Businesses that use a franchise or dealer model understand why attracting good franchisees and dealers is crucial to future growth. But how can you stand out and capture a potential partner’s attention?
Using insights from your Buxton Platform subscription and custom-built solutions can be a helpful tool for navigating those crucial conversations. We talked with Brent Jaynes, director of dealer development and contracts with Red Wing Shoe Company, to learn how he uses SCOUT and other solutions from Buxton to guide conversations with current and future dealers. In this article, we share three ways Red Wing applies Buxton’s insights to dealer conversations.
Use Case #1: Showcase Red Wing as a Subject Matter Expert
Making an investment as a franchisee or dealer is a big decision with important financial ramifications. Your potential partner needs to feel confident that they are working with a firm that understands what it takes to make the venture a success.
One way to help instill that confidence is by backing up your pitch with data. To avoid making a performance guarantee to a prospective dealer, Red Wing does not share forecasts from their Buxton site score model, but they do share geographic areas of opportunity based on concentrations of the right types of consumers. This can be quickly illustrated using a core customer profile deployed to SCOUT. Using this data showcases Red Wing as a subject matter expert and helps to guide the dealer through the process.
Use Case #2: Inform Conversations on the Fly
Perhaps you have ended up on a last-minute call with a prospective franchisee/dealer, or maybe the conversation took a different turn than you had anticipated. Red Wing turns to SCOUT to help inform those conversations too.
During calls with dealers, Jaynes says he can go to SCOUT, view the market the dealer is asking about, and pull reports on the fly. Since Red Wing has configured SCOUT with its custom data and pushpins, the process is quick.
Accessing reports on the fly gives Jaynes the ability to quickly pivot during the conversation. As he explains: “It allows me to not only generate trust, but it also allows me to discuss real estate and locations. It also allows me to view data and make sure it's a good spot for [the dealer].”
Use Case #3: Communicate Long-Term Plans and Future Opportunities
Through Buxton analysis and SCOUT, Red Wing has mapped out its long-term growth opportunities. Showing a dealer all the locations that can be opened in a market – not just one site – helps the dealer to understand the bigger picture. Additionally, in the spirit of transparency and partnership, Red Wing shares their planned relocations. This is easily shared using SCOUT maps.
Knowing where those areas of opportunity exist guides both Red Wing and its dealers to a decision. If a prospective dealer is interested in a site that isn’t a strong fit, Jaynes can explain why and present other opportunities in the same or nearby markets. That plants the seed to get the dealer thinking about multiple units rather than a single store – something that normally wouldn’t happen until later.
The Bottom Line
Using SCOUT to map your current and future network is a valuable tool in the franchise or dealer development process. Being able to illustrate your plans and back them up with data establishes credibility and leads to more productive conversations.
Want to learn more? Access the full recording of our conversation with Brent Jaynes for more ideas on putting SCOUT to work in your dealer development processes.
