If you ’ ve been around the sales and marketing world for any number of years you know the concept of an “ Aha !” moment . It is that point in time when the proverbial light bulb goes on , the moment when everything makes sense , the moment when someone finds what they need or , more importantly , what they want .
Aha ! moments are key milestones when making monumental decisions such as buying a home , getting married , or investing in a franchise . In the franchise sales world , these moments have a special function . They confirm that we successfully matched the benefits of our brands to the dreams and goals of the candidates . As sales pros , it is up to us to create Aha ! moments in the mind of our candidates . At the end of each conversation , ask your candidates to describe the Aha ! moment they gleaned from the conversation . Their answer is a real-time report card on your performance as a sales professional .
The 4 types of Aha ! moments Type 1 is the “ Aha , now I get it !” moment . These happen when a candidate begins to wrap their arms around what a brand delivers and how it does it , typically during an initial phone conversation . Many of these moments occur when leading the candidate through a brand ’ s particular market niche , unique marketing and sales strategies , territory or area development agreement opportunities , or during the financial performance review .
Conversion from a discussion about all the details to an Aha ! moment requires that we know when the moment is approaching , that we planned for its arrival , and that we practiced its delivery . For example : 1 ) the expansive territory you provide does not merely enable the franchisee ’ s success , it provides the opportunity to scale their business to even greater heights over time ; 2 ) sales strategies that target schools and community organizations are not simply the most productive , they provide the
GROWING YOUR SYSTEM
Salessmarts
Aiming for “ Aha !” Matching your brand to candidates ’ goals BY JIM BENDER
franchisee an opportunity to be a strong corporate citizen and give back to the local community ; and 3 ) while strong financial performance is a demonstration of success , it is the source of the legacy that candidates seek for their children and family .
Type 2 is the “ Aha , this is real !” moment . With proper planning and preparation , these moments occur during due diligence
calls with existing franchise owners . If we have prepared the candidate properly , they will experience a two-part Aha ! moment : 1 ) that voice on the phone ( you , the salesperson ) has been telling me the truth , and 2 ) this opportunity is for real . “ The truth is our brand is your best opportunity to achieve your goals , and you have the talent and experience to duplicate the success past candidates currently enjoy .”
Type 3 is the “ Aha , we are going to be successful !” moment . These moments occur most often in person during discovery day . They occur when it all comes together for the candidate , and their level of con- fidence skyrockets . They occur when we take them to restaurants where every seat is full ; when we show them appointment books for every crew that are full six days a week for months on end ; or when we walk them into a service bay full of cars . Successful Type 3 Aha ! moments require planning and practice . For example , candidates briefly tour several operations , not lingering for hours repeating the same conversations , with each stop becoming a live demonstration of the success you have been describing for weeks . For the candidate , the resulting Aha ! moment becomes , “ I am confident I can be a success .”
Type 4 is the “ Aha , I knew there would be a catch !” moment . These are not moments we planned or practiced for , but we must be prepared to handle them when they occur . These moments happen most often during the due diligence phase when a candidate turns over a small rock and a big , hairy troll jumps out . Typically , they are hard to put back under that rock . Sales professionals know if there are trolls hiding in their offering and that they need to bring them out in the open early in the relationship , within a controlled environment — and then provide an accurate , reasonable , and rational explanation supported by both management and franchisees . Candidates realize no person or brand is perfect . They simply want to know they ’ ll be working with capable , straightforward people when things do not go well .
We begin every conversation with a franchise candidate with the goal of creating one unique Aha ! moment for that person . At the end , we ask them to describe the Aha ! moment they experienced that day . We find this process confirms the effectiveness of our presentation , provides a realtime grade of our sales performance , and makes the personal interaction more fun .
Give it a try . ( And don ’ t let those trolls steal your show .)
Happy Selling , Jim
Jim Bender is the president and owner of Franchise System Builders . He has been in the franchise industry for 37 years and has provided clients with sales outsourcing and concept packaging services since 2002 . Contact him at jtbender @ franchisesystembuilders . com or 248-647-1989 .
60 Franchiseupdate ISSUE II , 2016