chising veteran who joined Dunkin’
Brands more than two years ago. “The
sales goals are set by the company. They
look into the future to understand how
they want to grow year by year; we have
one-, three-, and five-year goals. How we
go about achieving those numbers—
franchise marketing and so on—is more of
what I have a say in.”
Last year’s ambitious target was hit by
“scrubbing” the franchise organization
hard to identify franchisees who could
grow their business. This year, the emphasis is on new recruitment.
Says McKee, “At any time we’re doing
30 or 40 recruitment activities, from networking to advertising to PR. There’s no
magic bullet. You have to make sure you
are out there, everywhere these people do
things.”
Aside from the required financial profile ($1.5 million net worth and
$750,000 in liquidity for a 5-unit deal)
and business background, there’s one
other essential ingredient in the perfect
candidate: a love for the brand.
“We are a cultural-driven brand,” says
McKee. “People love us. Some frequent us
three or four times a day in some areas of
the country. You have to love it as much as
our customers love it.”
For a franchisor, the best strategy for
hitting annual revenue goals is to sign franchisees who won’t be satisfied by average
unit performance—and let them know
you’re behind them growing as much and
as quickly as they want.
“For a brand that’s over 50 years old,
there are great growth opportunities,” says
McKee. “We talk to them about growth
expectations, timing, where they want to
grow, whether they want to be a 10-unit
operator or 200 units. We get to know
them on an intimate level to really understand what their plan is long term, then
craft things on their level.” Way to grow. ■
“We talk to them
about growth
expectations, timing,
where they want
to grow, whether
they want to be a
10-unit operator or
200 units.”
—Lynette McKee, VP of Franchising,
Dunkin’ Donuts
Ly ette
McKee
