If you didn’t know it yet, franchise ‘discovery days’ are a thing.

Put simply, they are scheduled days where a franchise brand tours you around their business. 

They are big in the USA franchise market, but for whatever reason, they are not as common here in Australia.

Discovery days are about reducing risk

The rationale is straightforward. 

Come on in, ‘meet us in person’, have some presentations about the business, find out in detail what you do in it as a franchise owner, meet the national head office team and more.

Discovery days reduce risk for you as a buyer, and for the franchisor, as you both get to know and see more about each other than you would in the ‘normal’ enquiry, phone call, application form, interview style process.

A discovery day is a great way to quickly accelerate your understanding of each other. 

You get to see, talk, touch and feel the business, which has far greater relevance and value than just by phone, email or webinar…

I’d be asking brands I’m enquiring with if they have a discovery day coming up.

What the day looks like

For a brand like Gutter-Vac, based in Brisbane, their discovery ‘day’, runs for just an hour. 

Depending on the brand and the approach they could be an hour, or up to a full day.

Warren Ballantyne, Founder says, “It’s a great way to see the inner workings of a franchise in a practical way, to get a feel of the culture of the business.”

“We’re showing people the business, where the office is, how it’s run, and meeting the staff and the operational side. Then we sit down for a chat about them and their interests, and why they are looking at Gutter-Vac in particular.

“It’s a major part of the recruitment process in the USA, yet in the Australian franchise market they are not as used. Probably because people (prospects / buyers) don’t engage in them as much as they should.”

Death by Zoom

The impetus for Warren to host a discovery day was two-fold, after historically not running them often.

“In Brisbane for example, we were going to meet a lot of people interested in getting into their own business at the franchising expo in early March, but when that got delayed for covid reasons till October, we thought that having a discovery day is a great way to engage with, and meet people who are interested in what we do.”

“We currently do this with a Microsoft Teams meeting out of necessity obviously, but a discovery day will now supplement and build on that.”

In fact, the market conditions as we emerge from two years of predominantly online interaction, appear favourable for a reinvigoration of the face-to-face, discovery day type of approach for many brands.

“The discovery day with Gutter-Vac is just an hour and they are done. 

They will get a good understanding of what the business is about. Then go away and think of questions and come back and we can talk then in even greater detail. 

We’re very aware that information overload can be a factor, so it’s a great way to start.”

How to be involved in the Gutter-Vac Discovery Day;

Contact: Warren@guttervac.com.au

Or via this link Gutter-Vac

10am or 2pm session on Thursday 10th March.