Franchisee Support That Actually Moves the Needle
- jantimms3
- Apr 11
- 6 min read
“We’re here to help” is not a strategy. Support that doesn’t impact performance is just activity. Here’s what high-calibre field support really looks like.
In many franchise networks, franchisee field support has become synonymous with good intentions and hard work but that doesn't always translate into meaningful impact. Support managers are often on the road, juggling multiple locations, sitting in back rooms with franchisees, delivering updates, and responding to issues as they arise. On the surface, it looks like everyone is doing their job. But scratch beneath that surface, and a more uncomfortable truth emerges: franchisee performance isn't shifting.
There’s plenty of activity, but not enough traction. Franchisees may appreciate the visit, they may even enjoy the conversation, but if they’re not walking away with new insights, clear direction, and tangible action steps, the visit is just noise. It makes everyone feel productive, but it doesn’t create forward motion.
The problem lies in a fundamental misunderstanding of what “support” really means. Many field teams believe their job is to show up, be available, and fix problems. But in a high-performance franchise network, support isn’t about solving day-to-day issues, it’s about accelerating results. And when support isn’t tied directly to performance, you end up with a resource-heavy function that delivers little commercial return.
Franchisees don’t need more visits. They need results.
What “High-Calibre” Support Actually Means
In my research, the highest-performing franchise networks had one thing in common: their field support wasn’t random or reactive, it was strategic, structured, and commercial. These networks didn’t see support as a purely relational role. They treated it as a growth engine.
High-calibre support is designed to build capability - not dependency. It focuses on lifting the number of successful franchisees and that means defining success in measurable terms.
Let’s be honest - the job title might still say "field support," but in the top-performing franchise networks from my research, the role had evolved far beyond that. Field managers weren’t just travelling troubleshooters. They acted as performance partners and commercially-minded coaches with a clear brief: help franchisees grow their businesses.
In those high-performing systems, field visits were never left to chance. They followed a system deliberately designed to move the needle on business performance. That system included:
A clear support mandate linked to franchisee commercial success, not just operational compliance or satisfaction ratings
A structured field rhythm that matched the stage and needs of each franchisee (e.g. onboarding, stabilising, growing, or underperforming)
Tools and templates that aligned support visits with business metrics, not just brand standards
Capability coaching delivered using consistent frameworks to embed learning and drive action
Follow-up systems that tracked accountability and outcomes not just attendance or notes
In contrast, lower-performing networks had a more ad hoc approach. Support was often built around personalities, not systems. Field teams were expected to “just know what to do” and unsurprisingly, results were patchy at best.
The quality of a visit depended heavily on the person delivering it, not the system behind them. When people left, the support effectiveness went with them.
The goal of high-calibre support isn’t to keep franchisees happy - it’s to make them successful. And that requires rigour.
This isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what matters most.
From Field Reps to Performance Coaches
When people left, the support effectiveness went with them. The research data clearly revealed that a mindset shift is needed - a shift from Field Reps to Performance Coaches.
In the top-performing networks I studied, support team members weren’t simply there to respond to franchisee issues or conduct compliance checks. They played a far more impactful role: they were enablers of commercial success. They coached, challenged, and guided franchisees - always with one clear purpose: to help them perform better.
This meant ditching the outdated model of generic check-ins and embracing a new, more strategic role - one that demanded a higher level of commercial understanding, behavioural insight, and coaching capability. Field teams in these networks were trained and resourced to:
Use diagnostic tools to uncover performance barriers
Ask coaching questions that triggered reflection and ownership
Facilitate structured problem-solving rather than provide quick answers
Build franchisee capability rather than create dependency
Follow a visit structure that linked directly to business priorities and performance outcomes
This evolution in role wasn’t accidental. It was designed - and backed by systems, training, and clear expectations. And it had a measurable impact.
Compare this with the underperforming networks in my research, where support visits were reactive, inconsistent, and disconnected from commercial metrics. These teams lacked structure, clear purpose, and the skills required to drive real change.
