Global Franchise Issue 10.1

12 GLOBAL FRANCHISE Issue 10.1 Empower owners, listen deeply, and lead with heart: how to build powerful franchise brands Mary Kennedy Thompson SIX IDE AS. ary KennedyThompson, CFE, is the CEO of BNI Global, the world’s largest business networking organization. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Mary began her franchising journey over 30 years ago as a multi- unit owner at Cookies by Design. Her leadership path took her toMr. Rooter, first as a franchisee, then to the executive team at Neighborly, where she became COO overseeing 30 service brands. Today, she serves as Chair of the International Franchise Association and is widely respected for her commitment to strong relationships, operational excellence, and values-driven leadership in global franchising. M FRANCHISING IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS About 20 years ago, at one of the companies I was with, we used to say to our franchise owners, “Thanks to you, all things are possible.” Franchising is about the relationship, not just the contract. Yes, sometimes you need to bring out the contract, but strong relationships should be the foundation. If you’re managing the art and science of being a good franchisor, instances where the contract is needed should be rare. The real magic happens when you build a great system, train to it, hold people to high standards, and foster trust. Trust begins with the customer and extends to franchise owners and teams at every level. TREAT OWNERS AS LEADERS I prefer calling them franchise owners, not franchisees, because that’s exactly what they are – they own their businesses. It’s not about a manager running a location; it’s about someone leading a business and wanting control over their own destiny. That’s the magic of franchising: ownership, leadership, community – and creating a network where everyone is empowered to lead yet still connected to something larger. EAT THE HAMBURGERS One of BNI’s core principles is ‘Members First’ – and we capitalize the M because it’s that important. I’m a Member in one of my Chapters and I encourage our franchise owners to be Members too. Why? Because you need to understand the whole experience. If I ran a hamburger brand, I would make sure I eat a hamburger every day. So, if a franchisor is having trouble connecting, I tell them to start eating the hamburgers. Go in and see it from the customer and the franchise owner’s point of view. That’s how you find the gaps and understand what really matters to them. WATCH THE GAME FROM ALL ANGLES In soccer or football, there are two coaches: one on the field and one in the skybox. Franchisees are on the field. Franchisors are in the skybox. We’re both seeing the same game, but from different perspectives. The field sees the tactical; the box sees the big picture – but if we don’t talk to each other, we can miss something vital. At my previous company, we needed to update our van wraps. Awrap on a service vehicle isn’t cheap – around $3,000 to $4,000 – but we found that it was an emotional issue for franchise owners who had developed a personal connection to that image which represented their business. From the franchisor’s perspective from the skybox, we saw that the change was necessary in order to attract more customers to our franchise owners. It was tough. I remember, at a convention, some franchisees were so opposed that they planned to protest, holding signs saying, “No van wraps.” But in the end, with strong collaboration and by sharing testimonials from franchise owners, our locations began the change and moved forward with good energy.