What is the surest way to have 100 units of my business across the country? Somebody asked me after one of my speeches at those franchise networking seminars, during the open session.

My answer came in an instant. ‘Well get a reputed franchise consultant on board and get started with a proper initial franchise consultation exercise for your business or your idea. Your business will get there faster than you ever dreamed, more effectively than you ever thought and will be ready to take exponential growth in the coming years. Now that is the rosy part. The trickier part is that it is going to be extremely challenging and will test you and your business in every possible way. It will make you go through a grueling regimen…worse than some of the most difficult military exercises, as it will not only drain you physically, but even mentally and financially. But that’s exactly what it takes to make a great business, a great brand or a great franchise.

Next was the turn of an entrepreneur, who promptly put out his stand point, questioning as to why should they hire franchise consultants and how should they evaluate a franchise professional. Also what if he looked at becoming a franchise consultant, how should he choose the right franchise consultancy to partner with. I choose to answer this in the following paragraphs.

Budding entrepreneurs can greatly benefit from the help of a professional business consultant from franchise consultancy firms. Their advice will be helpful while setting up their own business. For promoting one's business, a consultant can provide new ideas for franchise business opportunities and help in goal-setting and effective strategies and give you responses from the industry and the company’s track records. Franchises are one of the easiest ways to earn serious profit because business owners are taking on the responsibility of managing an already successful product or service. Many people are aware of the benefits of investing in a franchise. Moreover, the owner is spared from spending too much time and money on training employees and marketing, when one owns a franchise. Hence you should be able to get a proper evaluation of all of these factors from a franchising Consultant.

The process the franchise consultancy will take you through should be similar to the steps that follow, assuming you are working with a reputable consultant company. Your initial call with a consultant will allow you to judge the ability as a consultant and the consultant's expertise in franchising. At the same time, the consultant will ask your questions to determine if it is the right career option for you and he/she will be assessing your interest in franchise ownership. One of the most important decisions you will ever make is finding a franchise business to own.

Choosing poorly can cause you endless headaches and financial distress, while choosing the right franchise can make your business ownership dreams come true. Let your consultant know so that they can prevent any future conflicts of interest, if you are working with more than one consultant or if you have started the process with a franchisor but have decided to research other options.

A franchise consultancy is there to offer solid guidance and advice where you need it and to make your job a hell lot easier. As you make your decision, look for a consultant that will be your advocate in the research process and guide you. You will need to be serious about this process and be prepared to do your own due diligence, as you would about searching for a new job.

It is good to know that with franchise consultancy firms; there are businesses that work in partnership. With attractive franchise's opportunities that match their goals, skills, and interest perfectly, these firms have professional consultants who can provide budding entrepreneurs. Moreover, for ensuring the success of their franchise, consultants can also help their clients formulate effective business goals and strategies. There is a lot to choose from, with thousands of franchise companies in over 75 different industries.

You could also choose to become a franchise consultant. However, it is an extremely difficult industry and will need proper dedication from you. Some individuals still do not get enough profit and even go out of business, although a franchise consultancy has the potential to be extremely lucrative, in the long run. Oftentimes, this is the result of hasty decision-making or poor planning. On the day that the franchisee decides to invest in a business, the success of a franchise may very well be determined. It is more likely for a business to prosper and become profitable by being careful about choosing which franchise business opportunities are ideal ahead of time.

The process is different if it is a business owner who wants to franchise a business that already exists and wants to create a franchise company. The franchise consultant, evaluates the entire business, initially from a franchise readiness perspective and then from an action plan of how to franchise the business and then to set clear operational, technical, marketing, and financial systems in place. All of these have to function like well-oiled machinery, well synchronized and properly delegated. The franchise consultancy will then plan the franchisee profile, and then a franchise marketing plan, after which franchise recruitment starts. Once the franchisees are on board, then franchise trainings take place, after which there is ongoing franchise support function in place.

Hence with entrepreneurs literally getting free services from franchise consultants and companies getting a tried, tested, and most effective formula for quickly expanding their business, it is but imperative for one to hire a reputed franchise consultancy before beginning their franchise journeys, if saving money, time and effort is a necessity and not an option.

One of the most important tasks of franchisors is to create and maintain a successful franchise marketing strategy. A well thought off, marketing plan may mean the difference between a prosperous business and bankruptcy. Developing a good marketing plan doesn’t necessarily require a lot of money. You may need some professional advice and guidance especially if you do not have any previous experience in creating full marketing plans, but you can still get most of the work done yourself.

Most franchisors have comprehensive marketing plans in place for the overall franchise. The national plan typically includes advertising campaigns, commercials via television and radio, Internet advertising, public relations, and direct mail efforts. Therefore brand recognition is widely established. Franchisors that do not manage marketing on a national level usually provide an outline for the franchisees to follow in preparing their marketing plan on a local level. Even if franchisors provide national marketing, franchisees may also be permitted and possibly encouraged to perform local marketing initiatives on their own within certain restrictions. Approval is usually necessary prior to proceeding with the local plan.

