Recruiting the right franchisees is the lifeblood of any successful franchise system. The competition for high-quality, ambitious entrepreneurs is fierce, and your “Discovery Day” is your single most important sales presentation. It’s your chance to showcase your brand, prove your business model, and convince a potential investor that your opportunity is the right one for them.
But a day of PowerPoint slides, financial projections, and operational manuals doesn’t always capture the true feeling of the business. For a lifestyle brand like a pool franchise, the discovery day should be an experience, not just a meeting. And the easiest and most powerful way to create a memorable, positive, and on-brand experience is with a thoughtful and thematic approach to food.
Food is a fundamental part of hospitality, and since your franchisees will be in the business of serving homeowners, your recruitment process should reflect that. Here’s how to use food to make your discovery day an unforgettable and persuasive event.
Host a “Backyard BBQ” Welcome Lunch
Ditch the generic, catered sandwich platter from a corporate deli. The first meal you share with a prospective franchisee should immediately immerse them in the lifestyle that your brand represents.
Instead of a stuffy conference room lunch, host a relaxed, upscale backyard barbecue. Fire up a high-end grill and serve perfectly cooked burgers, gourmet sausages, or grilled chicken. Have fresh, vibrant side salads, and create a comfortable, outdoor-style seating area. This simple act does a few powerful things, including instantly putting prospects at ease in a casual, social setting, aligning the experience with the brand’s core identity (backyard, summer, relaxation), and creating a memorable moment that feels more like a celebration than a business meeting. Thematic food is a powerful tool for reinforcing a brand’s message.
Use Thematic Snacks and Drinks
Carry the fun, poolside theme throughout the entire day with creative snacks and drinks in the meeting rooms. These small, thoughtful details show a high level of care and brand consistency, which reflects well on your entire operation.
Instead of standard coffee and pastries, offer “pool water punch” (a blue-colored sports drink or lemonade in a large glass dispenser), fun snacks (things like fish-shaped crackers or gummy rings (“life preservers”), or fresh and healthy options (a fruit platter with tropical fruits, or individual cups of yogurt with granola and blueberries).
End with a “Taste of Success” Dinner
The final event of your discovery day should be a celebratory dinner at one of the best local restaurants. Most importantly, you should invite one or two of your most successful, established local franchisees to join you.
This achieves several crucial goals:
- It provides a relaxed, informal setting for the prospect to ask the real, unfiltered questions they might be hesitant to ask in a formal corporate setting.
- It allows for invaluable peer-to-peer validation. The endorsement of a happy, successful franchisee is the most powerful sales tool you have. This process of “franchisee validation” is a critical step.
- It allows the prospect to visualize their future. Breaking bread with successful owners helps them to see themselves as part of this elite and supportive peer group.
The Big Picture: Quality Reflects Quality
The quality of the food and hospitality you provide during the recruitment process is a direct reflection of the quality of your franchise system. A thoughtful, high-quality, and well-executed culinary experience sends a powerful, subconscious message that you are a premium brand that cares about the details. Conversely, a cheap, uninspired meal can send the opposite message.
Your goal during a discovery day is to help a potential franchisee envision themselves as a successful part of your brand. By using food to create a warm, welcoming, and on-brand experience, you are helping them to not just understand the business opportunity on an intellectual level, but to feel it on an emotional one.