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4 Effective Strategies to Convert More Franchise Leads
Competition in the franchise industry is increasing. Reports show that the franchise sector expanded by 2.2% in 2022, reaching a total of 792,014 franchise establishments. To this end, brands must work harder than ever to position their franchise ahead of the rest through effective inbound lead management.
Past techniques like automated responses won't work when converting franchise leads today. Customers no longer have the stomach to "wait as we get back to you shortly", as is familiar with automated messages.
If you want your inbound franchise leads to get past the lead stages and become customers, they must go through a 5-day 15-touchpoint sequence with a qualified Sales Development Rep calling, emailing, texting, LinkedIn Connecting, and nurturing them daily. In this post, we divulge the three most crucial lead management steps a franchise should take to ensure the success of its franchise lead generation efforts.
4 Essential Steps to Converting More Franchise Leads
The idea of a franchise lead needing to call at least three times to speak to a Director of Franchise Development drives many away. By sending qualified leads away immediately after they show interest, you're pushing them toward the competition.
Use these four strategies to ensure leads get the attention and care they need to become franchisors of your brand:
Setup the Right CRM for your Franchise
Managing franchise leads can be a tall order since franchises get many leads. Inbound leads need nurturing to become franchisees, prompt follow-ups, and progress tracking through the sales funnel.
A CRM purposely designed for Franchisors makes it easier to manage leads and know their stage in the sales funnel. CRM qualifies leads from the get-go to know whether a prospect has the ideal customer profile for a franchise, reducing the risk of wasting time and resources on franchisees that offer little to nothing to your brand.
When making first contact with a prospect, CRM sales rep teams respond instantly and track all communication, including text messages and notes between the franchise and potential franchisees from then on for reference later in the sales funnel. As research shows, a fast response is crucial in converting potential franchisees into clients.
CRM also enables franchisees to track the lead source and spend attribution to know where and on what leads are spending the most money.
Create Engaging Lead Workflows
Workflows are essential in engaging with prospective franchisees immediately after they express interest. They make the time a user comes in contact with your brand for the first time to purchase something a unified experience.
Having proper lead handling, qualification, and nurturing workflows managed in real-time by a qualified sales development rep ensures every lead passed on to the franchise sales team has a high chance of becoming a franchisee.
More than that, optimizing your communication across various channels, whether email, phone, LinkedIn, or text, allows you to respond to leads quickly and increases your conversion rate by 75%.
Connect with Leads within Minutes across Channels
Gone are the days when companies could only use email to qualify and nurture their leads. Franchises need to utilize more than one platform to nurture their leads and maximize all opportunities.
Multichannel engagement allows you to prioritize leads that need nurturing and know which ones are ready to move to your franchise sales team. And if anyone has a question or urgent matter at any stage of the sales funnel, they can get a response from you within minutes.
Also, by connecting with qualified inbound Sales Development Representatives (SDRs), you can uniquely qualify and score your inbound leads in the first conversion to either disqualify or route to the right Franchise Development Director. An Inbound Sales Development Rep performs soft qualification within minutes of lead capture and determines if a person's needs are urgent to ensure more qualified leads connect quicker with your reps.
Some of the various engagement platforms to take advantage of in inbound lead management are:
- Email - Email is still one of the best channels to connect with leads, qualify them and nudge them along the buyer's journey.
- Social Media – even if people ignore their emails, they're likely to be on social media.
- And this doesn't only mean Facebook. There are a handful of social media sites to interact with and nurture leads at various stages of the sales funnel.
- Website – a website with regular content that answers lead questions based on their stage in the sales is vital in nurturing qualified leads and making their franchisees.
- Retargeting ads – although targeted ads may seem intrusive, they are one of the best ways to keep your franchise at the top of every leader's mind.
Benefits of Having a Sales Development Representative
Sales development representatives are vital to nurturing qualified leads throughout the sales process and ensuring they provide sales teams with leads that can be converted. SDRs gather information on prospective franchisees and act as the first face of the company for prospective clients in the sales pipeline.
SDRs email and call prospects, especially early in the sales funnel, and make interacting with the business more comfortable. SDRs also use key performance Indicators to determine the qualified leads they garner every month. In a nutshell, this is what a sales representative does for a franchise:
- Qualifies leads from franchise marketing campaigns
- Contacts prospective franchisees based on their interaction with the franchise
- Presents franchise to a potential client
- Identifies prospective client's needs and recommends appropriate solutions from your franchise
- Builds long-term trust between your franchise and leads
- Ensures the sales team gets qualified candidates who are ready to convert
- Proactively brings in new businesses through the sales funnels with streamlined workflows
An Inbound Lead Sales Development Rep Can Make a Huge Impact
A repeatable inbound lead management process is essential for every franchise that wants a steady stream of qualified franchise leads coming through their "doors." The best people for creating a streamlined inbound lead cycle are sales development representatives. They work with teams to ensure the process is smooth, effective, and measurable.
From the minute a lead shows interest, either by filling out a form or sending a text, a sales rep guides, and nurtures that lead based on their needs and urgency. Visit our website to contact a reliable sales development team for help with our inbound lead management.
Competition in the franchise industry is increasing. By sending qualified leads away immediately after they show interest, you're pushing them toward the competition.
