More Than 50 Questions to Ask a Franchisor on Discovery Day

Joining a franchise offers the excitement of running your own business with the franchisor’s support. From training and marketing assistance to leveraging an established brand and customer base, franchising comes with significant benefits. However, it’s a decision that requires thorough research and planning by both the prospective franchisee and franchisor.

A key part of this process is the franchisor’s discovery day. To make the most of this opportunity, franchise discovery day preparation is essential. But what exactly does the franchise discovery day agenda involve, and what are the key questions to ask? Let’s dive in.

What Is Discovery Day?

A franchise discovery day is a key step in exploring a franchise opportunity after expressing your interest. Despite the name, it can range from a single day to a weekend or even several days.

During this event, franchisors provide detailed insights into the brand, operations, and support systems, helping prospective franchisees make informed decisions. It’s also an opportunity for the franchisor to assess whether the franchisee is a good fit for their brand.

For prospective franchisees, a franchise discovery day fills gaps in their research and offers a clearer picture of the franchise. Meeting the leadership team in person provides valuable insight into their values, attitudes, and overall support. When held at the franchisor’s headquarters, attendees can observe details like team dynamics, energy, and even body language to gauge the company culture.

50+ Questions to Ask Franchise Owners on Discovery Day

Simply put, a discovery day is a chance for both parties to get to know each other better before taking the final step and signing on the dotted line. As a prospective franchisee, one of the most important things you can do during this event is to be as thoroughly prepared as possible.

Meeting many people from different teams can be overwhelming, as will all the new information you’re taking in. This is why it’s essential to prepare a set of questions beforehand. This can help you stay more organised.

As for the questions themselves, if you’re wondering what questions you should ask on discovery day, we’ve broken some of the most important ones down for you in several different categories.

Questions about the franchise

You may have already studied the franchisor in some depth prior to discovery day through online research. But nothing beats meeting the franchisor face to face. This is an incredible opportunity for both sides to determine whether they are a good fit for each other.

One of the first things you should do is get an overview of the franchise by asking your franchisor several important questions.

Although some information may be freely available online, the chances are that these questions and their answers will be reserved for this predominantly face-to-face meeting (although virtual discovery days are also possible):

1. What are the franchise’s vision and mission and how do you strive to meet these through daily operations?
2. What is the brand’s competitive advantage in the industry?
3. How does it compare to the competition and how does it seek to gain greater portions of market share?
4. What are your immediate and long-term growth plans? Do these include organic growth through franchising or strategic growth through mergers and acquisitions?
5. Is there the possibility of multi-unit ownership? What sort of revenue streams are available?
6. How are complaints handled by both customers and franchisees?
7. Have you ever terminated a franchisee and on what grounds?
8. Are there any seasonal trends in the business, and how does the brand address them?
9. Are there plans to diversify the product or service offering in the future?

Questions about the leadership

At a franchisor’s discovery day, you will have the opportunity to meet with the leadership and with various other groups of people that make up the franchisor’s team of specialists.

Essential questions to ask about the leadership include:

10. Which person or team will I be dealing with on a daily basis?
11. How does the brand’s leadership compare and rank against competitors?
12. Is there a leadership succession plan in place in the event of death or incapacitation?
13. What is the leadership team’s collective experience in the industry?
14. How does the leadership gather and respond to franchisee feedback?
15. Are there examples of leadership addressing challenges within the franchise network?

Questions about the support

Given that franchising is generally a support-based business, it will come as no surprise that most franchisors offer training and support to their franchisees. However, this is where the similarities end. Each franchisor, depending on their industry and niche, will offer franchisees different levels of support.

You will need clarity on this and you can get this by asking questions that include:

16. Will there be support with site selection and construction?
17. Will there be support for the grand opening? What about after the business’ launch?
18. Does the franchisor provide ongoing training for managers and staff or will this be your responsibility as a franchisee?
19. Are there quarterly or annual conferences as part of a broader and more informal support network where ideas and solutions to problems can be shared and exchanged?
20. What tools or software systems does the franchisor provide for operations?
21. Is there a dedicated support hotline or team for franchisees?
22. How does the franchisor help franchisees adapt to market changes or challenges?

