How to Sell to Franchises and Franchise Groups in Australia

The Franchise Landscape

Australia is one of the most franchised nations in the world, with over 1,200 franchise systems and nearly 100,000 franchise units. From fast food to fitness to financial services, franchise businesses represent a massive and unique sales opportunity.

Understanding the Structure

Franchises have a dual decision making structure. The franchisor (head office) sets strategy, approved supplier lists, and system wide standards. Individual franchisees operate their businesses within these parameters.

Some purchasing decisions are made centrally by the franchisor. Others are left to individual franchisees. Understanding which decisions sit where is critical for your sales approach.

The Top Down Approach

If you can get your product approved at the franchisor level, it can be rolled out across the entire network. This is the higher value but harder path. You need to convince head office that your product adds value to the system, fits their brand standards, and can be implemented at scale.

Approach the franchisor with a compelling business case, pilot results from one or two franchisees, and evidence of scalability.

The Bottom Up Approach

Alternatively, start by selling to individual franchisees. Build case studies and success stories within the network. When enough franchisees are using and loving your product, it becomes easier to approach head office for system wide adoption.

This approach takes longer but creates organic demand that is hard for the franchisor to ignore.

Navigating Approved Supplier Lists

Many franchise systems maintain approved supplier lists. If your product is not on the list, individual franchisees may not be able to purchase it. Find out whether the franchise you are targeting has such a list and what the process is for getting added.

Common Franchise Needs

Point of sale systems, marketing solutions, staff management tools, training platforms, compliance systems, insurance, and fit out services are all commonly purchased within franchise networks.

Industry Events

The Franchising and Business Opportunities Expo and similar events bring franchisors and franchisees together. These events are excellent opportunities to meet decision makers from multiple franchise systems in one place.

The Scale Advantage

A single sale to a franchise system can result in dozens or hundreds of implementations. This scale makes the longer sales cycle and more complex decision process worthwhile. One deal that rolls out across 50 locations is equivalent to closing 50 individual deals.

Zepys can connect you with companies looking to enter franchise markets, giving you access to products that are franchise ready and looking for agents to help with distribution.