When starting out, many franchisees are bogged down with working in the business; i.e. operations and day-to-day tasks, and are scarce for time to work on the business – sales, marketing and profits. 

Clayton Treloar, CEO of Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE) shares his tips on how he tripled his sales as a Perth franchisee, after buying a two year old franchise with little presence in the market.

1. Market yourself

Treloar says franchisees need to put themselves out there by being active in their area through key marketing approaches. As MBE specialises in business-to-business (B2B) design, print, and shipping services, he had to target his specific customer base which included accountants and lawyers.

“I chose the area around my location and Google mapped the whole area surrounding my business,” he says.

He created a marketing action plan structured monthly which included the following initiatives:

• Signage in the window “new management”
• A grand opening event
• Introducing himself to surrounding businesses

Treloar also advises not to underestimate family and friends as customers, as he says now they are one of his biggest customers.

He also created a customer database through:

• Unaddressed mail with a call-to-action once every quarter
• Direct marketing mailouts (fifty to 100 letters a month or a week) individually addressed 
• Social media: paid Facebook advertising, Twitter and Linked In

2. People power

Loyalty, trust and passion are the key components of the right people for a business to succeed, so hiring the right ones are integral.

“The people are the most important part of your business hands down,” says Treloar.

“The people are your business.”

3. Network, network, network

Joining a networking group is also an valuable way to grow a customer database and partnerships. Citing a few Perth-based networking sites such as BNI and Nifnex (B2B) as well as Meetup Groups (which offer various group meeting types), Treloar says many of these groups bring together one professional from a sector, e.g. real estate, accounting, other business owners.

4. The 5 Ps

Treloar highlights the importance of being prepared as a franchisee with a simple rule:

• Proper  
• Planning
• Permits
• Peak
• Performance

“Don’t just half do it, or it’s going to fail,” he advises.

5. The 80/20 rule

In his view, 80 percent of a franchisee’s time should be spent only on growing sales and marketing-related tasks, which in the case of MBE could include providing quotes, talking to customers etc.

Treloar says franchisees should ask themselves each week if they can confidently say they spent 80 percent of their time driving sales and marketing their business.