Franchise Discovery Days (FDD) allow franchisors and prospect franchisees in finding and getting to know each other. It is a wonderful tool and a significant opportunity to get the potential franchisee excited about franchises and can help with the closure process by shortening it (Advice for your franchise Discovery Day).

Invitations of Discovery Days     

Franchisors and prospective franchisees should get a chance to meet and get to know each other before deciding on the intended franchise or master franchise. This gives them some time to get acquainted with each other before the franchisor can decide if this is the right buyer of his brand. This is also a time for a full disclosure. No matter how wonderful and scary a prospective business may look, the prospect of buying a food franchise is exciting and lovely in life. The whole process is a great opportunity to learn something valuable and new. Gone are the days of Discovery Days, where a potential franchisee had to ‘discover’ the franchisor himself. A significant time used to be spent in pre-internet days in finding a ‘working business’ to invest in. This prevented closures or folding of the business, since a better understanding of the business was had and adequate time was spent on defining the intricacies of the franchise. This is a good opportunity in broad daylight (Must attend a Discovery Day before you buy a franchise).

Investors like to do the consulting before getting into any franchise. This is a wonderful opportunity to know about what the company has to offer. Invitations are sent throughout the year, so grab the opportunity and visit one, especially if you are a working person. Here’s what you can do or not on a Franchise Discovery Day (Dos and Don’ts for attending Franchise Discovery Days).

Activities of Typical Discovery Days

While prospective franchisees can expect lots of free flow of information, a typical discovery day usually matches franchisors to prospective franchisees (Importance of Discovery Day) This is the best chance to meet and get to know each other. There is tremendous energy in a discovery day and this is a great opportunity to meet current franchisees, who are excited at the prospect of meeting so many new people interested in the same business.

The discovery day also helps franchisors who are seeking to meet people face-to-face and find out if they are the right match for their business. Find out who should pay the costs (FDD – Who should pay the Costs?). The event is also a place for closure of deals, disclosure of financial status of interested people and a lot of other activity. Expect all kinds of people at a discovery day – entrepreneurs, consultants, housewives, sales interns, etc. In short, be prepared to meet people, shoot your questions and clear your doubts.

Making the Most of Franchise Discovery Days - FDD

Discovery Days are great to understand the franchise concept. When franchise founders speak passionately about their business, it resonates with the crowd as it covers a lot of topics that one can learn in a 2-hour setting. This includes, franchise sales, franchise system, franchise goals, ROI, work ethic, working days, management training, operational training, etc. It’s the best time to learn about the business and unlearn anything that may not be beneficial to the business. The owners may also speak of their own experiences with their brand, such as long work periods, frustration over something for weeks or sometimes months on end. The salespersons are on call all the time, sometimes for 24 hours and keep your call on priority.

Results of Discovery Days

Discovery Days are good to visit if you’re looking to purchase a franchise. If you are thinking of being a boss yourself and this thought is with you day and night, then it would be good for you to visit a Discovery Day. Here’s a list of questions you can ask franchisors (Important questions to ask Franchisors). After attending a Discovery Day, you will know a lot about franchising. What’s more? You will be able to decide which franchise to take. You will be much more at ease with all the information and people you will have met.

Discovery Days are best when the franchisor finally selects his franchisees and deals are complete. Franchisees who have struck a deal with the business owner are the ones who take home the most from such an event. The coming generation will appreciate working on their own, whether daytime or night-time.