To set up a franchise, the mutual selection process leading up to integration into a brand consists of a series of discussions with the franchisor and his team to check whether the business corresponds to your entrepreneurial aspirations (and vice versa).
Three elements are crucial in determining how to become a franchisee: the first contact, generally made online (“You don’t get two chances to make a good first impression” – a quote attributed, it seems, to Coco Chanel), the last contact before signing (survey on the Pre-contractual Information Document) and the invisible in-between, i.e. the opinions of other franchisees in the network.
First online contact: anything but banal
Get off to a good start…
How common is it to send an application form to a network?
This act, generally the first contact with a franchisor, already commits you to your future relationship with the company.
It requires (imperatively) :
- Reflection, to apply, as described in this article, to a brand that meets YOUR objective and subjective criteria, and corresponds to your entrepreneurial project.
- Transparency, the foundation of the relationship between franchisor and franchisee.
This starts with a personal contribution that reflects reality, and a credible, sincere presentation of your career path, without embellishing the situation.
Just as much as your know-how, your interpersonal skills will be decisive. - Customization.On average, entrepreneurial candidates who join a brand represent 1 to 5% of applications.
Do you get it?
…clear and direct
To complete the application form or an Internet form, the entrepreneur :
- Can get straight to the point using a telegraphic style.
- Must answer these 3 questions: Why start a business?
Why create a franchise?
Why create within this brand? - Knows how to move from the generic to the specific, to stand out from the crowd. For example, by clearly expressing your motivations: seeking a social position, the desire to earn money, etc.
Signing a franchise agreement takes 2 to 3 months, and sometimes even longer, from initial contact.
To this must be added the same or even twice as long before opening the finished premises – and even 18 months if the building is under construction.
Here, we should consider the opposite role of an advertisement in the case of a property acquisition: you’re the one who writes the ad, and you have to provide the information that might interest, or even touch, the reader, in this case the network developer.
Always to the point.
Opinions of other franchisees, anything but “fake
“You need three things to make a good film: first a good story, then a good story, and finally a good story” (Jean Gabin)
It’s imperative that you get the opinion of several franchisees in the network, old and new (the concept is evolving), well developed in the network or with developing sales, whether they’re fully satisfied or frankly unhappy.
We can’t stress this enough: you need to take the advice of several franchisees in the network, who have themselves experienced the transition from theory to practice, and who, as “customers” of the brand, have an informed “consumer” opinion on the impact of the brand, the depth of the know-how and the effects of the support provided.
Here’s a tip: ask the franchisor or one of his franchisees to show you the concept’s operating manual for 15 to 20 minutes.
If it’s well-structured, accessible and complete, you’re in!
Finally, for those who don’t understand: would you have bought your apartment without asking the residents of the condominium or neighborhood for their honest opinion?
So, to sum up… It’s imperative to ask the network’s existing franchisees for their opinion!
Recommended password
You can contact them at
- Through the franchisor (with a password, for a “free” exchange),
- Sometimes talk to them on the stand at a recruitment fair,
- Directly, if they wish to respond (any prudent business owner will be wary, and rightly so, of competitors trying to find out more about the inner workings of the network),
- Or simply on a Discovery or Immersion course.
DIP / contract: anything but a formality
In the name of the law
Made mandatory by the Doubin Law, the Pre-contractual Information Document (DIP) is a tool designed to clarify the consent of future franchisees, so that they can make an informed commitment to a network head.
It helps a would-be entrepreneur make the final decision to join a network, for one simple reason: all the information previously provided (such as sales brochures or the franchisor’s website) did not meet the rigorous standards required of a franchisor in the DIP.
Example: franchisee departures.
Normal expiry of the contract, amicable or legal termination, cancellation of the contract… not all reasons for leaving the network have the same meaning.
Further information
The DIP is given to the prospective entrepreneur at least twenty days before signing the contract with the franchisor: this period should allow you to investigate any assertions in the document that give you cause for concern.
Before making a commitment to a franchisor, the prospective franchisee will need to make a realistic estimate of the profitability and viability of the outlet, based on the information provided in the DIP. While the results of a franchised operation depend on the skills and qualities of its entrepreneur, the concept must have one cardinal virtue: it must be profitable!
In the case of a real estate purchase, you may need to investigate shadow areas related to the property, such as a green space opposite your location where buildings could be erected in the future.
Experts: Fontainebleau, Chamonix, Longwy…
When you bought your new home, didn’t you find out what was indicated on the real estate diagnostic report, make enquiries at the town hall or talk to friends and family who had gone through the same… metamorphosis?
Sometimes, when in doubt, you’ve turned to specialists to help you understand the document better, haven’t you?
Do the same before making a 5 to 7-year commitment to a brand by consulting a chartered accountant, or even a lawyer specializing in franchising (defending franchisees)!
Lastly, the spirit of the franchise contract does not allow for many changes.
However, certain contractual clauses should be monitored closely, as they are prone to litigation.
For example, clauses governing exit from the contract can be coercive for the franchisee.
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