We were talking with a prospective client the other day – sales director of a handyman franchise. The franchise has a terrific concept, solid business model, great Web site and they’ve invested in terrific branding. Even so, they’re having a tough time getting call-backs on franchise inquiries.
“It’s the housing crash,” the sales director said. “Prospects don’t want to be in a market they perceive as stagnant. It’s tough to show promise when existing franchisees are getting slammed.”
Remember the saying that when a door slams, a window opens? Well, after our conversation with the franchise sales manager, we went looking for one.
What we found was a New York Times article: Contractors Are Kept Busy Maintaining Abandoned Homes. Hmmmmmmm. Maybe a handyman business could move into the abandoned-home upkeep market … maybe they could also maintain properties that homeowners are renting until the market improves and they can find buyers … maybe franchisees could forge links with referrers like realtors and “hub” customers like lenders … in fact, maybe the national franchise could make these links … now that could be a double win for the franchise in attracting new franchisees and in seeing better revenues from existing ones. Hmmmmmmm.
That may or may not prove to be the right window for that particular franchise. The point is that even if it’s not, it may lead to one. Just flipping your perspective could reveal an all-new value proposition that literally sends ideas about being “stagnant” out the window!
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