Experience with franchise consultants?

May 01, 2026

by an investor from Columbia University - Columbia Business School in Seattle, WA, USA

Curious if anyone worked with franchise consultants to explore brands that might not be on your radar. I understand how the economics work and that they try to push certain brands (and that they sometimes come across scammy) but I also do hear there are good consultants out there. Anyone wants to share experience?

3 Likes

27 Replies

588 Views

Replies

Reply by an intermediary
from United States Naval Academy in Denver, CO, USA

Thanks for the tags here. I think the big thing to remember is that brokers don't read FDDs and don't do validation. Their research consists of the portals that are filled out by the franchisors. This means they don't really know what makes money, which ones have great systems, and who offers the best support because all the franchisors claim they do. There are some great franchise brokers out there, but no matter what, they can only operate inside their portfolio which usually includes a ton of brand new franchises. I have written pretty extensively why I don't think first time owners should join a franchise with less than 100 units so happy to share if you want, but that's a side note. When I was selling franchises on the franchisor side, even some of the "best" brokers with great reputations still only showed franchises with directors who could close deals (including highly sketchy franchises- see Anchor Tiny Homes or Donut NV). On the portals, to include the new ones, I have seen those guys pushing franchises that I know make little to no money. Again, this goes back to the first point. All that being said, there are usually###-###-#### franchises in any given broker's portal, which means there are bound to be some good ones. And the best brokers have owned franchises before so they can generally avoid the worst ones, however I also see top brokers almost exclusively recommend franchises who hire Franchise Sales Organizations, because they are typically the best closers. What to do then? You can go with a few brokers and see who you like, knowing that you are probably getting good recommendations but you aren't seeing the entire landscape- totally fine. You can also find brokers who are more "buy side". They don't take commissions and you pay them for their time. Although I still offer the "free" broker services to clients, I do so telling them all of the above. They can also choose the model where they pay me for my time and I won't take a commission from a franchise no matter what. I do this because I want to be able to look across all brands and match people truly with the best ones out there, regardless if they want to pay a commission. I am also happy to just do a report or two on a particular franchise.

Reply by a searcher
from United States Air Force Academy in Escondido, CA, USA

I worked with Vetrepreneur and had a really good experience. They helped me narrow down brands that would work for my skills and desires, helped facilitate the communication with the franchises, reviewed the FDDs with me, and gave me good counseling throughout the process. I went quite far down the road with two franchises but eventually decided not to pursue either and instead focused on acquiring the business I have now.

+25 more replies.

Join the discussion