Continue learning about franchising beginning with this free report: 7 Habits of Highly Effective Franchisees. Get it now by subscribing to my newsletter!
Whether you’re a franchisee, a franchisor, or a supplier to the franchise community, the best strategy you can use to build value and profit for your business is to capture and keep at least one Don Dwyer among your customers.
Your most valuable business ally
If you do this, I guarantee you will not only create your most valuable business ally — a Champion who will add value to your business — but you will also reap financial benefits and something even more valuable: the satisfaction that comes with knowing that you are among the very best in your industry.
Once you cultivate a Don Dwyer, you’ll want to do it again, and again, and again. If that’s all you do — just spend your time creating Don Dwyers — you’ll be thrilled beyond your imagination. I promise!
Ready to get started?
Who is a Don Dwyer?
First, let me assure you that Don Dwyer isn’t a fictional character or a composite that I created just to make this critically important point about how to build a more satisfying and profitable business. Don Dwyer was a dynamic, creative, driven, untiring and extremely successful entrepreneur. A franchisor who was also, quite frankly, exasperating at times. (All the good ones are). He expected more of you than you thought you could ever possibly deliver.
He was also the most positive person you’d ever meet, even in times of crises, and there was nothing — he would convince you — that he and you couldn’t accomplish together. He was elusive and enigmatic, but once he was sold on you, you’d never have a more loyal friend in business. He was your sparkplug, your kick in the pants, and a guy who could make rain in a drought.
So you see, a Don Dwyer is a customer you can’t do without.
He sees you for who you can be
Now here’s what a Don Dwyer can do for you — what the Don Dwyer you will cultivate will do for you. He’ll tell everyone about you. And he won’t just mention your name or say something nice about you, he’ll pretty much embarrass you. Once he finishes talking about you, you’ll wonder: Am I really that good? And of course you aren’t really that good, except in Don Dwyer’s eyes, which may be all that matters. Because he will say to you, “I don’t see you for who you are. I see you for who you can be.”
He’ll change your life
Can you imagine having a guy like that — remember, he’s a paying customer — around you every day? I hope you’re beginning to see the picture. I hope you’re saying to yourself, “Yes, I want a Don Dwyer in my business!” Because I’m telling you, regardless of your business, it will make all the difference. He will change your life, as he changed mine.
You may have to chase him to get him, like I did
Now a Don Dwyer isn’t easy to capture, keep and cultivate. You may already have a Don Dwyer in-the-makings among your franchisees or your customers, and you won’t have to go out and find him. So look around! In my case, I had to capture him. I chased him from Dallas to London to Paris to Berlin to Hawaii back to London and then to Sydney, Australia until I captured him — sold him on becoming a client. I said he’s elusive. They usually are — these Champions. Sometimes they fall into your lap, but mostly you’ll have to go get them.
A Don Dwyer will be demanding, even intrusive
Once I snagged him, I really didn’t know what I had because, in truth, at the time I didn’t know what a Don Dwyer could do for my business and for me. I just knew that I needed another client.
I’ll point out that he didn’t start out as my Champion. In fact, he started out skeptical and a bit of a pain. Lots of people had tried to sell him consulting services before, but none had ever succeeded to the extent that I would — most didn’t last long. Meeting his expectations wasn’t easy, as I discovered. After about the third time that my home phone rang at 6 a.m. I knew it was Don Dwyer. And it was Sunday!
He always had an agenda
I also knew what to expect:
“John,” he’d begin. He never said “Hello.” Never asked, “How are you?” Never even thought to say, “Is this a good time to talk?” . . . It was always, “Here’s what’s going on . . . you need to call . . . and then you need to write . . . and then I want to be sure we get . . .” and then he hung up. Never a goodbye.
At first, he may train you, as he did me
I made it a point to deliver for Don Dwyer. How could I not? Without me knowing it, he actually trained me to perform to his expectations, though I’m sure I must have disappointed him from time to time, but he never said so. Since he was sold on goal setting for himself, his family and his franchisees, he spent a lot of time teaching me to set goals, to evaluate priorities, and he wanted to know that I was listening to the right audio programs and reading certain books. Don wasn’t the type to just buy a Tony Robbins book, for example. Don would buy Tony’s time for a weekend and go study with him, learn from him, and bring it all back to share it with his “guys,” now including me.
As I performed, as I improved, as I proved myself to my client, Don Dwyer, he returned the favor. He didn’t just pay me — and he paid me better than the average client — he did much more. He promoted me and my business. Effectively, he put money in my pocket.
“Pay him more!” he’d tell my clients
“You got John Hayes on your payroll?” he’d ask a franchisor, sometimes in front of me. If the franchisor said, “No,” Don would say, “Big mistake. You need his help.” If the franchisor said, “Yes,” Don would say, “You’re not paying him enough. Pay him as much as you can. He delivers.”
You must cultivate your champions
As I watched Don Dwyer at work, I gradually understood what he was teaching me. He spent time with his Champion franchisees — his top producers. They were not only franchisees who produced the most revenue for Don’s companies — Mr. Rooter, Rainbow International, DreamMaker Bath & KItchen, among others — they were the franchisees who recruited their friends, neighbors and family to become franchisees. They were Don’s greatest allies. That’s how The Dwyer Group became one of the world’s largest and most prominent franchisors, as it remains today.
What Don taught me was that I had to spend time with my Champions, too. I had to capture them and keep them. I had to train them and cultivate them. That meant I had to get to know them. Become friends with them. Tell them about my goals and find out about their goals. I had to ask for their help, and that was important. And I had to be willing to help them achieve their goals, too. This wasn’t phony, political business, this had to be sincere business.
They all always admire the champions
What do you think a franchisor did when Don Dwyer — admired by hundreds of franchisors — asked him or her, ”Is John Hayes on your payroll?” Through the years I introduced dozens of franchisors to Don, always at their request. (So I was doing the favor, or so they thought). “The one guy I’d really like to meet is that Dwyer,” they’d say to me over breakfast or an afternoon coffee. “Can you introduce me?” Of course I could. And when Don asked them the magic question, how do you think that worked for me?
Either way, whether they listened to Don or not, it always worked in my favor. To those who didn’t listen, by the way, he would say to me, “Forget that guy. He’s going no where.” Usually he was right!
Don Dwyers are a blessing
Sitting here today with 30 years (so far) invested in my career, I am blessed to have cultivated numerous Don Dwyers for my business — more importantly, for me! Unfortunately the real Don Dwyer died in 1994, but I think of him almost daily because I continue to cultivate Don Dwyers in my life.
How could I not after what he taught me?
Lest you think that it’s too time consuming to cultivate Don Dwyers, I’ll remind you of what I said earlier: If that’s all you do, you’ll be thrilled.
A few Don Dwyers make up an army
The truth is, you only need a few. You get a few Don Dwyers in your business and you’ve got an army. Get just one Don Dwyer as your Best Franchisee and he or she will bring you a dozen more Best Franchisees. Get just one Don Dwyer as your Best Customer and he or she will bring you a dozen more Best Customers. That’s how these Champions work. Through good times and bad times they sustain you. That’s what Champions are for.
Go get your Don Dwyers. Capture them, keep them, cultivate them, and they’ll reward you over and over and over again. It’s one of the best strategic moves you can make as a business owner.
Email this post
Tweet This PostSee more:
{ 0 comments… add one now }