Development Specialists Share Franchise Sales Advice

Experienced development professionals offered their best advice during “Franchise Sales Basics,” a breakout session during the 2025 Franchise Leadership & Development Conference.

“We’re here to make this as real and tangible as possible,” said moderator Albert Hermans, CDO of Floor Coverings International. He was joined on the panel by Ed Yancy, vice president of franchise development at Burn Boot Camp, Ryan Granby, manager of franchise sales at Wingstop, Philip Watson, vice president of global development at Phenix Salon Suites, and Brandon Mangual, vice president of franchise development at Batteries Plus.

Expectations

Yancy said it’s important to set expectations on day one. His team lays out milestones on the way to a 90-day end-to-end target. One of their goals is to build urgency around territory scarcity. “I like for my sales team to kind of lead that journey and set the expectation and create a sense of urgency,” he said.

He said he insists on early applications/financials so that the development team doesn’t “burn a lot of time and oxygen” with unqualified candidates. And he keeps the information load tight—validate with franchisees first and don’t get lost in real estate weeds. Discovery day is “the bow on the package,” he said.

Qualifications

Granby front-loads qualification—background, liquidity, and multi-unit QSR experience— and moves into a structured deck and application. He prefers to discuss territory realities early since some areas are spoken for. Final greenlights run through a leadership engagement day.

“What we focus on at the beginning stages is really qualifying and kind of weaning out ones who do not qualify,” he said.

He also leans on third-party verification so that the sales team isn’t chasing paperwork. “Our finance team handles all of that,” he said.

Money and time

Watson’s process puts capital readiness ahead of résumé. The Phenix Salon Suites’ model—no inventory, one part-time employee, roughly a $1 million investment—is designed to run lean.

“If they have the capital, they’ve probably done something right in their business careers,” he said, adding that if a candidate wants a totally passive investment, they’re not the right match.

Building rapport is about doing the homework, including scanning LinkedIn or social media. He also works to short-circuit objections, particularly around financing. “Pay the franchise fee, and we’ll put you with Apple Pie (Capital),” he said. “If you can’t get prequalified, I’ll give you the fee back.”

Speed

Mangual is all about speed-to-lead and momentum. An AI assistant texts prospects the moment they inquire and drops a 15-minute slot on his calendar. He said the booking rate is more than 90%, including after-hours. He said it’s important to move quickly because only a finite number of people are looking for a franchise at a certain investment level.

Batteries Plus aims for a 75-day inquiry-to-sign cycle. Everything is tracked to uncover bottlenecks so that the team can intervene quickly and keep candidates moving. “We don’t sell the end result,” he said. “We sell the very next step.”

Virtual discovery days are held each week. “We hold them in person once a month and sometimes twice a month if we have the volume for it,” Mangual said.