Did you know that a new McDonald's franchise costs upwards of a million dollars and there is a 2 year waiting list? Did you also know that on average when a potential franchisee contacts numerous franchise companies that first one to call back usually gets the sale 67% of the time?

I remember speaking with a candidate that was more excited to visit another concept because they were willing to fly in the whole family at their expense for the weekend. When I looked on the web, this company had numerous lawsuits and had not had a franchise sale in several months. "Fools gold" I call it. When a comapany walks talks and acts like gold but really is not. Desperation moves a lot of Franchise organizations to give it away. You must stop and realize that nothing is free. Why is this company doing this? Are they in trouble?

Ask them about litigation. How many stores did this company open and close in the prior year? How many stores do they have open? Just because they offer it for free is it worth it? Do you see McDonalds, Subway or other organizations discount out the brand to sell it?The answer is no, they are strong viable organizations that don't need to.

When you are thinking that you are a good negotiator and you just got a great deal, check again. After attending a recent IFA show an industry consultant told me,"take a good look around, twenty percent of these companies may not be in business next year"

That's an alarming statistic, although I have no way of verifying that. What happens to those poor folks that dropped a life savings into that brand only to end up with that mom and pop name in the end? So the next time someone aggressively calls nonstop and uses the rush tactics on you and offers to fly you and your aunt, uncles and next of kin in for free, ask yourself is this real or fools gold?

Bob Moglia
http://www.cartridgeworldusa.com