Franchise advertisements can be a challenge because you need to come up with your own tools for building a local client and customer base. It is an inexpensive way to reach a lot of people with a set amount of money by using signs and banners as promotional materials in your franchise advertising plan. Signs can be used inside your establishment and outside, listing specials, sales, and promotions. Brightly colored signs on plastic, metal, or wooden blanks attract the eyes of passers-by and bring in potential new clients. Additionally, establishing a brand name for your franchise in your local market is very important for a franchise. There are many people who may need your service, but may not know of your business. Effective local franchise advertisements will put you in front of these buyers when they are ready to buy.

The first thing that you need to keep in mind when creating your franchise marketing plan is your goal. Are you looking to establish your franchise locally or you are looking for nation-wide or overseas expansion? Identifying who your potential franchisees are is also vital. Knowing who your customers are will help you target your marketing activities into reaching the optimum number of sales. It will also help you establish reasonable franchise fees and royalties. You can research other franchise businesses offering similar products and services and see who their franchisees are.

Your franchise marketing plan should include a great franchise advertising strategy as well. There is a significant difference between franchise advertisements and advertising any other consumer targeted business. Often young franchisors fail to prepare good advertising plan just because they do not have the knowledge and the experience. You can either hire a professional franchise advertising company or work through a franchise consultant, who will help you with all that you would need. There are also some legal requirements that must be met in order to stay out of trouble and to adhere to the local laws.

Set a budget and stick to it. Working within strictly defined financial borders may be crucial for success of your business. Many franchises fail because they try to compete directly with large and well established businesses offering similar products or services. In fact you do not need to match your marketing budget with their in order to achieve great results. Work on product differentiation instead and try to find unique ways for franchise promotions.

Once you launch your franchise brand, try to gather as much information as possible from your franchisees. This will give you plenty of ideas how to develop your marketing strategy further.

Franchise sales encompass a large array of different types of franchise offerings. The traditional franchise is the owner operator model where typically a moderately well capitalized individual buys into the rights to run and manage a single location of the franchise offering. This approach is most effective when using a sales presentation that evokes an emotional response. Franchise sales is about creating that emotional connect with the buyer, similar to the process of selling a home, the buyer falls in love with the idea and the notion that they will be in that house, neighborhood, they picture their family being raised in that home and envision the future they will have there. The individual franchise buyer is typically not a former executive or highly educated individual with millions to invest, it typically is just someone who wants to get into business for them and they know they need someone's help doing it.

Marketing Plan Development

Provide your franchisees with a comprehensive franchise marketing plan that educates them on the best practices in marketing your franchise system. Developing a marketing plan that is a “living" document and which will grow with a company and evolve as new ideas will prove to be successful.

For most franchise systems, it is extremely important to create a marketing strategy of "best practices" that is complemented by an effective suite of collateral materials and marketing tools that can be implemented by franchisees on the local level. E-mail campaigns, direct marketing, advertising, promotional strategies, referral programs and online marketing programs must be custom-fit, and just made to match the franchisee needs and capabilities. To increase adoption of marketing initiatives, we create elaborate internal marketing programs that give franchisees the why, how and when. To educate franchisees, host marketing webinars that help your franchisees understand the value of marketing and give them the initiative to grow their business. The franchisee marketing programs focus on ease of implementation, economies of scale and using technology to help drive revenue growth. The programs are designed to increase brand awareness and unit revenues through cost-effective, "neighborhood marketing" strategies that increase average visitation and boost referrals.

Franchise Brand Development / Standards

As any franchise systems begin to grow, brand control becomes extremely important to maintain consistency. The brand development programs define your brand from “top to bottom" paying close attention to every aspect of your brand – how it is used, what it looks like, what it sounds like, and what triggers the connection with your customers.

For all kinds of businesses a good reputation is very important. A business’ reputation or brand is its primary marketing tool. A business can be able to count on excellent sales numbers from loyal customers if it has a very good brand. You will need to invest a significant amount of resources in order to ensure that you build up the brand of your business properly, if you start a business from scratch. For many first time business owners, this is something that they can barely afford. This is why, it is much better that these kinds of business owners go with a franchise instead of starting a business from scratch. In franchising, you no longer need to build up the brand of the business. The franchiser has already taken care of this for you. You will be effectively using the franchise brands in franchising business. This ensures that you will not have a hard time promoting your business venture to your market.

Franchise Sales and Promotional Collateral

Providing franchisees with a suite of branded collateral materials to promote their business on the local level is one of the most important tasks to accomplish. This will help franchisors create comprehensive marketing collateral systems that convey the brand in the most powerful way possible, each piece having the ability to be easily customized for local implementation.

Direct Marketing

From national customer prospecting campaigns to localized targeting, this marketing communications provides list management, creative design, printing, mailing, and results analysis services for all types of prospecting and customer loyalty campaigns.

