Small Business Information

Franchisor Prospect Checklist Sample Form


Due to the over regulation in the Franchising Industry and the litigation it is important to keep impeccable records. From the first phone call, email to the signing of the franchise agreement everything should be documented. Below is a checklist we created for our franchise company and one I wish you would consider when creating your own. I recommend you copy this article and then modify it to fit your business model.

You must understand that without proper documentation you might find your company entangled in meaningless and wasteful litigation instead of spending the time on expanding your market share and brand name. Below is our sample checklist we use at the Car Wash Guys, you may have this and modify it at will, I dismiss any copyrights to you. Now remember our Franchise is a specialty type business, mobile car wash and the franchisee must be in excellent physical condition, where as your business model may wish to screen for other things.

1. Telephone Interview with Founder or Designated Person. (Minimum 30 min.) Friendly conversation; Lots of listening. Notes will be taken on "Pre-Screening Phone Worksheet". This worksheet will be kept in a file if prospective franchisee is qualified. A resume will be asked for at this point. It should be faxed or mailed to headquarters. If none is available, one will be created from the phone interview.

2. Resume Is Reviewed and compared to notes from phone interview for consistency. If it is acceptable, then we proceed. If it is not, process ends here. If, during the phone interview we created a resume for the prospective franchisee, it will be mailed to them so they can use it in their next interview. We will also send a copy to A Contract Employment Agency, a company with whom we network. They in turn will send us qualified prospects.

3. Timed Run is performed by prospective franchisee. Designated Person will time prospective franchisee on a running track. He or she must run one mile in under 7:30 minutes. "Timed Run Form" will be signed and dated by both prospective franchisee and Designated Person. If , He or she fails test, they will be given a workout schedule based on their actual time. They may try again in two weeks, or when they feel ready.

4. Ride Along with a crew. Two crews will be assigned to a new prospective franchisee. After the run, on the same day, prospective franchisee will spend all day helping a crew.

Second Ride Along will occur the following day with a different crew to assure that the prospective franchisee understands how much work there is.

5. File Is Created in prospective franchisee's name. Included are: Pre-Screening Phone Worksheet, Resume, Timed Run Form, Ride Along with Summaries from Crews. This checklist will be paper clipped to front of file.

6. Letter Of Intent is asked for from prospective franchisee. When received it is put in file and "Request to Join Team" form is sent out.

7. Request To Join Team Form is mailed to prospective franchisee. It must be mailed back in 15 days or prospective franchisee must go back and work on a third crew for one day. Hesitation means they are not quite sure yet or they falsified information.

8. Reviewing Of Request To Join Team Form will be screened by two Ride Along Crew managers and three other franchisees or independent contractors, a woman not associated with our company, a Quality Control consultant, a customer or the founder. All people Involved get one vote except Founder; he gets three. (Unless there is a third Ride Along Crew, then he gets only two). Prospective Franchisee must have 2/3rds. (12 Total, 8 to win!)

9. Request To Join Team Form Is Faxed to our favorite leasing company if they will be borrowing to buy the franchise or Wells Fargo Bank where the credit card processing will be done. Leasing company will notify us if prospective franchisee is credit worthy and fax us a TRW print out. Wells Fargo will do a background check and see if prospective franchisee qualifies for a merchant account.

10. Extensive Background Check will be done by a contracted private investigation firm. Check will include: FBI Report, Court Records, etc. He/she must pass or other arrangements must be made.

11. Meet With Prospective Franchisee - This will be the first official one on one meeting. Present at this meeting will be prospective franchisee, and his advisors, spouse, parents, investors, etc. Also present: Founder or Designated Person and eight other associates, members of the Executive Committee and franchisees or independent contractors.

