Landing your first franchisee deal can feel like a high-stakes gamble: it’s expensive, unpredictable, and exhausting when you’re just getting started. Host Sean McKay teams up with producer Joseph Lewin to unpack why most brands burn through as much as their first franchise fee before they secure a single franchisee. Drawing on real-world figures—from $30 to $300 cost per lead and 300 leads needed to close a deal—they explore how underestimating time, effort, and budget sets many up to fail. You’ll learn why warming prospects through the full funnel, diversifying channels like Meta and Google, and pausing to take inventory of your metrics are the keys to beating the odds.

ㅤ

📌 What We Cover

• Why landing your first franchisee is expensive and unpredictable
• How developing a sales funnel and lead generation demands more time, effort, and cost
• Rule of thumb: expect to spend the total cost of your first franchise fee in lead-generation
• Variance in cost per lead—from $30 on the low end to $300 on the high end—and its impact
• Strategies to warm leads through education, automation funnels, and addressing pain points
• Importance of diversifying marketing channels: Meta, Google Ads, LinkedIn, and trade shows
• Advice to pause and take inventory of lead performance before cutting advertising spend
• A dramatic turnaround achieved by targeting the entire funnel rather than just bottom-of-funnel buyers

ㅤ

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD)
• Meta (Facebook)
• Google Ads
• LinkedIn
• Trade shows
• Social channels

Most people think the hardest part of franchising is scaling. But for early-stage founders, landing that very first franchisee is the real test. Hosted by Sean McKay, Franchise This is a weekly show built for emerging brands and new franchisors who are building from the ground up.

ㅤ

Each episode features honest conversations with franchise owners on what it really took to grow — from what worked to what flopped. You’ll hear stories about costly mistakes in lead gen and sales, how they closed their first few deals, the systems that made scaling possible, and the gritty, unfiltered reality of running a franchise brand. If you're serious about growth and want real talk from people doing the work, you're in the right place.

ㅤ

• Why landing the first franchisee is harder than scaling
• Real stories from franchise owners about what worked and what flopped
• Mistakes made in lead gen and sales
• How founders closed their first few deals
• The systems that made scaling possible
• The things no one tells you about running a franchise brand
• Weekly episodes with stories from people doing it right now