Here’s the mindset shift that came through clearly in the data:
OLD MODEL:
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FIVE STAR MODEL:
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This doesn’t mean field teams need to become hard-nosed or unapproachable. Quite the opposite. It means becoming more purposeful, better prepared, and genuinely impactful. When field support teams show up with commercial intent and coaching capability, franchisee confidence lifts - and network performance follows.
Tools That Drive Impact
One of the biggest differences I found in my research between struggling networks and those achieving consistent franchisee growth wasn’t just mindset - it was the tools and structure that supported the field team.
In top-performing networks, high-calibre support wasn’t left to chance. It was powered by practical tools and embedded systems that helped field teams coach with confidence, consistency, and commercial intent. These tools gave structure to conversations, created visibility across the network, and ensured franchisees weren’t just engaged - they were progressing.
From my book and research, these were the most common tools used by high-impact support teams:
Visit Planning Templates – These ensured each field visit had a clear commercial focus, tailored to the franchisee’s business stage and performance priorities. No two visits looked the same, but every visit had purpose.
Franchisee Health Dashboards – Field managers used clear, visual performance data (like revenue trends, gross margin, lead conversion, or team productivity) to ground their coaching conversations in facts - not opinions.
Field Coaching Frameworks – The best support teams didn’t wing it. They used repeatable frameworks like GROW or STAR to guide problem-solving and ensure learning was embedded, not just discussed.
Franchisee Action Plans – Every visit ended with a documented commitment. These plans weren’t just for accountability — they became a touchpoint for coaching, support, and follow-through.
These tools aren’t just operational aids - they’re the backbone of your FIVE Star Franchisee Support System. They ensure that your field support doesn’t just feel helpful - it is helpful, and commercially effective.
Without these tools in place, even the best field manager can only do so much. With them? You get consistency, visibility, and results that scale.
Case in Point
Take Worldwide - a franchise client I worked with that had grown steadily, but whose support systems hadn’t evolved with the scale or complexity of the business. Field managers were working hard, but franchisee visits varied wildly in quality and focus. Support was more reactive than strategic, and performance gains were inconsistent across the network.
We partnered to implement the FIVE Star Franchisee Success System, beginning with a major mindset shift: field managers were trained as performance coaches, not just support reps. We introduced a structured rhythm of visits tailored to each franchisee's stage, implemented coaching frameworks like GROW and STAR, and embedded performance dashboards to ground every conversation in real business data.
This wasn’t theory - it was action. We also revamped the operations manual into a living knowledge hub, aligned training to field coaching, and focused on proactive selling and customer service capability. The result? Franchisees didn’t just feel supported - they grew.
Within six months, the network saw sales growth of up to 42.3% at individual locations, and a network-wide revenue lift of 25%. By Year 3, the program was delivering an ROI of 102.86%.
As Rob Dallimore, Managing Director of Worldwide, put it:“Sales growth went up because the owners implemented what they had learned… this resulted in thousands of dollars in additional revenue for us.”
A similar mindset shift is underway at Pass The Keys, a UK-based franchise group who recently renamed their individual field roles to Franchisee Success Managers, and their broader team to the Franchisee Success Team to reinforce the shift in purpose - from reactive support to proactive growth enablement. It’s still early days, but already they’re seeing promising results: franchisee engagement scores have jumped from 36% to 86%, and overall revenue is up by 25% across the network, according to Alexander Kyakhotskiy, CEO and Founder.
Final Thought
It’s easy to mistake activity for progress - especially when field visits are happening regularly, and everyone seems engaged. But if franchisee performance isn’t lifting, you’ve got to ask the hard question:Is our support driving results, or just keeping us busy?
My research showed that high-calibre support is never accidental. It’s built. It’s structured. And it’s tied to a clear commercial purpose - helping franchisees succeed.
When you stop measuring support by how many visits are made and start measuring it by what changes after each visit, everything shifts. Franchisees grow. Field teams gain clarity. And your network becomes truly scalable.
In the next blog in this series we’ll dig into the hidden timewasters that quietly drain field team capacity - and how to replace them with high-impact actions.
Want to learn more about how to build a FIVE Star Franchisee Success System in your own network? Let’s talk about what’s possible.
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