The FranConnect Blog

By Keith Gerson, CFE

Even as the health-related stories about the pandemic continue to evolve, the business world faces a common challenge: moving forward. Most organizations have already realized that they can’t sit back and wait. They have to put plans into action and adapt quickly as necessary. The world of franchise sales faces its own set of challenges, but also some great opportunities. As we have reached the midway point of 2020, now is a good time to zoom out and consider what you must do as franchise leaders to ensure your development efforts continue to drive growth.  Here are my Top Five Must Do’s for Franchise Sales Leaders now that we are halfway through this unforgettable year.

In late March, as most States were entering their 2^nd week of shutdowns, we surveyed 233 franchise leaders to quantify and assess the impact to their businesses. The resulting data showed exactly how quickly and directly the impacts were rippling through the entire franchising world, spanning everything from business closures, to the impact on franchise sales efforts. Participants represented 8 industries: Quick Service Restaurants, Business Services, Personal Services Residential/Commercial Services, Real Estate, Full-Service Restaurants, Hotel/Lodging, and Retail Food Products & Services.

There’s no doubt that we are facing unprecedented times. While quarantine seems like “the new normal”, the fact is that we will be back to business much sooner than we realize, and we need to be ready. Now’s the time to prepare to rebuild after the storm.

The CARES Act passed into law March 27th includes $350 Billion allocated to low-interest and in some cases, forgivable, loans for small businesses. The loans are intended to cover payroll, benefits, leases, mortgage interest, rent and utilities. For many franchise businesses, this is a critical lifeline intended to help them navigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

There is a lot to understand about the package - it’s 880 pages long -- and it's easy to get overwhelmed by the depth of it. But some of the best minds in the world of Franchising are working hard to make it easy to digest. So, we decided to round up some of the best resources to help get up to speed.