Email Marketing Templates / Systems

It is vital for many franchisors to implement franchise development email campaigns that filter through the hundreds or thousands of unqualified or uninterested leads they receive through various portals. This will help the franchisors to develop email messages and corresponding landing pages that increase the effectiveness of email campaigns. In doing so, they can maintain a streamlined simplicity in the outbound e-mail, while the corresponding landing page utilizes each client's brand elements and key messaging. The result is a higher rate of conversion for those candidates who are qualified.

Hence you must plan a proper franchise marketing strategy for your business and ensure that you work around it regularly and optimize its results.

There is no one right way to prepare a business plan. An effective business plan tells a great story and draws the reader in. The investor will then want to learn more, which leads to a meeting that significantly increases your chances and reduces the possibility that your plan will not be evaluated.

In the success of any business, planning is a vital ingredient. For building one's business now-a-days, developing a business plan is not just a requirement, but a basic necessity. Starting from large corporations to entrepreneurs, it is an honest truth that every business needs a plan. The business plan helps one map out strategies, raise additional capital either for expansion or to boost operations, measure performance, monitor progress and develop work guidelines. Several business owners, who want to franchise their businesses, also are planning to work around a franchise business plan.

In a business, there are certain things investors look out for. Every investor will want to know a business owner's passion,his dedication to his business and his managerial skills. Apart from this, he will also look out for one's management team. Every investor will always like to see his business associate's cash-flow, break-even analysis and return of investment.Therefore, a well prepared business plan is the key to attracting investors. If you are a franchisor, your franchisee will see the same in your franchise business plan and evaluate if this franchise has got enough substance for them to invest in it.

Writing a business plan must be managed just as most other important business projects are managed.It requires advance preparation, delegation, refinement, and discipline. The process ofpreparing a business plan involves identifying likely users, gathering accurate and convincing Information and carefully outlining the plan before writing. The key sections of the businessplan are as follows:

Executive Summary: This is the most concise form of the business plan, covering all thekey points. Outside parties typically review the executive summary first to determine, if your company is a potential candidate before deciding to read further. As the most important part of your business plan, these sections should be prepared last.

Company Description: This first full section of the business plan covers the company’s mission, history, current status,strategies, and plans for the future.

Management and Organization: Many potential investors consider the management team to be the most important predictor of a successful business. This section should describe members of the management team and their back grounds as well as needs for additional key people. Key outside advisors and consultants should also be discussed.

The Market and Competitors: This section must define the company’s market, the industry, current and potential buyers, and competitors. The plan should explain the key factors for the market in terms of how buying decisions are made, how the market is segmented, what kind of market position you plan, and what sort of defensive strategy you envision to fend off competitors.

The Product or Service: In this section, the features, components, and quality of the product(s) or service(s) are described in detail. Issues that must be addressed are the amount of research and development remaining to be completed, how the product or service will be produced and at what cost, and how the crucial activities of quality control and after-sales service will be performed. Key regulatory considerations should also be addressed.

Marketing and Sales: The business plan must describe the company’s selling methods (such as direct sales or mail order), how sales staff is trained, and how support is provided. Because of the substantial expense associated with business development, the plan should consider and present the most cost-effective options. Your marketing plan should discuss the results of market research and the value proposition of your product or service. Effective marketing, often through advertising and public relations, must also be described.

Financial Information: The most important elements of this section are the financial forecasts, balance sheets, and the statements of cash flow and income. They must be consistent with the discussion of the company’s past performance trends and the data presented in other sections of the plan. For plans used to solicit financial backing, this section should also include a funding request that states how much money is needed, why it is needed, and how it will be used. Finally, you need to consider the likely payback for the investors and their need for an exit strategy.

Once all of these sections have been formulated, the plan is ready for final rewriting and presentation. Extensive editing is highly recommended, along with careful attention to presentation details. The plan should be tailored to the preferences and concerns of its readers, including insiders using the plan to guide the company. Given the dynamic markets within which growing businesses operate today, periodic revisions of the business plan will be necessary in order to maximize its utility as a tool for management and investors. A Franchise Business Plan is similar in nature, but covers several other sections which would be relevant for franchisees and covers franchise manuals and standard operating procedures as well.

So many businesses fail due to inadequate planning and the rate at which they fail is overwhelming. In small businesses, the rate of failure is highly significant and it is the main reason why a good business plan is needed. Developing a plan extremely important for raisingadditional cash and to provide potential investors, franchisees and lenders with the information required to make investment decisions. Due to higher competition in attracting funding for any business, one's business plan has to stand out and the projection has to be firm.

Just like a road map, a good business plan shows one the route to avoid pitfalls and reach your destination smoothly. Working with a good plan will prevent one from entering unfamiliar territory. For you and your organization, the plan becomes a working map. It spells out the things to do and things not to do, the functions and how everyone within every department should operate. It helps one become more efficient, reduce waste and redundancy, channeling one's resources to rightful place and being a guide to the successful running of your business.