The franchise sales process has changed but you have nothing to fear! Learn how content marketing works to deliver the right messages to the right franchise prospects, inspiring and educating them to invest in your brand. For a free consultation, contact Rachael Wachstein, Vice President, Content Marketing, Fishman PR rwachstein@fishmanpr.com 847-945-1300.

1. .

2. 3. Why is Content Marketing Important for
Generating Franchise Leads?
4. From Stranger to Franchisee:
A Buyer’s Journey
6. The New Sales Paradigm
8. Customize Content
10. Buyer Personas
12. Content Mapping
13. Why Not Stand Out?
Table of Contents

3. 3
Moving Brands Forward
Content marketing is quickly
becoming the foundation
for the franchise sales
buying process. Thanks to
the Internet, prospective
franchisees are now smarter,
more connected, have greater
access to information and are
completing their due diligence
about franchise opportunities
online.
Prospective franchisees are
gaining insight into brands
earlier than ever and content
marketing works to prepare
prospects to invest.
“When franchise brands
provide insightful content to
prospects during the research
and discovery stage, they close
deals quicker because the
prospect is more sales ready.
Content marketing ensures
that franchise prospects have
their big questions answered
and concerns addressed
before they ever pick up the
phone or fill out a form.”
Why is Content Marketing
Important for Generating
Franchise Leads?
-Rachael Wachstein
Director of Content Marketing

4. 4
Moving Brands Forward
Think of content as the fuel for all of your franchise sales
campaigns – from email to social to event collateral. Content
marketing is the practice of communicating with franchise
prospects without hard selling. Instead, you’re delivering high-
quality information that establishes your brand and executives
as experts and provide information that makes your client or
prospect more sales ready.
From Stranger to Franchisee:
A Buyer’s Journey
INTEREST
LEARN
EVALUATE
VALIDATE
INVEST

5. 5
Moving Brands Forward
At its core, content
marketing is a lead
generation strategy
that aims to move
prospects through
the buyers journey
by educating,
inspiring or
entertaining them
.
It should help franchise
leads overcome hurdles
that can occur in the
buying process so
that they come to the
desired conclusion
– this franchise
opportunity is right
for me.
Moving Brands Forward

6. 6
Moving Brands Forward
Less Salesman...
To be effective, content marketing doesn’t just focus on the
benefits of your service, but also offers information about the
industry and segment of your brand and the lifestyle benefits of
investing in your franchise opportunity.
This practice improves the
credibility of your brand amongst
prospective franchisees, which
enables a franchisor to claim
a larger share of the available
market than competitors. This is
because your content marketing
strategy is building trust and a
rapport with prospects, making
it easier for them to come to you
when they are sales ready.
The New Sales Paradigm

7. 7
Moving Brands Forward
...More Professor
Franchise brands are using content marketing to engage prospects
in today’s new buyer landscape.
When used effectively, content marketing can:
• Influence prospective franchisees to invest
• Generate franchise leads
• Increase brand and opportunity awareness
• Generate quality leads for less money (compared
to more traditional marketing)
• Improve search engine optimization (SEO) efforts
• Develop brand thought leadership
• Improve online reputation
“Franchise sales teams
who offer resources
and provide valuable
information to prospects,
are more effective in
closing deals.”
-Rachael Wachstein
Director of Content Marketing

8. 8
Moving Brands Forward
The content in content marketing is not just white papers
and web pages. It includes a wide range of information your
franchise brand can use to educate prospective franchisees,
including:
• Articles
• Brochures
• Case Studies
• Custom Graphics
• Evergreen Content
• Email Copy & Design
• Franchise Reports
• How To’s
• Information Guides
• Infographics
• Landing Pages
Customize Content
• List Articles
• Microsites/Web Pages
• Podcasts/Videocasts
• Presentations
• Product Data Sheets
• Reference Guides
• Resource Libraries
• Social Media Content
• Videos
• Webinars
• White Papers
• Workbooks

9. 9
Moving Brands Forward
Regardless of what form your content takes, it should have a
strong call to action that is tailored to the prospective franchisee
demographic you’re looking to reach, whether that’s multi-unit
franchises who own dozens of locations, a single-unit franchisee
who wants to expand or a prospect who is new to the franchise
industry.
Each type of content has its own best practices and connects
with a prospective franchisee differently. For example, an email
may spark initial interest in a franchise opportunity, but it’s not
enough to ready a buyer to take out their figurative check book.
However, that email may connect that prospective franchisee
to a landing page that asks them to download an eBook that
further educates or interests them in the brand and how it could
benefit them.
Customize Content
As a result prospective franchisees start
imagining themselves in the place of a
featured franchisee or in the lifestyle or
financial situation the brand has painted
a picture of, which gets them to call
your Director of Franchise Sales - when
they’re ready to hear your pitch.

