Buying or Managing a Franchise
IS YOUR FRANCHISE SYSTEM HOLDING YOU BACK? F
ranchising is often described as a proven pathway to business success and for many, it absolutely can be. But what’s rarely acknowledged is that the franchise system itself is either your most powerful lever for success or your biggest hidden liability.
So what exactly do high-performing systems do differently and where do the rest fall short?
If you’re a potential franchisee, you’re not just buying a business, you’re buying into a system. And that system will either amplify your efforts or quietly erode them. It’s imperative that you learn to recognise the signs of a world-class franchise system, one that’s designed to support your success from day one, not leave you stranded.
After more than 25 years of working hands-on with a wide range of franchise brands from emerging systems to mature networks, I kept coming back to the same question, “Why do some franchisees thrive while others stall or fail, even within the same system?”
If you’re a franchisor, the imperative is different but just as urgent – to evolve into a system that can consistently develop and replicate highperforming franchisee partners. Because when success feels like a fluke rather than a formula, it’s a sign that the system isn’t doing its job.
What separates the best from the rest?
I’d seen it all. Brilliant initiatives that never got traction. Franchisees with huge potential slowly disengaging. Field teams flat out but not making a real difference. And support systems that looked good on paper but delivered little in practice.
In 2020, award-winning businesswoman and franchising all-rounder Jan Timms completed a seven-year empirical research study that created an evidence-based formula for success in franchising and gained her a PhD in Franchising from the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
Despite best efforts, too many programs, tools, and strategies were producing inconsistent outcomes. And I wanted to understand why. Not in theory but in practice. So, I stepped back from delivering solutions and set out to find real answers, undertaking a seven-year empirical research study into the true drivers of franchisee success.
Instead of looking at what successful networks say they do – Jan studied the patterns of behaviour, structure, culture and support that consistently deliver results across different franchise models and sectors. She also uncovered twelve silent, deeply embedded issues that even well-established brands face. In this article based on her bestselling book The Ultimate Franchising Success Formula, Jan discusses some of the issues that quietly hold back performance, stifle growth, and cause talented franchisees to disengage or underperform.
I wanted to know: what are the specific, observable things that highperforming franchise systems do differently and why do so many others, despite best intentions, fall short? Over seven years, I immersed myself in the operational guts of franchise networks across sectors. I analysed what franchisors say they value and compared that with what actually gets done. I examined how support is delivered, how knowledge is transferred, how culture is shaped, and how behaviour is influenced across the franchisee journey.
Not all franchise systems are created equal The truth is that not all franchise systems are created equal and being “established” doesn’t automatically mean they’re effective. World-class systems are deliberately designed. They are built to scale. They know how to develop, replicate, and support high-performing franchisees and they avoid the widespread traps that keep others stuck in mediocrity. Let’s walk through what world-class franchise systems do differently. I’ll share the findings that led to the development of the Five Magic F’s Success Formula – a practical framework now used by growth-focused franchise brands across the globe. You’ll also see how one standout brand, Pack & Send Australia & New Zealand, applied the formula to develop a proactive sales culture, increase lead conversion, and achieve double digit sales growth over the subsequent three years.
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Success is not random From my research, patterns began to emerge. Clear, repeatable, behavioural patterns. In high-performing networks, success wasn’t random. It was systematically developed, supported, and replicated. These systems knew how to identify the right people, embed knowledge, build trust, and drive performance with rigour and intent. And most of all, they had a deliberate way of identifying, developing, and replicating successful franchisee behaviours. But perhaps even more striking was what I found in the systems that were stuck or slowly unravelling. Despite different industries, different geographies, and different business models, the same issues kept showing up. Not once or twice, but across network after network. Franchise New Zealand
Winter 2025
Year 34 Issue 02