Questions about revenue

Apart from the personality fit between a franchisor and a franchisee that’s generally sought after since this will be a long-term relationship, the financials will also play a major role in the prospective franchisee deciding to choose the franchisor.

Frequent and important questions to ask regarding the financials go beyond simply asking “will I make money”. In fact, they may include:

23. What returns on investment can I anticipate and how long will it take?
24. What is the average time it takes a franchisee to break even?
25. What is the average time it takes a franchisee to become profitable?
26. What are the associated costs with purchasing this franchise opportunity?
27. Are in-house financing options available or should I speak to an external lender?
28. Will I work in a geographically defined and protected territory or will I be competing with other franchisees?
29. How many revenue streams are available?
30. Do you have relationships with suppliers and do you offer stock or inventory discounts to franchisees for purchasing within the network?
31. How do you track and share financial performance data across the network?
32. What are the historical trends for franchisee revenue growth?
33. How does the franchisor plan to increase profitability for franchisees in the next five years?

Questions to ask other franchisees

Although you’re highly likely to have watched video testimonials from current franchisees, nothing is more effective than speaking with them face-to-face. Questions for existing franchisees should include:

34. Are there any existing franchisee associations and how do they interact with the franchisor?
35. What do you think and feel about the brand?
36. Could you talk me through the daily operations of your franchise business? What goes into a typical working day and week?
37. What is your relationship like with the franchise owner?
38. What do you wish you had known about the business before signing up with it?
39. Can you tell me more about your schedule, flexibility and corporate support?
40. What is the most rewarding part of being a franchisee?
41. Why did you select this franchisor over others? What criteria did you use to make this decision?
42. How often do you communicate with the franchisor, and how responsive are they?
43. What challenges have you faced as a franchisee, and how were they resolved?

Questions to ask about the exit strategy

Although it may be uncomfortable to discuss an exit strategy before you’ve even started, knowing your options is crucial. You’ll be more informed and will be able to make better decisions over the long run as you’ll be armed with the right information and knowledge.

Consequently, the following questions should not be omitted from your list:

44. What is the procedure if I wish to sell the business and leave the system?
45. Is there support provided for franchise re-sales?
46. Are there any exit restrictions and conditions that need to be met? If so, what are they?
47. How is the value of the franchise assessed during resale?
48. Can I pass the franchise on to family members or heirs?
49. Are there any ongoing fees or obligations post-exit?

Questions to ask yourself after the discovery day

After the exciting and deeply informative discovery day session is over, you may feel overwhelmed with information. However, it’s now time to take a step back and evaluate your personal response to the event itself, the people, the answers to your questions and how you feel.

Consider these questions to help guide you in your analysis process:

50. How do you feel about the people? Do you like them?
51. Could you spend a couple of years working with the people?
52. What common goals and visions did you identify for operating and growing the business?
53. Will the offered support meet my business growth needs and my expectations?
54. Did the franchisor address your concerns and questions thoroughly?
55. Does the franchise opportunity align with your personal and professional goals?

Additional Tips

With all of the above questions at hand, you’ll be better prepared to deeply understand the franchise system, team and operations. But preparing the questions is just one part of the process.

If you are wondering how to prepare for discovery day when buying a franchise, we’ve prepared a short list of discovery day tips for you to consider.

• Conduct thorough online research about the franchise beforehand. This can help you save a lot of time asking questions that you could have found the answers to yourself.
• Evaluate your strengths, skills and goals and be honest with yourself about your abilities.
• Have a firm grasp of your financial situation. Do you have liquid capital available or will you need to secure financing?
• Send the franchisor your questions beforehand to enable them to better prepare and to provide you with a worthwhile and valuable experience.
• Send a thank you note no later than 48 hours after the discovery day and inform the franchisor where you are in your decision-making process.
• Never feel pressured to sign a franchise agreement on discovery day, even if you’re told that there is high competition for the opportunity.

A Few Final Words

Choosing the right franchise opportunity takes a lot of effort indeed. You need to weigh up multiple different options and factors against each other to reach a conclusion. If this process seems daunting and overwhelming, there is a solution.

The Franchise Fame portal contains a comprehensive list of franchise opportunities as well as detailed information about each one. Through this portal, you can refine your search process and get one step closer to making your entrepreneurial dreams a reality.

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