INNOVATION AWARDS WINNERS
STAR Awards
“ Growing the brand with culturally aligned franchisees is critical. Prompt, personalized follow-up helps us maximize connectivity and create a great first impression as we evaluate franchise prospects to join our brand.”
Online Lead Form Submission & Follow-Up($ 101,000 to $ 250,000) Comfort Keepers
Scott Oaks Vice President of Franchise Development Comfort Keepers
Scott Oaks, vice president of franchise development for Comfort Keepers, says the brand tried to balance both technology and the human touch in how it responded to candidate inquiries. The brand set up an AI scheduler to immediately respond to a candidate via text, and a representative with Comfort Keepers will also follow up directly with a call.
“ We felt it was important to incorporate tech and human interaction as part of the experience and not have one replace the other,” Oaks says.“ Our candidates can be Gen Xers or older millennials, and they don’ t necessarily want to interact with a chatbot. Candidates can schedule a call via the text thread and then speak with someone directly.”
Oaks says the contact rate with positive leads has more than doubled. Without the AI capabilities a year ago, responses were disjointed, and candidates didn’ t have the most favorable first impression of the brand. He says candidates now have a much higher standard of what they should expect should they become franchisees with Comfort Keepers.
Online Lead Form Submission & Follow-Up($ 251,000 to $ 500,000) Marco’ s Pizza
Marco’ s Pizza online lead form incorporates financial and market-based qualifiers that align with its strategic growth plan. That allows the development team to immediately understand a candidate’ s investment capability, desired market, and relevant experience. With that information, the brand can prioritize high-potential candidates in markets where it is actively expanding. On the back end, the process triggers an immediate acknowledgment and initiates a timely follow-up call, ensuring prospects experience a hands-on, consultative connection from the start.
Gerardo Flores, Marco’ s Pizza chief development officer, says the lead-qualification rate continues to climb year over year. Not only are more leads generated, but the company is attracting aligned, serious candidates from the start. This has translated into productive initial calls, fast movement through the pipeline, and strong conversion rates. He says the company has also seen improved engagement from prospects who appreciate the clarity and responsiveness of the process.
“ This approach has empowered our sales team to work smarter, not harder,” Flores says.“ By capturing key information up front, our team can tailor conversations to each candidate and focus on those who are both financially and operationally prepared to grow with Marco’ s. As a result, we are spending less time on unqualified leads and more time building relationships with the right operators in the right markets. That efficiency not only accelerates development, but also strengthens the overall quality of our franchise network, fueling long-term, strategic growth.”
Online Lead Form Submission & Follow-Up($ 501,000 to $ 1,000,000) Pinch A Penny
“ Our process is to call, email, and text three times each from a real person and not our automated process until we place their info into our drip program,” says Adam Heflin, Pinch A Penny director of franchise development.“ So, each lead will receive a minimum of 12 contacts within eight days between our lead screener and our automated emails and texts.”
Heflin says the brand has received positive feedback from candidates about its communication. He added that the process is consistent with Pinch A Penny’ s business operations with all candidates and franchise owners.
Online Lead Form Submission & Follow-Up( more than $ 1 million) Celebree School
Kimberly Wolff VP of Franchise Development Celebree School
Celebree School has two business development representatives who quickly reply to inbound inquiries with a phone call. It also has built-in custom workflows using a FranConnect CRM platform to automate responses to inbound inquiries via email with engaging content, videos, and useful information. The franchise uses an auto scheduler, which allows candidates to set up an initial call at a time convenient for them.
“ We know that the faster we can connect with a candidate, start the discovery journey off with an exceptional experience, and deliver on that experience at every step, the more likely we are to convert that candidate to a franchise owner,” says Kimberly Wolff, Celebree School VP of franchise development.
Wolff says having multiple touchpoints at different times of the day and through different types of contact has improved initial call results. She added that the brand’ s connection KPIs and the number of introductory calls booked as a result remain above target.
Gerardo Flores Chief Development Officer Marco’ s Pizza
Adam Heflin Director of Franchise Development Pinch A Penny
Guided by the belief that people do not want to complete a long inquiry form in the initial stages of researching a business, Pinch A Penny made its lead form as concise as possible. It then attempts to contact any lead received within 24 hours.
INNOVATION AWARDS WINNERS
Franchise Update Media’ s Innovation Awards honor franchisors who find new ways to cut costs, save time, engage customers, and recruit franchisees. Most award winners were recognized in June. Franchise Development winners were announced at FLDC in October and are listed below.
48 | Franchise Update | Issue 4, 2025