The Art of Franchise Negotiating

Franchising China:

If you don’t ask, you’ll never know what you can get! The Art of Franchise Negotiating

“If you want to persuade people, show the immediate relevance and value of what you’re saying in terms of their needs and desires… Successful collaborative negotiation lies in finding out what the other side really wants and showing them a way to get it, while you get what you want.â€? —Herb Cohen

First, say no! Then negotiate because the final decision could be maybe. I learned this maxim from some of the best hagglers in the world after working for ten years on Capital Hill in Washington. We have all met rascals who, in a fifty-fifty proposition, insist on getting the hyphen, too. This is not one of their stories.

In franchising, we are supposed to play by the rules. From the original franchise contract to renewals, the rules are specified within the agreement between the franchisor and the franchisee. However, how we arrive at those rules could be negotiable.

Good franchisors are interested in franchisees’ ideas, and franchisees are interested in the range of experience franchisors bring to them. Neither side needs to cheat or bend their principles, the rules, to succeed in business through franchising. As with playing a game, it’s no fun to win by breaking the rules.

In the franchise business, one can still beat the competition, stick with what they believes in, follow the rules of the contract, and prevail without being deceitful. Each must know the rules, understand them, and when all is said and done, be willing to accept them or question the rules from the start and, perhaps, challenge them for change.

That is precisely why the contract is in place. It helps illuminate the way to understanding and success. But before a potential franchisee forces a discussion to the point of an argument with the franchisor, he or she should take a good look at all sides, their side and, perhaps, the outside. Inevitably, the franchisor will always have the final word. Read More