It’s so easy to be fooled by a first glance and this year’s National Geographic Picture of the year shows that.

I’ll get straight into it. Businesses do this, and it’s easy for you to spot and avoid if you just take a little more time.

Your mind will always create a first impression, whether that’s a photograph like this one, or the polished marketing of a company. If you take your time and really study what’s in front of you, you will see what’s really there.

This image is an easy visual representation of this, it only takes a moment when you give your eyes and brain time to catch up, but with businesses, it takes a little more time to discover what’s really there. The great thing is, once you’ve done it once, you’ll be quicker to spot it the second time.

The first time I saw this image of the camels below, I was totally fooled by it. Now you’ve seen the one above, you won’t be, but that’s sort of what this post is about….

To find out what’s really on offer from a franchisor, you’ll need to ask questions that’ll make them uncomfortable. It’s the only way you’ll find out about the parts of the business they don’t want you to see.

Ask difficult questions, that’ll really make them think. I love it when people do it to me, it shows me that someone it switched on enough to ask the questions, and that’s the kind of person I want to partner with…and it gives me ideas for blog posts.

What you should ask, and what you should expect.

Ask about failures. But not loosely, as actual questions that will give you real answers, and if you ask them in a certain order, you’ll tease the information out.

So, you could ask:

How much do your franchisees make?

You’ll certainly get an answer for this, it’s an opportunity to shout about the big hitters and tell you how much money you can make.

How many franchisees have you signed?

You’ll probably get an answer for this too because it’s an opportunity to show you just how ‘popular’ a franchisee is, and to wow you with their biggest number

How much do you turnover?

You may struggle here again. and the reason is, because this gives you the last piece to the equation for the answer you really want. How much does the average franchisee make?

Turnover / Number of active franchisees = average franchisee turnover

From those four questions, you can understand whether a franchisor is in this for the franchise fee, or to see their people be successful.

No amount of dodging or charm would make me sign with a franchisor that wouldn’t answer those questions.

How can a franchisor limit the number of failed businesses?

Qualification.

If a franchisor is in this for your franchise fee, you won’t be asked about your plans for the business. You won’t be told about the hard parts of the business; they’ll be hidden behind the scenes until you discover them for yourself.

If a franchisor is in this for your franchise fee, they won’t say no. They’ll take your money, without understanding you, your circumstances and your plans.

If a franchisor is in this for your franchise fee. You should be worried. You should be worried because you pay that at the start and they’ve got what they want.

An honest franchisor will take the time to get to know you, spending hours speaking with you, answering your questions, and asking questions of you. You time won’t be limited, you won’t be rushed, you’ll be given time to allow your eyes and brain to adjust to see the full picture clearly.

Look at the same picture at a different time, from another angle, not the one they want you to see it from and you’ll discover what’s really there.