidate feel like, while you're not investing your money, you've totally invested your time in this decision. So they will really view you as a partner and that's important because that's why, that's why they reached out to you at the beginning is that they wanted someone to help them make this really difficult decision, right The next thing item three is gonna be facilitating transactions, ok And now that doesn't mean sitting down at the closing table and, and, you know, facilitating the closing, but it really is, you know, is, is keeping things moving forward. Ok. So getting your candidate to agree to moving on from a presentation stage of where you present three or four brands of them to having an initial call with 1 to 2 of these brands. that's a transaction, right? So you wanna make sure you're, you're encouraging them every single step along the way. and, and kind of next stepping them to make sure they know what's coming next in the discovery process, right You know, the discovery process, it could be complicated from initial introduction to a brand to sign an agreement can take up to three months. There's a lot of layers that come into Franchising. It's, it's not just a, a quick impulse buy. So it's really important as a, as a, as a solid franchise broker or consultant. Your goal is to ensure that your clients are making a really smart investment decision and they feel um you know, very comfortable with everything they're learning and they get all their buckets filled, right. So you have to be there with them every step of the way to ensure that that happens. Number four, gotta remember, you're always educating and advising, right You never want to, you know, get in the franchise seller space, so to speak, right? the most successful franchise brokers in our, in our network, They always educate and advise their candidates on making smart decisions. The more educated your, your clients, your candidates are, the easier it will be for them to make a decision about buying a franchise, right? So it's not a bad idea, you know, I mean, ultimately, the goal is to become someone who's like "of influence" in the business ownership sphere of, of your of your world, whether that's in your local market or on linkedin, online, social media, things like that. You know, so things like hosting online webinars about business ownership or how to understand a franchise disclosure document. you know, high level franchise type topics like that, doing individual face to face meetings with candidates, maybe a local boots to business seminar for veterans who are exiting their military service and looking to get into business ownership, lots of networking, you know, joining think tanks and, and mastermind groups, things like that. So your clients recognize that you're someone of influence and that makes them want to work with you and, and feel like they, they, they're supported throughout the process right now, no matter how well you execute on, on all those items, roadblocks and obstacles are still going to occur, right? anybody whos anybody who's invested in anything has felt the fear, you know, whether you're, you're purchasing a home and they talk about buyers remorse, right? Um Or if you're, you're, you're starting a business, you know, inevitably you wake up in the middle of the night and you're like, wow, am I really gonna do this? Right? So your job throughout this whole process is really to be a fear manager. Ok. Um Now this isn't trying to be coercive or, or manipulative or anything. It's really because when that person filled out the form and requested or sent you a message and requested to, to learn about Franchising through your services. They raised their hand and said I wanna be a business owner. Ok. Now your job as their coach, as their consultant, as their advisor is to help them achieve that goal, right? Um or at least to gather enough information to make a a really smart decision, right? And where fear really comes from is lack of information. So that's what you always want to be doing is setting expectations that, hey, you know, we're gonna go through this together, we're gonna gather information, you know, we're "I'm inviting you into a process," ok? Um "You don't have to make a decision to buy a franchise on the first call." "You also don't have to sign a franchise agreement nor should you sign a franchise agreement at Discovery Day." What's most important is that you're just continuing to move forward and gather information to make a really smart decision, right? Um Now, even that being, you know, that being said, even if you do a perfect job of, of managing that fear throughout the process, obstacles will still come up again, even towards the end, some typical times that obstacle, obstacles come up, you know, is, you know, based on funding, you know, um today, especially in 2024 the the timing of funding it's getting longer and longer, right? That can be an obstacle, other things life gets in the way. Unfortunately, things happen. You know, people's parents pass away, their loved ones have unfortunate accidents. Like, you know, if life happens, it is what it is. You know, you, you have to continue to, to just, you know, move on and, and, and let that go. Right. Sometimes there'll be spousal side is what we like to call where, like maybe the spouse or their, their loved one, their partner wasn't involved in the invest investigation process And then all of a sudden at the end they swoop in and they're like, whoa what is this? You're gonna quit your job and start a business, you know. So again, you have to be um upfront on these things, you have to stay ahead of these, these obstacles that you see might, that they might be coming um and be a little bit forward thinking and, and that's the best way to avoid them, right? Um So just real quick stages where that fear gets triggered, oftentimes you're gonna see your candidates, they'll fall off after the presentation. So after you present three or four brands, maybe five brands to them. Um because that's when it's, it starts to get a little bit real like, oh wow, like I was talking to this dynamic, exciting person of influence in the business world. Um And now all of a sudden they want me to go talk to some, to some actual franchises, you know, that this is a little bit too real, right? Uh So obviously you wanna make sure you're, you're, you know, it showing them that you're not just gonna go away, you're still there to help and support them. Um after the introduction, right? Um At some point during the discovery process, you know, candidates might fall off again. It's when it starts to get like they're getting closer to the finish line. Right? So that's why you have to make sure you're, you're not necessarily pushing them, um, or pulling them through the process, you're encouraging them to continue to gather information. And in the last place where we see a lot of candidates fall off is actually a Discovery Day, of course. Right? Because that's when it's super real. Um, they're basically, they're at the finish line and, um, you know, that's why it's very important for you to schedule, um, you know, to set expectations that when you're going to Discovery Day, this is just a learning experience. You're not making a decision here, right? Um You're gonna go home, you're gonna talk to your spouse, you're gonna review the agreement with your, your attorney before you make your payment and uh, and secure the franchise, right? So at the end of the day, that kind of gives you a brief little overview of, of what it's like to be a franchise broker with BAI, and take your candidate through the process. Ok. So, you know, continue to stick by your, your affiliate relationship manager they're here to help you and guide you and, you know, I know you're just scratching the surface on, on, on the training program. But I'm looking forward to seeing your success.
