August 11, 2025 • 29 mins
Do you have a resale program in place for your franchise system? Are you discussing about an exit with your franchisees right from the beginning? Our guest today is Robin Gagnon, and she shares with us how having a resale strategy is not just a good idea, but it is good business too.
TODAY'S WIN-WIN:
Have a clear vision and the discipline to pursue it.
LINKS FROM THE EPISODE:
- Schedule your free franchise consultation with Big Sky Franchise Team: https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/.
- You can visit our guest's website at:
- Attend our Franchise Sales Training Workshop:
- https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/franchisesalestraining/
- Connect with our guest on social:
- http://linkedin.com/in/robingagnonrestaurantbroker/
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/wesellrestaurants/posts/?feedView=all
- https://www.instagram.com/wesellrestaurants/
- https://www.youtube.com/wesellrestaurants
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Robin Gagnon, co-founder and CEO of We Sell Restaurants, a brand that has carved an unparalleled niche in the industry as the nation's leading and only business broker franchise focused on restaurants. Under Robin’s leadership, We Sell Restaurants has grown to 45 states where it dominates the restaurant space for sale marketplace and franchise resales, delivering on the founder’s vision to Sell More Restaurants Than Anyone Else.
ABOUT BIG SKY FRANCHISE TEAM:
This episode is powered by Big Sky Franchise Team. If you are ready to talk about franchising your business you can schedule your free, no-obligation, franchise consultation online at: https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/.
The information provided in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, or professional advice. Always consult with a qualified professional before making any business decisions. The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Big Sky Franchise Team, or our affiliates. Additionally, this podcast may feature sponsors or advertisers, but any mention of products or services does not constitute an endorsement. Please do your own research before making any purchasing or business decisions.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tom DuFore (00:01):
Welcome to the Multiply your Success podcast,
where each week, we helpgrowth-minded entrepreneurs and
franchise leaders take the nextstep in their expansion journey.
I'm your host, tom Dufour, ceoof Big Sky Franchise Team, and,
as we open today, I'm wonderingif you have a resale program in
place for your franchise system?
Are you discussing about anexit with your franchisees right
(00:24):
from the beginning, right fromwhen they sign on?
Well, our guest today is RobinGagnon, and she shares with us
how having a resale strategy isnot just a good idea, but it's
also good business.
Now, robin is the co-founder andCEO of we Sell Restaurants.
It's a brand that's carved aniche in the industry as the
(00:45):
world's leading and onlybusiness broker franchise
focused on restaurants.
Under Robin's leadership, weSell Restaurants has grown to 45
states where it dominates therestaurant space for for sale
marketplace and franchiseresales, delivering on the
founder's vision to sell morerestaurants than anyone else.
You're going to love thisinterview with a franchise
(01:08):
veteran and pro and just someonewho really brings a ton of
business insight, so let's goahead and jump into my interview
with Robin Gagnon.
Robin Gagnon (01:18):
Robin Gagnon, CEO and co-founder of we Sell
Restaurants, a restaurantbrokerage brand and franchisor
operating in this space for morethan a decade.
Thanks so much for theinvitation, Tom.
Tom DuFore (01:30):
Oh, wonderful.
Well, I'm so glad you're hereand this has been a long time
coming.
I love following you.
I follow you on LinkedIn andall the content you produce, and
you're a great contributor tothe franchise community just at
large.
But I'd love to take a stepback, because what makes you a
little unique is you sellfranchises through a business
(01:51):
brokerage and restaurantsspecifically and then you also
are a franchise organizationwhere you're actually selling
franchises of a restaurantbrokerage business.
So I'd love for you to talkabout what led you down this
direction to end up franchising.
Robin Gagnon (02:08):
Yes great question .
So initially we started like alot of business brokerage firms,
except that we really knew fromthe beginning our vision from
day one was to sell morerestaurants than anyone else,
period.
And we've delivered on thatmission.
And it was so strange becausein the beginning other general
business brokers were likethat's so limiting, why would
(02:31):
you do that?
But what's happened over timeis, when we started 22 years ago
, you have to remember, peoplewould just put the ad in the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Whoever had the biggest ad, themost listings, got the most
calls.
But that transition to adigital online platform.
So now general business brokersare working and fighting for
(02:51):
that digital space to be knownin their area and meanwhile we
Sell Restaurants has capturedthe digital online presence of
restaurants for sale.
So that actually turned out tobe a really great marketing
strategy for us and we knew fromthe beginning we wanted to go
deep into a single vertical.
We'd rather do one thing super,super well.
(03:13):
And we started out as a generalbusiness like a lot of firms,
with agents, right.
So you would bring on, justlike an ERA business, you'd
bring on or any of the CaldwellBank or any of the brands that
are doing just real estatetransactions and you have agents
.
What we found is agents werenot loyal.
You would train them and thenthey would turn over, and so we
(03:36):
said there's got to be a betterbusiness model.
And what is the best businessmodel of all?
You talk about multipliers inyour podcast.
That you do.
There's nothing more thanfranchising is the biggest force
multiplier on earth, right?
And so, leveraging that, wesaid we are going to become a
franchise and in 2012, that'sexactly what we did.
(03:58):
We went to the IFA for the firsttime that year and I met people
at IFA that year and ourconsultant said to us
franchising is the most generousspace you'll ever encounter.
