At first glance at the title of this article, many franchisors may recoil at this topic! 

And many buyers' attention will have piqued.

But, the fact remains, buying a franchise or any business is not top of many people's minds right now, even if they were looking to buy before COVID-19 hit.

The well has dried up without doubt due to the uncertainty, but that will pass. We’re already seeing interest growing again at franchise buyer from a very, very quiet March and April.

The best buyer friendly terms of the decade?

Thus, the opportunity to benefit from more market friendly buying terms will need to be timed well. Hold off too long, and as the market sentiment changes, the opportunities will be snapped up by others willing to take on risk. 

Or, does doing nothing mean you could miss out on better terms if you were already set to invest in the short to medium term anyway? I’m not sure, only you can be the judge in your individual circumstances. 

And of course, it goes without saying that getting thorough professional advice is critical.

The circumstances of this crisis mean that taking your opportunities now as they present themselves, can be a great deal for both parties in the right circumstances.

What’s in it for buyers and sellers?

Franchisors - apart from the obvious recovery process, a key part of it is that they will need people to continue investing in their intellectual property (IP) and systems in order to grow their network scale, and for the profitability and strength of every stakeholder in it.

Franchise buyers - you are well-placed to potentially enter a franchise on unique terms that have not previously been available. Not in every system, but there are a few out there for sure.

In each case, the value proposition, probably even more than ever, must be carefully scrutinised. Franchisors doing deals that are not commercial in an effort to grow their network and income could, amongst other things;

1. Make a poor culture fit decision for a franchise partner, and or,
2. Offer terms that are in effect costing them money, rather than making money ultimately.

For a franchise buyer, due diligence has never been more critical. The challenge is, this crisis has thrown up so many more factors to consider in risk than all of us would ever have thought possible as recently as 3 months ago.

Time to pick up the phone?

I’m not suggesting you rush any important decisions in a worry you’ll miss out.

What I am suggesting is that my discussions with many franchise companies indicates that there are more than a few out there who are motivated. Many are more open to discussions on creative ways of entering their franchise system, than they would have prior to COVID-19.

So, if you had an interest at some point in a franchise, and have still thought of doing so down the track, jumping on the phone for a chat to them is probably worth everyone's time right now.

As afterall, time is something many of us have got plenty of right now!