Michael Vogel
“Driving successful growth in a franchise system requires more than just finding the right location and a person, or an operator, to open a restaurant,” says Michael Vogel, Senior Director of Development for Del Taco.
Vogel explains, “At Del Taco, we have the ability to grow anywhere with anyone. The real questions are: Where should we grow, and with whom? We answer the first question through market planning, and we answer the second question by using the Franchise Navigator.”
Broadening the use of the Navigator
About three years ago, Vogel and Barry Barnhart, Vice President of Franchise Operations (who at the time also was overseeing Del Taco’s development), began using the Franchise Navigator to help select franchise candidates. Today, the two franchise executives are planning to broaden their use of the Navigator because they’ve seen the benefits of using it to support as well as select franchise partners.
Barry Barnhart
“The Navigator changed our sales selection process by giving more of our people accurate information to evaluate a candidate,” explains Barnhart, who’s charged with supporting approximately 100 franchise partners, each of whom owns three to five restaurants. “Before the Franchise Navigator, the franchisee selection process consisted of four to five people interviewing the same candidate. Some interviews were conducted by phone, some by email, and others occurred out in the field at a restaurant. We had to then compile all the information in one place, and over time information changes based on opinions. If you really like someone, for example, you’re going to bring that candidate to the table with more enthusiasm than what the facts may dictate. You’re more inclined to ‘sell’ the rest of us on accepting your candidate. But all that changed when we started using the Franchise Navigator because now we just had the facts. We didn’t have to rely on the emotional part of selecting a franchise partner. As a result, we don’t select franchisees for the wrong reasons anymore.”
Franchise Navigator removes the guesswork
Vogel adds that the Franchise Navigator “has allowed (the sales team) to gain confidence in our decision logic instead of guessing who’s a good fit” for Del Taco. “More so,” he elaborates, “the Franchise Navigator helps us learn in a more intimate way what a candidate’s skills, understandings and capabilities are, and what their experience really entails. Sometimes what a candidate tells us doesn’t match up with reality,” and, unfortunately, the reality doesn’t come into play until after the candidate becomes a franchisee and opens a restaurant!
Shortly after using the Franchise Navigator to select franchisees, Barnhart started using it in the field to support them, too. “The Franchise Navigator takes the opinions out of profiling a franchisee,” explains the veteran ops executive. “It’s a great tool to help us get a feel for what a partner is all about. We deal with relationships, and the Franchise Navigator doesn’t talk about relationships, it just tells us the facts: who you are and how you think. It’s your DNA. It’s a tool that tells us who the franchisee is unemotionally and that really helps us understand how to help a franchise partner.”
Getting even more out of the Franchise Navigator
Recently, Barnhart told Vogel, “We’re missing the boat with the Franchise Navigator because we’re not utilizing the information to the best of our ability.” He recognizes that Del Taco is doing a good job of using the Franchise Navigator’s data to select franchise partners, but the company is not always taking advantage of the Franchise Navigator as a tool to support franchisees. “We can better utilize the Franchise Navigator by profiling some of our average partners,” says Barnhart.
Currently at Del Taco, all franchise candidates, as well as existing partners who want to expand their business, are required to complete the Franchise Navigator’s survey. Some existing franchisees have yet to complete the Navigator, and Barnhart plans to encourage them to do so. After a franchisee completes the Franchise Navigator, Barnhart says, “We can determine if we’re aligned with the facts. Maybe we’re reading the franchisee incorrectly, and therefore we’re not managing him or her well.” The Franchise Navigator will help correct misconceptions and help the franchisor team build a more productive relationship with franchisee partners.
And that’s how a franchisor can drive successful growth among franchisees!
John P. Hayes, Ph.D. has worked in franchising for 30 years as a franchisor, franchisee, speaker and author. He coaches franchisors and franchisees online and via telephone.
