Who has watched the movie (or will at least admit to watching it) Megamind? You know that part where the bad guy asks Megamind what the difference is between a villain and a super villain? His response is my favorite part of that movie, and probably among my top 5 parts of any movie watched ever – PRESENTATION!

So I went to Subway today at the local gas station on the corner by our offices. This gas station was packed, subway was packed, the convenience store was packed. By all accounts, I would have to say it was among the busiest gas stations I have been at for a while. I noticed as I was ordering my lunch that the store manager, and what looked like another manager, were carefully washing the windows with a squeegee. They painstakingly removed every dust particle or stain from both sides. The job was done immaculately and as Megamind would say, their presentation made this gas station a super station.

This exact same gas station, just a few months ago was dead. Nobody. Crickets. That’s right, this station had the exact same location, but under different management had an arby’s, as well as convenience store, and gas pumps. Everything was always filthy, the outside, the inside, the shelves were not stocked properly, the restaurant was a mess, and the gas pumps rarely had fuel in them. Yes, the gas pumps at the gas station didn’t work because there was rarely gas. Now, this process took a few years to deteriorate to the point that new management bought the station from old management and turned it around in a matter of weeks.

They say in Real estate that location, location, location is what matters, and is the most important decision you can make. I say, ya, pretty important, but that doesn’t mean you can forget the lesson Megamind teaches us. You need PRESENTATION!

I have five kids. That should say it all for this blog post shouldn’t it. Every single one of my kids went through a phase of asking me why to just about everything in life. Some people may find that annoying, but I always enjoyed giving as intelligent a response as possible, only to hear why? again. Eventually I would give in and simply respond with – why not?

Its the cop out answer isn’t it, but one thing I have learned is that people can get stuck in asking the why questions for so long that there is no decisive action, and they are left in inaction, forever analyzing but never progressing. I was never too fond of those philosophical course I had to take at college, I have always been interested in action.

A number of years ago we had a board meeting to discuss methods of expanding our franchise concept, and we discussed many of the traditional as well as nontraditional channels we could use to get in front of the kinds of candidates we seek to award franchises to. We had the good fortune of a board that was stacked with intelligent and very experienced and successful entrepreneurs. During this discussion one of these respected board members, in response to asking if we should risk a lot of money on a unproven advertising channel, asked – Why Not? – we are all a bunch of entrepreneurs, what are we afraid of? I loved that response, and as well as the challenge that it presented.

Sometimes you have to do things you don’t know will work, you have to venture out into the unknown because if you don’t then you will never know what you could have had if you hadn’t simply asked the question -Why not? that’s what entrepreneurs do.

Just do it!

If you’ve been in business very long at all (meaning you’ve had an empire as big as a lemonade stand
on the corner when you were six) you’ve probably heard the phrase “The devil is in the details.” It’s
a silly mantra that we spout whenever something wrong comes up. You might refer to it as Murphy’s
law, meaning that the worst possible thing that can go wrong inevitably will. Whatever way you look
at it, you have heard the phrase that the tiniest things are going to trip you up. So what can you do
about it?

When the devil in the details rears it’s ugly head, it is never when you would like it to. It never happens
during the planning phase of a new project, product launch, or marketing effort. It will always appear
when all appearances suggest that there is no possible way to fix it. This is where you discover the
differences in the hobbyists and the businesspeople.

Last minute disasters are inevitable. They will come up, and you will have to deal with them. The best
thing you can do is prepare yourself as much as possible, get your resources ready, and most of all, take
the advice of Douglas Adams in his classic book “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” and “Don’t
panic!”.

Having the confidence to face the unforeseen details of a project without losing your head will make
you stand head and shoulders above your competition. If you want to survive, you must stay in control
of your own thoughts, feelings, and emotional states. Here’s a little secret you can use too: Have an
emergency kit handy for when things are at their worst. Fill it with something that makes you laugh (a
favorite comedian, comic book, or picture), something that makes you feel good (a pair of clean socks,
a fresh shirt, or some other comfort item), and a list of people you call when you need a pick me up.
Keep your kit at your desk, ready for you when you need it.

You won’t be sorry.

The best marketers will tell you that money comes most easily to those who understand the wants,
wishes, and needs of your customer. If you are selling watches to active adult men, it doesn’t make
sense to give them ribbon bands with ponies and unicorns on them, right?

The funny thing is, many companies have begun making their product offering so generic, they really
aren’t targeting anyone at all. They offer the plainest, most generic items available, usually with black
or grey color schemes, and expect them to move like hotcakes on the market.

