11 minute read
IS YOUR FRANCHISE SYSTEM HOLDING YOU BACK?
What does a world-class franchise system look like?
Franchising 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
So what exactly do high-performing systems do differently and where do the rest fall short?
What separates the best from the rest?
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?”
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.
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.
I wanted to know: what are the specific, observable things that high performing 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.
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.
These issues weren’t loud or dramatic. In fact, that’s what made them so dangerous. They were subtle. Embedded. Normalised. And quietly, they were undermining performance, stalling growth, and pushing talented people to disengage.
Identify the silent killers
Some of the most damaging issues found included:
Not being unified by a vision to develop successful franchisee partners above all else - leaving decision-making fragmented and franchisees unsure where the system is really heading.
Poor knowledge capture and sharing - critical know-how trapped in the heads of a few, with little structure for network-wide transfer.
Lacking the discipline to follow systems - where exceptions become the rule and consistency breaks down.
Pursuing short-term financial wins at the expense of long-term strategy - undermining sustainable growth and eroding trust.
Resting on the laurels of the past - clinging to “what worked back then” instead of evolving for what’s needed now.
Great initiatives poorly implemented - strong ideas that fail in execution due to lack of structure, follow-through, or franchisee buy-in.
These silent killers don’t just slow momentum, they create systemic drag. They wear down top performers, sap confidence from new recruits, and normalise mediocrity in ways that are hard to undo.
As an example, during my PhD research years I asked franchisees about their lack of participation and engagement with various learning and development initiatives proposed by their franchisors. Many franchisees replied that they didn’t see the value to them in taking time out of their businesses and that trainings were often based on the priorities of the franchisor rather than the franchisees’ own business needs.
In addition, they cited a lack of awareness by the franchisor of the real business issues that franchisees face. This sentiment was expressed in several ways, such as the franchisor “driving their own agenda” or being “out of touch with what happens in the real world”.
And for franchisors, this lack of buy-in by franchisees led to a reactionary cycle of thinking that it wasn’t worth investing in learning and development initiatives because of the consistent failure of these initiatives.
A blueprint for franchise system excellence
When I began to analyse the data from my research, a clear pattern emerged, not just in what was going wrong, but in what the best franchise systems were doing right.
The highest-performing brands weren’t winging it. They had structure. They had clarity. They had a system for developing and replicating high-performing franchisees and they followed it with discipline. From that insight, my Five Magic F’s Success Formula was born – a framework for evaluation and a blueprint for action. A practical, evidence-based model that helps franchisors diagnose what’s holding their network back, identify the actions that drive the greatest performance uplift and align their support systems, knowledge transfer, and culture around one clear goal – more successful franchisees.
Here’s a closer look at each element of the formula and what it’s designed to eliminate:
Find the key to replication
Create systems to recruit, develop, and replicate successful franchisees. Eliminate the resource drain caused by struggling low performers.
Fuel competitive advantage
Turn knowledge into your most powerful competitive advantage. Prevent wheel reinvention and brain drain when people leave.
Foster a thriving culture
Build trust, mutual supportiveness, and relationship commitment. Eliminate disengagement, miscommunication, and disputes.
Five-star franchisee support
Transform franchisee support into a high-impact growth engine. Eliminate time wasters and inconsistencies.
Fast track accelerated learning
Achieve real learning, action, lasting behaviour change and results. Stop wasting time and resources on training that fails.
Each of these elements directly counters those silent killers and together, they create the conditions for a franchise system that doesn’t just grow in size but also grows in strength.
Let’s take a look at how Pack & Send applied the Five Magic F ’s to develop a proactive sales culture, increase lead conversion, and achieve double-digit sales growth.
Pack & Send Case Study
Back in 2022, Pack & Send Australia & New Zealand faced a significant challenge - inconsistent B2B sales performance across their network. Leads often went un-followed, conversion rates were averaging just 11%, and there was a general reluctance to engage in proactive selling. Confidence issues, fear of rejection, and major gaps in B2B sales skills & knowledge were holding the network back. Together, we worked to implement a full-system transformation guided by the Five Magic F ’s framework, which was rolled out first across Australia and is now being applied to the New Zealand network.
To Find the success behaviours driving top performance, we collaborated with Field Support Managers to identify observable patterns, validated their findings through mystery shopping, then deepened the analysis with virtual workshops and one-on-one interviews with top-performing franchisees. These efforts uncovered the desired success behaviours and created their sales success replication system.
To Fuel their network with this know-how, the sales behaviours were analysed and documented into a B2B Sales System and Toolkit and captured in a central Knowledge Hub.
Cultural change was Fostered through a strategic communication plan to build excitement and buy-in from franchisees, using personal invitations to early adopters, visible leadership support, and success stories to shift mindsets and generate momentum. Three years on, the shift from reactive to proactive behaviour is clear and continues to strengthen.
Their Five-star franchisee support program became a structured, proactive growth mechanism, including train-the-trainer and coaching skills development for the support team. Franchisees received followup, on-the-job coaching within seven days, followed by three months of intensive support.
Fast-track accelerated learning was applied through interactive workshops, action-focused prework, recap activities, group coaching, and a resultstracking dashboard. Learning wasn’t left to chance, it was designed for traction, application, and measurable progress.
The results? Franchisees began shifting from reactive to proactive behaviours. Franchisees and support team members’ confidence in the systems and themselves improved. Sales conversion rates lifted, and double-digit growth amongst many franchisees was achieved.
Take deliberate, strategic action
My research findings showed that one of the key differentiators between higher- and lower-performing franchise brands was their ability to recognise silent business killers early and respond with deliberate, strategic action.
Pack & Send didn’t rest on the laurels of past success. Instead, they made a bold, forward-focused decision to future-proof their business model. They introduced a long-term strategy built around a clear unifying vision to develop and replicate successful franchisee partners.
They systematically captured the drivers of success needed for replication, embedded that knowledge into structured tools and processes, and implemented their own Franchisee Success System with built-in structure, rigour, and discipline. And they applied the Five Magic F’s Success Formula to ensure that their new initiative didn’t lose traction through poor execution, lack of structure, or weak franchisee buy-in.
Thinking of buying a franchise?
Look for these 5 signals of a healthy franchise system, before you decide to invest:
• A clear, compelling vision
The franchisor should be able to tell you exactly how they support franchisees to succeed, not just about compliance.
• Evidence of successful replication
Ask: “What separates your top-performing franchisees from the rest and how do you help others get there?”
• Structured field support that grows the business Avoid systems where the field team is only checking boxes. Look for networks that coach, challenge, and guide.
• Knowledge sharing that works Are new ideas, best practices, and lessons learned shared across the network? Or are franchisees left to figure things out alone?
• A system that evolvesAsk how the system has adapted in the last 2–3 years. If they’re still doing what worked “back in the day,” it’s a red flag.
Remember, you are not just buying a business, you’re buying into a system. Make sure it’s one that’s built for your success.
About the Author
Dr Jan Timms is the author of The Ultimate Franchising Success Formula, founder of Get Smart Services and a regular speaker on the international franchising circuit. Contact Jan at jan.timms@getsmartservices.com.au to enter into the draw for one of six copies of her book The Ultimate Franchising Success Formula offered exclusively to Franchise New Zealand readers.
