Franchise Update Magazine Issue III, 2013 | Page 20

Grow Market Lead

NEW Brand
By Kerry Pipes &
Steve Olson

Pat Sajak’s

Great American

Deal

TV game show host co-founds
hyper-local deals franchise

P

at Sajak has been hosting
TV’s “Wheel of Fortune”
for the past three decades.
Now he’s playing host to a
new franchise concept.
Great American Deals is a variation
on the daily deal concept made popular by Groupon, but brand co-founder
Sajak says it’s unique because it builds
a community of connections between
local business owners, consumers, and
franchisees. The goal is ongoing customer loyalty and lasting relationships—all at the local level.

Franchisees don’t need real
estate or a lot of equipment with
this home-based concept. Start-up
costs range from $49,500 to $71,250,
which includes a $35,000 franchise
fee. The brand also donates $1 from
every customer purchase to local

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Franchiseupdate Iss u e III, 2 0 1 3

schools and nonprofits.
Sajak says Great American Deals
comes down to building relationships
with business owners throughout each
community and becoming a true ambassador of the brand. It’s about reaching
out, telling the story, establishing rapport, and becoming a go-to source for
not only the best deals of the day, but
also pertinent information about the
community. We sat down with Sajak
to find out more about the new brand
and his involvement.
Why get involved in this franchise? Our show, “Wheel of Fortune,”
has been on for 30 years and it still
continues to amaze even me. I would
feel odd about sticking my name on a
cereal box. I’ve never endorsed anything, because I always felt squeamish
about it. However, my partner Michael looked at this new thing called
Groupon when it came along, which
intrigued me. What can we do that they
are not doing? What’s the next step in
the evolution of this business? How
can we refine it? The attractive thing
is, it parallels what we do on the TV
show. Our marketing slogan is “