The less specific a marketer or business owner targets, the more likely it is that nobody will be
interested in buying the product. It is vital to understand that you are not creating your widgets or
service to be thrown into a magic pit from which money comes out. These products are going to
people who purchase them to solve a problem or improve their lives in some way.

In Og Mandino’s classic treatise on salesmanship “The Greatest Salesman in the World”, the first scroll
suggests that a salesman walk among his customers for thirty days and repeat to himself the words “I
love you” to everyone he passes. Try doing this for a single day, and see if you feel any different about
your own product. Would you sell it to someone you love? Would someone who loves you sell it to
you?

The phrase “It is not personal, it is business” is an outdated concept. All business must be personal if
a lasting relationship with a customer can be built. They must know you, like you, and trust you if you
intend to do business with them. So ask yourself, Where’s the love?

Offering a top quality service or product is a key aspect of business. Conrad Kolba offers some great
thoughts on quality in his blog. Click here to read his artticle “On Quality”.

One of the life bloods of franchising is lead flow. Not much different than another of our franchisees business, or any sales and marketing company; you need to be bringing in new blood all the time. At Five Star we are constantly measuring lead flow, sales cycles, velocity, close ratios, and other various metrics to make sure we are on track. Recently, in a sales meeting we discussed two things that we could do to increase our franchise sales.

1) Volume. This can mean so many things, but it can start at the very beginning of the sales cycle – impressions, or in the middle – leads, or in the end – contracts signed. The reality is that you need to be constantly reviewing ways to increase the volume of people looking at your concept, so, that they can express interest and enter into the journey of learning if your franchise concept if the right fit for them. Here are a few ideas on ways you could amp up the volume:

a. Cast a wider net. For example, if you are advertising for the word painting franchise, why not consider something like home based business, or service industry franchises in your online advertising. Some people know what they want, and others have an idea.
b. Use different channels. Online advertising is a fantastic tool that can be approached through SEO, Pay-Per-Click, affiliates, directories, and on and on. However, what about trying something different like Career Builder, or Monster.com? Business brokers is a channel that many franchisors use to get in front of candidates, and many of them use these techniques themselves. Why not try your hand at marketing to the right candidates directly?
c. PR. Public Relations is a tricky tool that few are able to wield effectively. I have approached this different ways for different concepts. The key is that if you aren’t using PR in your marketing mix you should think about doing it now. Have no money to hire and expert you say? Well then pick up the phone and pitch your cool concept yourself until someone gives you the time of day. You need some independently written articles by a quality publication saying your cool instead of that testimonial from your grandma.
d. Social Media – yes, believe it or not I have had people contact me through my blog, Facebook page, and twitter account to request information about one of our brands. So how do you find the time? Well its 12am right now, so, now you know.

2) Efficiency. Getting more eyeballs on your web page is your first mission. Your second mission is to get them to click that submit button. Marketing is scientific, so, please, don’t make this about guy checks. Yes, you can start there, but measure, tweak, measure, tweak, measure, tweak until finally you can tell me you are at 25% conversion rates. 5 years ago I would have told you it wasn’t possible, but, today our team has moved the virtual mountains and now enjoy the results. This is something you can never stop thinking about. Here is a quick example of what we have done over the years.
Go to www.fivestarpaintingfranchise.net this site is our old franchise site. We have tweaked this site dozens of times, and it runs at about a 10% conversion rate. If you go to www.5starfranchising.com you will find very cool information and well-designed research site. This site is below 1%. Now if you go to www.fivestarpaintingfranchise.com you will see our main franchise site for Five Star Painting. I have many times shared these sites with people and have asked the question of which one they prefer, and which one they though would do best. Please remember, that the goal of your franchise site is to generate enough interest to get someone to click the submit button and begin the dialogue.

Of course there is more to franchise lead generation than this. So, with that being said: what do you do that works?

Whether you are on your own or working with a franchisor, you should know where you are headed,
what your goals are, and what you want your outcome to be. If you build a company with the intent to
sell it someday, you will act differently than if you plan on doing this for the rest of your life.

Having a good model to follow, whether self-designed or as part of a franchise agreement can give you
a road map to follow along the way. Business is rarely a stable element, and anything you can do to
add a little stability along the way is going to make your life much easier.

It does not matter if you have a long, drawn out document in a binder somewhere. You should have a
personal plan detailing what YOU want from your business experience. This is your guideline. You
need to know where YOU want to be.

