Whenever I talk to an HR professional interested in joining us as a franchisee, obviously one of the things that comes up fairly early on is location, and which territory they’d be interested in.
Sometimes they are slightly concerned at the prospect of being very near a fellow face2faceHR consultant, and actually, the first time we took on franchisees in nearby territories, we didn’t know quite what the effect would be. But in fact we’ve found it to be a real positive, for the following reasons:
Brand awareness
If you’re setting up a new business, you’re often completely an unknown quantity. If you’re completely independent with your own brand, this is even more the case. Proving yourself and persuading those who might work with you and (perhaps more importantly) refer you to their clients can be an uphill struggle to begin with.
But if the brand you are operating under is already known in the wider local area, you’ve got a headstart. Potential referrers might already be aware of face2faceHR from contacts they have in the next door territory, or might have come across your colleague.
Being part of the same brand gives you a ‘badge’ of quality that would take you more time to earn on your own. That’s of course true to an extent regardless of where you are based, as with 15 franchisees face2faceHR covers a reasonable portion of the country anyway, and has a bit of ‘reach’. But it’s particularly the case in an area with an active consultant fairly nearby.
Working together
Whilst all our consultants share work, in circumstances where a client is too far away, or they don’t have capacity, or it’s something specific they don’t want to take on, this works even better when you have someone nearby.
I’ve done this myself – I have very few clients anymore, as I don’t have the time, but when I had more, but also had franchisees nearby, I was able to refer clients to a trusted local colleague when there was something I didn’t have time to take on. Similarly, exchanging holiday cover with a close colleague can work really well.
Marketing together
Several of our consultants have done exhibitions jointly, which works really well. These events often cover a fairly wide area anyway, so consultants often split the cost of a stand, thereby reducing expenses significantly, and having two people on a stand rather than one works really well in terms of showcasing strength as well as the logistical stuff like being able to pop to the loo or grab some lunch without leaving the stand unattended!
So if you’re considering whether working with us might be right for you, but are worried that we have someone near you already – don’t be! It can be a real plus for someone starting out. Do get in touch for a chat!