Franchise leaders chasing new franchisees often neglect existing ones, causing them to leave. The speaker shows how signing three new franchisees while losing two existing ones reveals a broken system that requires equal focus on retention and acquisition.
You signed 3 new franchisees this year, but you lost 2. Nobody told you that these were connected. Here's how it happens. You set a growth target. Every hour, every dollar, every person focuses on franchise development. It works. The leads come in, you're qualifying, you're onboarding, you're closing. It seems like the best year you've had. Meanwhile, your existing franchisees haven't heard No marketing support, sales are sliding, so they start asking themselves what their marketing contribution is being paid for. Then you get the phone call. 2 of your franchisees actually want out and they want help with reselling the business. 3 signed, 2 lost, a year of your life gone. Growth is not a franchise development problem, it's a franchise network problem.