Start by following our old friend Stephen R. Covey and “Begin with the End in Mind”. At the top
of a piece of paper, write what you ultimately want out of your business. Do you want to sell it for
$10,000,00 dollars? Do you want to build a legacy to leave to your husband/wife/children/cats after
you pass on? This needs to be the primary motivating force in your mind for wanting to build a
business. Whether you know it or not, you do have one, so take some time and decide what that is.
You can always change it later.

Set up your ultimate goal and work toward it. That is your job, your calling, and your opportunity.

Sometimes the best way to learn something is to either do it wrong yourself or learn from someone else’s mistakes. I have had the pleasure of doing both. If you are thinking of franchising your business you have probably read, or been told about the pot at the end of the rainbow. Well like anything in life, if it is worth having, it’s going to be a lot of work. Here are three tips to avoid some disasters and maybe help you catch the leprechaun:

1) Mess of pottage. Why trade your franchisor birthright for a few dollars? In franchising, someone looking to buy your franchise will pay you a handsome franchise fee, some concepts as high as $50,000 at signing. The franchise fee is there to do a few things, like get skin in the game, cover the costs of attracting top talent to your franchise system, pay the tuition for all of you’ve learned, fund development of systems, etc. The challenge with such large franchise fees is that it’s often more money than you will get in royalties for a few years. Because of this, franchisors are more excited about closing that big deal than all the hard work to earn the royalties that come from years of business building; they trade their birthright to a share in a successful business for a short term boost to the bottom line. Some franchisors take all this money, go on a nice vacation, buy a new car, and don’t follow through with support. Not only is this not ethical, in my opinion, but it is extremely short sighted. Don’t fall into that trap, stay the course, support your franchisees, and make sure each and every golden goose is well fed and cared for.

2) Dictatorship. So, you’ve convinced a few people to buy your concept and on top of all that you have your 90 page franchise agreement signed, that some high priced lawyers put together for you. All the bases are covered- and the sweet talk stops, honeymoon is over and it’s down to business. Yikes. Nobody like being told what to do; if someone was smart enough to buy your franchise, they are probably smart enough to learn from your team, as well as your fellow franchisees. People like to be influenced, led, and shown your vision. Help them buy into not just your business model but, you and your team by demonstrating why your next big idea is one that they should adopt. I recently read a book called The Science of Influence; definitely one worth reviewing for those of you looking to see who prefer to use the carrot over the stick.

3) Partnership. I have often heard that a partnership is a sinking ship. In saying this, I will say that I have been fortunate to have some amazing partners, and that I have experienced the dark side of partnerships as well. When you consider growing your business, it is critical you get your business structure right, and if you have partners, roles and responsibilities are going to be critical to your success. Whether you form a partnership or not, there needs to be one President, CEO, Chief Pooh-Bah, or whatever title you make up. Every company needs a leader, so don’t make the mistake of approaching your business like a marriage, unless, you are into divorce.

There are plenty more things you could do to mess things up, but, I believe, if you watch for these land mines you are well on your way. Feel free to share your views on ones I missed.

Do you matter? When your customer looks at your place in the community, state, and world, do you
show up on the radar? Building your position in the minds of your customers is key. Building your
position in the minds of your employees is vital. Building your position in your own mind is critical.

We live in a place so covered with advertising messages that you can no longer afford to be “just
another business” to your customers or anyone else. If you aren’t near the top, you are on the compost
heap. If you aren’t taking steps to grow into the best company you can be, you have a one-way express
ticket to the bottom.

So what are you going to do about it?

Start by using the rule of 5%. Ask yourself, “If we were to improve our business by just 5% this
quarter, what would we do first? Where would we start?” Then go to work. You can set your own
benchmarks to get there, but get there. It doesn’t sound like a large number, but if you set a goal that
is easy to reach then harder goals become more reachable. Don’t set your sights too low, of course.
Stretch yourself and try to be the best company you can but don’t aim for anything less than 5%.

The funny thing about 5% is that it has a domino effect. You will be surprised at how much MORE
your business increases than just 5%. Usually, those little things that you have been putting off are the
foundations for much bigger operations. They are the building blocks of your company’s future. That
means that one of those little details on your to-do list may move you farther than you ever dreamed it
could.

What is on your 5% list?

Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy, that’s for sure. It takes hard work, discipline and effort to
live the life of freedom you want. But what about those days when you just can’t get started?
What do you do to keep moving when the aches and pains catch up with you and every bone
in your body is telling you to climb back in bed? How do you get your head back in the game
and push yourself to do more?

