In part 4 of our Advice for Future Franchisors series, we discuss marketability.  While the prep work discussed in part 3 of our series is being completed, business and marketing divisions must start concentrating on the desirability of the franchise. They have to determine, what segment of the business community will the franchisor market the franchise to? What skills did the Franchisor possess when he or she started the business that made it thrive? Were those skills essential or could they be replaced by other business skills? Was the location or geographic area important to the success of the business? All of these and many other questions must be answered before a powerful marketing approach is achieved. Once the franchisor has a “business attribute file” for the prospective franchisee, stick to it when starting to sell franchises. Do not sign with any franchisees that do not fit your desired franchisee profile. Remember, it was your attributes that made your business valuable. As a franchisor, it is your responsibility to create value for your franchisee. You will only be able to duplicate the value of your business if you couch it in the same attributes that you had. Also determine if you are going to use franchise brokers. A franchise broker can jumpstart your sales process. These individuals and companies match up prospective franchisees with the right franchise system based on the prospective franchisee’s disposable investment, business background, interests and area of the country. The brokers will typically charge you a flat fee or a percentage of the sales price for brokering the deal. Stay tuned next week for Part 5 of our Advice for Future Franchisors series, and always remember that we welcome comments and if you would like to contact our offices to discuss franchising or to get a list of qualified franchise brokers, we can be reached in our Tampa, Florida office at 813-625-9590 or our Austin, Texas office at 512-535-0090.