10. 10
Moving Brands Forward
Buyer Personas
Like any element in your franchise sales process or marketing
strategy, content marketing isn’t about creating content for its
own sake – it’s about engaging prospective franchisees.
To effectively reach your target audience and ready a
prospective franchisee to buy, you need to have a plan that
reflects your brand’s value propositions, an understanding of
your target audience’s pain points and ambitions and content
ideas that align with those concern on an on-going basis.
The first step is creating your buyer personas – most franchise
brands will need more than one. A buyer persona is the
representation of your ideal franchisee prospect based on
demographics, behavior and your own understanding of
motivators and challenges.

11. 11
Moving Brands Forward
Buyer Personas
Potential Franchise Candidate
Characteristics:
• C level Executive
• Net Worth: $500k
• Age: 50
Desires:
• Work/Life Balance
• Financial Independence
• Children’s Financial Security
Objections
• Leaving Secure Corporate Job
• Skeptical of Franchise Model
• Unsure if correct opportunity
Content Needs:
• Information Highlighting Lifestyle Opportunity of Franchise Ownership
• Data Supporting Franchise Ownership as Good investment
• Industry and Segment Data that Validates the Opportunity
• Franchisee Testimonials for Reassurance that brand is Trustworthy
• Profiles of Successful Franchisees with Similar backgrounds
• Videos that Highlight the Support and Training Offered by the Brand

12. 12
Moving Brands Forward
Content Mapping
Once you’ve defined your buyer personas, it’s time to leverage
these insights in order to connect with and motivate franchise
prospects closer to closing the deal.
Map out the process from their first introduction to the franchise
opportunity to the final stage, which is to close the deal with the
franchise development team. By determining what path these
prospective franchisees will follow, a franchise brand can deploy
a content marketing strategy that speak directly to buyers in
whatever stage in the buying process they are in. At each stage
of the buying journey, a prospective franchisee is receiving the
messaging that will further motivate them to invest in your
franchise brand.
Persona 1: Potential Franchisee
(Current Multi-unit Owner of QSR Brands)
Primary Goal: To discover more information about the franchise
opportunity.
SECONDARY GOAL: To invest in a franchise.
ADDITIONAL DESIRES: To diversify their franchise portfolio by investing
in an opportunity within a growing industry.
Receives an
email through a
trade publication
Reads information
about opportunity
within a growing
industry
Clicks on link to
landing page
offering a free
eBook
Downloads
eBook
on diversifying
your portdolio
Receives Thank
You email w/ link
to the franchise
website
Clicks link to
franchise website
Reads information
about the
opportunity
Fills out inquiry
form

13. 13
Moving Brands Forward
Why Not Stand Out?
In today’s marketplace, prospective franchisees are being
inundated with offers and advertisements – why not make your
franchise brand stand out from the crowd with tailored content
that speaks to them.
Your franchise brand already has the proven system and
processes in place that prospective franchisees want to invest
in – use strategic content marketing to bring them to the sales
table ready.

14. 14
For More Information Contact:
Rachael Wachstein
Director of Content Marketing
847.945.1300
RWachstein@fishmanpr.com
Moving Brands Forward
Campaign
-Campaign Planning and
Message Development
-Campaign Landing Page
-eBook
-Lead Reporting
-Email Nurture Campaign
-Email Blast and/or Ad design
to Promote the eBook
*Advertising Costs Not Included.
$7,500*
One-time Fee
A La Carte
-Blog Articles
-Byline Articles
-eBook
-Email Lead Nurture Campaign
-Infographics
-Landing Page
-Website Copy
-White Paper
-Franchise Reports
-Brochures
-Custom Graphics
-Video Content
-Social Media
-Flexible Solutions
Custom Content
Marketing Program
-Branded Hub
-Content Distribution
-eNewsletter
-Quarterly Campaigns
(as outlined above)
$4,500+
Per Month
Custom