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“If you qualify” are three words that actually mean what they say at Potbelly Sandwich Shop, which explains why the company conducted extensive research and took nearly a year to sell its first franchise. It would be unusual to find a franchise opportunity that doesn’t use those words as part of its recruitment pitch, and equally unusual to find a company that doesn’t use those words simply to qualify prospects financially: If you’ve got the money you can buy a franchise! Not at Potbelly. “If you qualify” is more than lip service. It’s a mouthful!

And, frankly, most prospective franchisees don’t qualify.

Mike Walters, Franchise Zone Manager

“Maintaining our culture is more important than selling a franchise,” explains Mike Walters, Franchise Zone Manager, and a Potbelly employee for more than nine years. “The Potbelly Advantage, which embodies our values, mission and vision, provides the strategic framework for our company and we won’t jeopardize it. That’s why we take franchise development step by step. Before we make a decision we constantly ask, ‘How will this decision impact our culture?’ If it’s going to be negative, we won’t allow it.”

Since its founding in 1977, Potbelly has opened 215 corporate restaurants, an average of seven a year, in 12 states. Two years ago the company decided to enhance its growth via franchising. At Potbelly, enhance doesn’t mean “speed up” as it would at many other franchise companies. Even as a franchisor, Potbelly might still only add an average of seven units annually, and that would be fine so long as the culture doesn’t take a hit.

Franchise Navigator: Identifying The High Performer Profile

“We’ve been very purposeful in planning our franchise rollout,” continues Walters, who’s part of a franchise team formed in January 2010. “We’re never in a hurry.” Fortunately, Potbelly doesn’t need to sell franchises just to stay in business (something else that’s not true at many other franchise companies). “It’s taken us two years to build the franchise model because building a strong model is a priority.”

With 215 units already in operation, Potbelly wanted to identify the personality profile for a qualified franchisee. And that’s something else that differentiates Potbelly from so many other franchise companies. Potbelly didn’t have to guess about the qualifications. “When our senior leadership team said it was important to develop a franchise profile, we decided to evaluate our own team,” continues Walters. “We know their performance, and if we can find franchisees like them then it will be easier to help the franchisees succeed.” That’s when Potbelly commissioned Craig Slavin, founder of Franchise Navigator, to survey the company’s general managers and create a High Performer Profile. Not only would all future general managers have to resemble the profile, the franchisee profile was also modeled on the High Performer Profile. Of course, these were the people who were already successfully operating Potbelly’s units!

Understanding The Components Of A Qualified Lead

Franchise Navigator is a behavioral, skills assessment tool that, since 1997, identifies the prospects that have the “right stuff” to be franchisees in any particular business model. The Franchise Navigator has demonstrated that there are four critical elements to a qualified franchise development lead:

1. Financial – whether the prospect has the money to open and operate a franchise.
2. Geographic – whether the prospect wants to open a unit in a geographic location that allows for market development.
3. Skills – whether the prospect has the right skills to execute the business model successfully.
4. Values and Behavior – ensuring that the prospect  can embrace the company’s culture.

The first two elements are relatively easy to identify; the last two: skills, values and behavior, are key components in business, and especially in a franchise company that wants to protect its culture. Franchisees who can’t deliver in these areas are more likely to fail and create havoc. That’s where the Franchise Navigator earns its value. It provides an online survey tool that takes a prospect less than ten minutes to complete. Potbelly can then view the prospect’s profile superimposed with the High Performer Profile. That’s when Potbelly knows if the prospect is a match or a mismatch for its business model.

Through interviews, background checks and questionnaires, Potbelly collects information from prospects who are also encouraged to view the company’s online brochure, which Franchise Navigator also designed to attract candidates that resemble the High Performer Profile. The e-brochure features a story line about the aspects of operating a location and being a franchisee in the Potbelly system. “The eBrochure is specifically targeted to the profile we want to attract. We use the e-brochure to provide a lot of information upfront, and it’s a great time saver. It answers most of the preliminary questions asked by prospects,” says Walters.

“We rely on the Franchise Navigator to tell us more about the prospect’s personality,” he continues, “and how it compares to the profile of our best operators. It’s another checkpoint for us. It works well because we get a different and objective perspective once we understand a prospect’s Franchise Navigator results. Do they fit into our culture?” Until that’s known, the prospect doesn’t qualify.

Actually, it takes at least two to make a prospect at Potbelly. The company seeks only single unit operators, but they come in pairs or partnerships. Walters explains, “Our business model requires a team approach. Each of our units requires 100 hours a week of management labor, so that requires two people. We build a local, family, neighborhood business, so it takes a partnership.” Potbelly isn’t just about the excellent food; it’s also about becoming a landmark. “We want our franchisees and general managers to become part of the neighborhood, sponsor local events, do some fundraising for local schools, sponsor local musicians who play music inside our restaurants, etc.,” says Walters. “It’s a huge part of our vision.”

The results from the Franchise Navigator clearly denote whether or not prospects share Potbelly’s vision, and whether or not they’re likely to work together successfully, and within Potbelly’s culture. “During phone interviews we get an initial impression of our prospects,” Walters continues, “but we rely on the Franchise Navigator results to tell us more. Then, when the prospects come to our Discovery Day, we can ask pertinent questions to dig deeper into their personalities and to see how they react to one another and to us. The Navigator’s results re-enforce our process and our decision making.” Walters says he and his colleagues pay attention to the Franchise Navigator results because “we’ve found them to be accurate. If the Franchise Navigator results aren’t where we need them to be, we won’t move forward with a prospect.”

And only then does a prospect qualify!

John P. Hayes, Ph.D. has worked in franchising for 30 years as a franchisor, franchisee, speaker and author. He coaches franchisors and franchisees.

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.

We are pleased to announce the launch of Franchise Central®!

Franchise Central, the new business and social networking site for franchising, invites you to visit, create your own profile, and start networking with people who are interested in franchising . . . whether you’re a prospective franchise buyer, you’re looking for qualified franchise prospects, you’re seeking talent to hire, or you need recommendations about suppliers in franchising . . . Franchise Central is the place to meet and collaborate online!

Social Network for Franchise Community

Franchise Central functions just like your favorite sites, except Franchise Central is specifically for people interested in franchising. Visitors to the site can create a free profile, and then start communicating with other franchise-minded people through instant messaging, chat and Groups.

Home to Navigator, ConnectMe

Franchise Central is also the new home for Franchise Navigator® and ConnectMe®, the only real match in franchising. We are able to create this match by matching candidates to our clients’ three criteria:  their Franchise Navigator High Performer Profile®, geographic preference, and liquid capital requirements.  These are bona fide leads, not just names; ConnectMe is the only true, objective match in franchise recruitment.  Further, once candidates have gone through ConnectMe, they can also connect with other people with the same profile as theirs, as well as people who are looking at the same franchise and business opportunities.

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