If you are searching for real franchise sales help, you’re usually looking for one of two things. Either you want your existing franchisees to make more money at the unit level, or you want to sell more franchises and grow your system. These are two very different disciplines, but both are essential for a healthy franchise brand. Strong unit economics make your system attractive to buyers, and strong franchise development brings in the right owners who will help the brand grow the right way.
This guide breaks down both sides of the equation and gives you practical, real-world ideas you can use immediately.
Unit-Level Franchisee Growth: Increasing Franchisee Sales
The foundation of effective franchise sales help is supporting your current franchisees. When franchisees thrive, several things happen: validation improves, royalties grow, and new buyers become easier to recruit. Here are common and high-impact ways franchisors help franchisees increase unit-level sales.
Proven Ways to Help Franchisees Increase Revenue
Strengthening local marketing.
Ensure franchisees have clear guidance on digital marketing, local SEO, community partnerships, social media, direct outreach, referral programs, and incentives for lapsed customers.
Improving sales processes.
Many franchisees need help learning how to close customers, how to follow up, and how to build local relationships. Providing scripts, templates, and training sessions makes a measurable difference.
Optimizing pricing models.
A small pricing adjustment or a move toward value-based pricing can significantly increase profitability.
Expanding service offerings.
Some brands add upsells, subscriptions, memberships, or seasonal services. These enhancements stabilize revenue throughout the year.
Boosting operational efficiency.
Cutting waste, improving scheduling, and reducing payroll inefficiencies often give franchisees a stronger bottom line without needing additional customers.
Improving manager and staff training.
Well-trained teams convert better, deliver better service, and increase repeat business.
Mystery shops and performance scorecards.
Data-driven coaching gives franchisees clarity about what to improve without guessing.
When your existing franchisees grow, your brand becomes far more attractive to new buyers. That leads to the second major category of franchise sales help: bringing in new franchisees.
Franchise Development: Adding New Franchisees the Right Way
Growing a franchise system depends heavily on your franchise development engine. This includes marketing, lead sourcing, and the person who takes prospects through the process.
Below are the major areas that matter most.
Franchise Development Marketing: Where New Franchisee Leads Come From
1. Franchise Brokers
Franchise brokers are one of the most widely used sources of franchise leads. They introduce their candidates to brands that match their background, investment level, and goals. Some of the most widely used networks include:
IFPG – International Franchise Professionals Group (www.ifpg.org)
IFPG is one of the largest franchise broker networks in the world. Members include consultants, lenders, attorneys, and vendors. They offer a broad mix of candidates across investment levels and industries. IFPG is known for strong training and a very large consultant network, which can help emerging brands get early traction.
FranChoice (www.franchoice.com)
FranChoice has experienced consultants who typically work with higher-quality, well-funded candidates. They take a selective approach to the brands they represent, which means being listed with FranChoice often positions your franchise as more mature.
Franchise Brokers Association – FBA (www.franchiseba.com)
FBA offers both consultant education and a wide selection of franchise partners. They tend to attract a broad candidate base and are known for strong broker tools and communication structures.
FranNet (www.frannet.com)
FranNet has been around for decades and focuses heavily on matching buyers to franchise businesses based on detailed assessments. They often work with candidates who want structured guidance and lower risk.
The Entrepreneur’s Source – TES (www.entrepreneurssource.com)
TES is one of the oldest coaching and broker networks. They focus more on career transition candidates and offer deep coaching for their buyers.
Franchise brokers can be extremely valuable, but they also tend to be VERY expensive. Many franchisors increase their franchise fee to cover broker commissions, which commonly start around $30,000 per awarded franchise.
2. Franchise Marketing Companies
Marketing companies help generate franchise leads through paid ads, content, landing pages, PR, and targeted digital campaigns. A few prominent options include:
TopFire Media (www.topfiremedia.com)
TopFire Media specializes in public relations, franchise development marketing, content creation, franchise websites, and lead generation. They are well known in the franchising world for building strong brand visibility.
Fishman PR (www.fishmanpr.com)
Fishman PR focuses on franchise lead generation through paid ads, storytelling-driven content, and strategic marketing funnels. They are often used by franchisors who want measurable digital performance.
Rallio (www.rallio.com)
Rallio provides social media management at scale for franchise systems. Strong social media presence drives both consumer sales and franchise buyer awareness.
3. Raving Fan Customers
One of the most overlooked sources of franchise sales help is your current customer base. Your earliest franchisees tend to be people who already love the brand, use the service, or visit the restaurant frequently.
If you’re a restaurant, putting small signs on tables announcing that you are now franchising is surprisingly effective.
If you are service-based, adding a franchising notice to invoices or email confirmations can bring in leads.
These leads convert at a higher rate, cost nothing, and usually become strong early franchise owners.
Who Should Handle Franchise Sales Conversations? Four Options
Once a lead comes in, someone needs to guide buyers through the education process. There are four main approaches, and each works differently depending on where your brand is in its lifecycle.
1. The CEO or Founder Handles Franchise Sales
This is common for very early-stage brands. Buyers love speaking directly with the founder, but it is extremely time-consuming. It also becomes impossible to scale once your lead volume increases.
2. Train Someone Internally
Many brands promote a trusted team member and teach them franchise development. This works well if that person is coachable, disciplined, and learns quickly. The downside is that franchise development is a specialized skill, and inexperienced salespeople often struggle to convert buyers for emerging brands.
3. Hire a Seasoned Franchise Development Professional
A strong, experienced development leader can dramatically accelerate growth. They know how to educate buyers, overcome concerns, guide validation correctly, and build trust. However, top talent is expensive, and hiring the wrong person can slow a brand down for years.
4. Use a Franchise Sales Organization (FSO)
FSOs provide a full outsourced development team. They offer systems, tools, experienced salespeople, and often existing relationships with brokers and candidates.
Here are several FSOs commonly used in the franchising world:
FranLift (www.franlift.com)
FranLift focuses on emerging and growth-stage franchises. They offer highly experienced development professionals, strategic guidance, and month-to-month flexibility. FranLift combines deep franchise operations knowledge with strong sales execution to help brands scale without hiring internal staff. Their hands-on approach and personalized strategy make them a strong fit for brands that want expert-level guidance without long-term commitments.
Franchise FastLane (www.franchisefastlane.com)
One of the largest FSOs, FastLane works with brands that already have strong unit economics and a proven model. They are selective and bring large volumes of broker-driven leads. They provide full development services.
Rep’M Group (www.repmgroup.com)
Rep’M takes a consultative approach with brand strategy, development, marketing, and operations. They often work with stronger emerging brands with rapid growth potential.
BrandONE (www.brandone.com)
BrandONE offers development services for both emerging and more established franchise systems. They focus on education-centered development and long-term system growth.
FranDevCo (www.fdevco.com)
FranDevCo partners deeply with its brands and provides strategy, marketing, and development. They often act as a long-term outsourced development team with a strong emphasis on candidate experience.
FSOs can be a powerful solution when a brand needs both skill and speed, but does not want to hire full-time staff.
Final Thoughts: Getting the Franchise Sales Help You Need
Whether your goal is to help your current franchisees grow their unit-level sales or to add new franchisees to your system, the key is clarity. You must know what kind of help you need. Support for existing franchisees drives profitability and improves validation. Strong development processes attract high-quality franchise buyers. Effective marketing ensures a steady flow of leads. And the right person or team guiding candidates makes all the difference.
Franchise sales help isn’t one thing. It’s a combination of smart strategy, the right tools, the right people, and strong operational fundamentals. When you align these areas, your franchise system becomes healthier, more attractive to buyers, and much better positioned for long-term growth.