1: Routine. Never underestimate the power of habit. If you have a routine you follow to
the letter every morning then you’ll be up and going without even thinking about it. Forming
an automatic routine can take anywhere from 30 to 66 days. So for the next 60 days or so
make a commitment to yourself that you will do the same things in the same order every
morning. Get out of bed, eat breakfast, brush your teeth, get dressed and go to work. Every
day it will get easier to jump out of bed in the morning.

2: Exercise. If you’ve spent any time around serial entrepreneurs then you’ve probably
been given a lecture about the importance of physical fitness. On top of keeping yourself in
top shape, daily exercise also stimulates serotonin, the “feel good” hormone in your brain.
Get moving; it will make you feel better!

3: Take time for you. It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day details of running a company
and one major reason for burnout is that entrepreneurs tend to forget to take time for
themselves. There’s a classic quote from Abraham Lincoln that says “People are just about
as happy as they make up their minds to be.” So make up your mind to take some time for
yourself. Read a book, have a good meal, get a massage, or just play with your dog/cat/kids.
Even half an hour here and there can make a huge difference.

4: Mark Your Progress. Setting goals in business isn’t just important but is also vital.
Along with setting goals, it is important to have milestones set up along the way to mark
your progress. It is always more fun to go to work when you feel like you are accomplishing
something.

5: Get Some Perspective. Go outside and take a walk. Get some fresh air, breathe
deeply, think things through and let your mind wander. Sometimes all you need to feel
motivated is just a short break.

Not all marketing is created equal. As CEO of a franchising company, I oversee a variety of businesses, each of which has different marketing needs. One cannot use the same tools to market a product verses a service. This is particularly true for online marketing and social media. Here is a rundown of the kinds of social media we use and which styles of company we use it for:

Facebook:

Facebook is the perfect venue to market a product. Our Sub Zero Ice Cream Facebook account is a great way to interact with customers. Because Sub Zero is such a cool product (who can argue with the awesomeness of cryogenically frozen ice cream?) the page grows with little effort on our part. Customers come to our page to connect with us, to support us, to tell us how much they love the product or even tell us about a sub-standard experience they had.  We can quickly and personally answer questions and remedy complaints.

Updating regularly allows us to stay in the minds of our customers. It really is free advertising to a self-selected audience. We have also chosen to utilize paid Facebook advertising. This works great for a product like Sub Zero, but it is not as effective for a service-related business like Five Star Painting. Unlike Google, where users search for a product when they are ready to buy, Facebook users are looking to be entertained and maybe learn more information. The more information you can lead a customer to while allowing them to stay within Facebook, the better.

Service-related companies find less success on Facebook. However, as Facebook is the #1 social networking site, it is important for every business to be represented there. According to a Clickz study, “69% of consumers are more likely to use a local business if it has information on a social networking site.” If your company is service-based like Five Star Painting is, you simply need to be more patient with your Facebook page. Don’t expect the high numbers a product might get, don’t overload your users with content, but do keep your page updated. (Click here for more Facebook Tips for your Business)

Twitter:

Twitter is best described as micro-blogging. It is difficult to describe the appeal of twitter to a non-twitterer, but Twitter’s impact on the world — and business — is undeniable.

“Twitter is a communication platform that helps businesses stay connected with their customers. As a business, you can use it quickly to share information with people interested in your company, gather real-time market intelligence and feedback, and build relationships with customers, partners and other people who care about your company.” [Source]

For any type of company, twitter can be a great way to connect with customers. You can share news, promotions, pictures, links and more.

Search Twitter for the name of your company to listen in on the conversations happening right now. There are many free Twitter account managers available for easy access to knowing what is being said to and about your company. (We use Hootsuite.)

LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is the social networking site for professionals. LinkedIn is not the best place to be promoting your product and probably not a great place to be promoting your service either. LinkedIn is kind of like an online resume – you can include your education and work experience, and your connections can write “recommendations” for you. Here is a great article about why you can’t ignore LinkedIn.

While we do have a LinkedIn account for Five Star Painting, we don’t anticipate it bringing us any painting jobs. However, we do hope that it will help us to make connections with potential franchisees – people who want to be their own boss and run their own business. We utilize LinkedIn advertising for that reason.

If you have any questions about social media, marketing your business, or franchising, send them to info@fivestarfranchising.com.

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