From a franchisor's perspective, the selling of a franchise to a prospective franchisee is both an art and a science. There is, however, an important point to remember in the difference between normal selling and selling a franchise unit.

RULE OF THUMB: Never oversell. 

Franchise Prospectus.  The franchise prospectus sent to a prospective franchisee generally contains a brochure of information about the general operations of the franchise, a copy of the franchisor's Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC), a franchise agreement, and an individual franchise application. 

The FTC rule limits and regulates the amount of information which a franchisor must provide and needs to provide to prospective franchisees. The franchisor is selling not only a name, a contract, a system, a business opportunity, but a long term business relationship as well. The franchisee needs to be personally convinced after a thorough investigation that this is the business opportunity that they would like to engage in for a long period of time. This desire to enter this "partnership" allows the individual to embark on a franchising opportunity which will affect their business lives.

The franchisee prospectus, often referred to as the franchisee recruitment package, contains information which the franchisee will need to evaluate the franchising opportunity being presented. This packet of information is designed to illustrate to a prospective franchisee what the franchisor is offering and generally contains clear and accurate statements about the expectation and responsibility of each party -- franchisee and franchisor. This package should describe the business operation and generally includes the following topics: 

(1) a letter from the franchisor discussing the franchisor's objectives, 

(2) a brief history or explanation of the franchise firm, 

(3) estimated start-up capital or investment required of a potential franchisee, 

(4) personal qualifications which a potential franchisee must have, and 

(5) anticipated benefits and responsibilities in becoming a franchisee. 

This franchisee brochure (or presentation booklet) is basically a printed booklet provided to a prospective franchisee who has responded to the franchisor's advertisements and seeks further information. The brochure and information should explain the products/services offerings of the franchisor while identifying the steps or processes one needs to follow to become a franchisee in this particular system. A recruitment flow-chart will illustrate the steps the franchisee needs to take to become a franchisee in this system.

Recruitment Flow Chart. 

The flow chart should outline those steps which a prospective franchisee needs to undertake to: 

(1) be accepted as an prospective franchisee,

(2) be interviewed and evaluated as a prospective franchisee, 

(3) be assigned as a franchisee, 

(4) be trained as a franchisee, and 

(5) be authorized to open and operate a new franchise unit. 

The flow chart simply provides an overview for the prospective franchisee to understand the steps in applying and becoming a franchisee.