You realize something. The opportunities are endless! Those who get overwhelmed by this tend to search for the franchises with the most recognition and awards. Does this make sense? Will you overlook certain opportunities based on their awards, and is that a good or bad thing?

Let’s walk through some pros and cons of a great award-winning franchise versus another business with less hardware.

Pro: Household Name

In general, people buy franchises for the instant household name. Building a great brand takes a lot of work. Why do it when you can invest a little more to own a piece of that brand?

You’ll hit the ground running much quicker when you leverage brand recognition. Customers will flock to you – allowing you to spend less time hunting for them. You’ll gain an edge on your lesser-known competitors. Those who do buy from you will more easily advocate for you as well.

This is undoubtedly the biggest pro of an award-winning, recognizable franchise – and the biggest pro of franchising as a whole.

Con: Local Competitors

Ironically, the household brand can actually serve as a con as well.

When you purchase a well-known franchise, you may face more local competition. Check your location to see how busy similar franchises are and how much demand there is for other options. Even with local competition, it may make sense to open another store.

In some circumstances, particularly if the business includes protected territory, you may be unable to purchase that franchise.

To avoid the issues that come with high competition and/or a saturated market, find a franchise with high levels of both global bandwidth and local impact.

Pro: World-Class Systems

In addition to establishing an external reputation, great brands have had time to fine-tune their internal systems. You get to reap the rewards of thousands of mistakes by investing in a company that has earned awards for what they’ve learned as a result.

Ask your potential franchisors about the processes they have in place that are geared towards your success. Find out if the awards they’ve received match up with their systems for new franchisees.

The sooner you can get your franchise up and running and then manage it smoothly, the faster you’ll be profitable. Systems are a crucial factor and a major benefit for you, the franchisee.

Cons: More Costly

A well-known, award-winning franchise usually comes at a greater cost. Because of the time and investment that has already gone into making the franchise so well-known and appreciated, you should expect a higher price tag.

In your due diligence process, ask about the programs in place that make a higher investment worth it.

Most of the time, higher startup costs are justified by the numerous perks that come with purchasing an award-winning franchise.

One final note – take the time to research the awards franchises have won. Oftentimes, you’ll find that some of these awards mean very little. Some franchises even pay for meaningless awards.

ActionCOACH proudly displays its numerous awards from Franchise Business Review. Why? FBR bases its awards strictly on franchisee satisfaction.

To learn more about these awards and see if you’d make a great fit as an ActionCOACH franchisee, download our overview brochure and talk to our team!