12. Vote On Prospective Franchisee to determine if prospective franchisee is good enough. All information will be on the table, literally. On the table will be: Credit Report, Wells Fargo Approval Application, Leasing Company Tentative Approval, FBI Report, Court Records, Letter of Intent, Etc. He/she will be able to defend themselves against hearsay or false information on collected documents. Other items on table will be Pre-Screening Phone Worksheet, Resume, Timed Run Form, Ride Along Summaries and of course, The Request To Join Our Team Document. All nine people vote; Anyone absent will have their vote replaced by Founder or Designated Person. (2/3rds to win)

13. Approval will initiate a distribution of agreements for the prospective franchisee to sign:

Franchise Agreement

Franchise Offering Circular

Leasing Application for Equipment

Cellular Agreement

Supply Ordering Agreement

Non-Disclosure Agreement

Bank Account Forms & Merchant Account Agreement

Non-Competition Of Other Franchisees Promise

Fictious Name Statement

Document Receipt Form.

14. Returning of Forms - The prospective franchisee will return signed forms. No payment may be taken for 10 business days. We will use fifteen days to be safe. He/she may be placed in training until then.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs


MORE RESOURCES:

CBS News

Obama And McCain On Small Business
CBS News, NY - 32 minutes ago
And across the country, small-business owners fear being swamped by the credit crunch, rising healthcare costs and taxes. "It's hard to operate the business ...
Video: VP Debate - Tax Policies: Why are your tax policies not ... CSPAN
Scoring Small Business Points Forbes
McCain Slings Right Wing Fairy Tales About Taxes BuzzFlash
WIS - Muncie Star Press
all 583 news articles


Q2 Small Business Research Board Food & Beverage Industry Key ...
MarketWatch - 7 hours ago
The Small Business Research Board (SBRB) previously reported that its Food & Beverage Industry Small Business Confidence Index (SBCI) increased by 13 points ...


Hill Consulting Group Offers Solutions for Small Business
MarketWatch - 8 hours ago
HillConsultingGroup.com) announces the addition of a new practice area that will address the needs of small business owners and managers -- including a ...


Wall Street Journal Blogs

Small Business Survival Kit
CBS News, NY - 9 hours ago
"There's lots of small business owners we're talking to that are actually doing fine," Ramsey told co-anchor Harry Smith. "But the thing you've got to do in ...
Small Business Feels Wall Street’s Pain; At Least Strip Clubs are Okay Wall Street Journal Blogs
all 3 news articles


CBS News

Which Candidate Would Best Help Small Business?
CBS News, NY - 2 hours ago
There couldn’t be a more critical time to be a small business owner. So many small businesses rely on loans – for everything from payroll to buying needed ...


HP Offers New Web Solutions for Creative Print Projects, Small ...
WELT ONLINE, Germany - 5 hours ago
HP (NYSE:HPQ) today introduced offerings aimed at capturing a greater share of the combined $200 billion consumer personal publishing and small business ...


Small Business Can Now Seek Advantages of Dealing with a Third ...
MarketWatch - 10 hours ago
CLIFTON, NJ, Oct 07, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- FastUpFront introduces a new technology that provides small business to qualify for unsecured cash advance ...


Q2 Small Business Research Board Food & Beverage Industry Key ...
International Business Times, NY - 7 hours ago
The Small Business Research Board (SBRB) previously reported that its Food& Beverage Industry Small Business Confidence Index (SBCI) increased by 13points ...
Distribution & Wholesale Industry Small Business Confidence ... International Business Times
all 3 news articles


Net@Work Wins Small Business Award from The New York Enterprise Report
PR Web (press release), WA - 1 hour ago
... technology solutions, today announced that it won a Small Business Award from the New York Enterprise Report in the "Mergers and Acquisitions" category. ...


WROC-TV

Schumer calls for feds to back small business loans
MPNnow.com, NY - 5 hours ago
Charles Schumer (D, NY) called for the expansion of government backed small business loans today in Henrietta. By Kevin Fuller, staff writer Four days after ...
Schumer: Rochester's Small Businesses Need Help - Now WROC-TV
Sen. Schumer Wants Temporary Government Loan Program for Small ... WXXI
Schumer eyes bailout funds for small businesses Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
all 4 news articles

Small-Business - Google News

home | site map
© 2006