Finding the Right Franchise Partners Has Been Key for Showhomes Home Services
By Jill Abrahamsen,
The Home Staging Franchisor Looks for Growth-Driven Entrepreneurs With a Positive Mindset
To achieve sustainable growth in a franchise system, you need to be absurdly picky about who you allow to join the family, advises Matt Kelton, president of Showhomes, a franchise that specializes in home staging, home styling, updating, and interior design.
When considering a franchisee candidate, the Showhomes team looks at financial capabilities as well as a candidate’s skill set, personality profile, and core motivators. Then the team compares those qualities to Showhomes’ top-performer benchmark. “We want franchise owners who will network aggressively and who aren’t afraid of hard work,” Kelton says.
Building relationships is essential for franchisee success at Showhomes, and positivity is a key element to that. “Growing a franchise is a roller coaster in many ways. The Debbie Downers of the world normally don’t last long,” he says.
To Kelton, the role of a franchisor is one part cheerleader and also one part cop. For example, he says franchisees can get distracted by non-revenue generating activities/shiny objects that keep them from selling to increase profits. To keep them on track, Showhomes offers a marketing checklist so franchise owners can understand if they are taking the right steps to make sales. “At the end of the day, if franchisees are profitable and happy, you will be able to not only grow the system, but more easily add units.”
Franchisee Satisfaction
Founded in 1986 and franchising since 1994, Showhomes has 50 locations and 25 franchisees. The company has earned the Franchise Business Review (FBR) Top Franchise Culture Award for the last three years and is in the FBR Franchise Hall of Fame for franchisee satisfaction. “This is something I’m extremely proud of,” says Kelton.
Showhomes Home Services
Kelton describes Showhomes’ unit positioning as a one-stop shop for home staging, home updates, renovations, interior design, home shopping services, and more. “This space is projected to more than double in the next 10 years. This is a fragmented market with no major category killer,” he says. “The demand for our services is beyond what we can handle.” Showhomes has partnerships with national companies like Toll Brothers, Curbio, FlyHomes, and more. “As our unit economics continue to grow and we become more aggressive in marketing for new franchisees, we anticipate significant growth in the next few years.”
For more information about the Showhomes Home Services franchise, visit https://www.showhomesfranchise.com.