I came out of Fortune 100companies.
I wasn't sure what theyactually meant by that and what
I learned is that you could justsit down and talk to anyone,
(04:19):
and that's really kind of been ahallmark of my career.
So many people have been sogenerous and so giving of their
time to me and to listen to myideas and help me move forward
that I really try my best waysto give back and mentor and
bring other people along infranchising to whatever extent I
can, and that's includedvolunteering for the
(04:39):
International FranchiseAssociation first at the local
level with the Women's FranchiseNetwork in Atlanta, then at the
national level and ultimatelyleading the Women's Franchise
Committee and now serving on theboard of directors and as the
chair of the Franchisor Forum.
I think we all need to giveback.
Tom DuFore (04:58):
I echo that sentiment.
Franchising is just a uniquespace where people are willing
to collaborate and work together, even what might appear to
maybe even be competitivecompetitors in business, that
there's much more of a communityapproach to it, and so that's
absolutely what I've noticed, aswell as when I first launched
(05:18):
into franchising.
And speaking of theInternational Franchise
Association, I think I'd beremiss if I didn't first off
congratulate you on your recentaward, the Crystal Compass Award
, that you were given by theInternational Franchise
Association in February.
Robin Gagnon (05:34):
I'd love for you just to talk about the
recognition is an award given bythe Women's Franchise Committee
of IFA, which has now beenstarted since 1996, so has been
around a very, very long time,and they give that award.
They really talk about theCompass as being that North Star
(05:55):
.
You know, I served on thatcommittee for eight years
altogether and it became verynear and dear to my heart to
mentor and try to help growyoung women in this space, all
women in this space, but inparticular young women who are
just finding their path infranchising, and I was thrilled
to receive the award because itfelt like a culmination of those
(06:17):
years of giving to others.
Actually, when I did my littleacceptance speech I kind of
shared a little bit about howmany people have given to us
over the years.
You know I turn to my husbandat times and just say are we
really grateful enough for allthat franchising has given to us
?
Is it truly is a space whereyou put so much positive energy
(06:42):
out there and that's returned somany fold back to?
Tom DuFore (06:44):
you.
The work you've done is justfantastic and I should say
continue to do.
As someone who kind of I'm onthe sidelines or in the wings
watching and being a part of andseeing it.
So I just see the great workyou're doing and congratulations
and well deserving of thataward for sure.
One of the things I'd love totalk about that's related to
your business and it's kind ofthe blending of all the worlds
(07:07):
that you're involved in with theresales as a business broker
focused on restaurants and inthe franchise space.
As I understand, you'repassionate about the power of
resales in franchising and whatthat can do for franchise
companies or other businessesjust in general.
So I'd love for you just totalk about what that is, what
(07:29):
that looks like and how you'reinvolved to support it.
Robin Gagnon (07:32):
Tom, so many brands don't really think about
franchise resales as a strategy,a strategic move for the future
.
And so what's happening rightnow, demographically across
America, is that we'reundergoing what's known as the
silver tsunami.
I don't know if you've heardthat language, but 10,000 baby
(07:53):
boomers every single day areturning 65.
And so then they look at, well,who is going to take over my
business, what is my successionplan?
And often they look to family.
But young children well,they're not even young anymore,
right?
So the children of baby boomersare often Gen X or even
millennials and they're highlyeducated and, honestly, often
(08:16):
their own space.
And so when mom or dad says,hey, take over the restaurant,
they're like, oh no, not so much, right.
So that leaves this franchiseowner in a position where
they're trying to figure outwho's going to take over.
Can I maximize value?
And sometimes franchise ownersdon't even realize that there is
residual value, that thebusiness that they think, oh, I
(08:39):
paid it off, it's making me somemoney, but the lease is over
and the franchise is over.
Maybe I should just, you know,shut down and meanwhile so
that's the franchisee layer Onthe other side we have the
franchisor, and the franchisoris, you know, shoveling money
out the door with FranDev andbringing these new franchisees
in, but those franchisees, thatthose would-be franchisees, live
(09:01):
in a different pool than theones who want a resale right.
We don't cross over those worlds.
We don't do anything with newfranchise development and we
feel like it's absolutely adifferent customer, that
customer who wants a resale.
They want something open andoperating.
They maybe won't have thecourage or sometimes the capital
(09:21):
to start from the ground up,and so they come to us and they
want something that's been open,that has cashflow, it's on the
books and we can have differentsorts of conversations.
Then they might buy anotherdevelopment right, but they want
to take over something that'salready operating.
And so I really talk tofranchisors and franchise
communities about net restaurantgrowth.
(09:43):
Be sure that as you arebringing new units in, you're
not ignoring the signs thatsuccession planning may not be
taking place, because you knowthat item seven on your FDD is
going to show the ones that arecoming in and the ones that are
going out, and you want to makeexcuse me your item 20, you want
to make sure that there's abalance there.
(10:04):
You don't want to havesubtractions outnumber your
additions and that's powerfuland easy to do when you have a
partner like we sell restaurantswhere we specialize in keeping
those doors open, bringing newand excited franchisees in to
take over existing locations.
Tom DuFore (10:21):
I'd love to dig a little deeper into this resale
conversation here.
So, as you work withfranchisors and maybe helping
establish a resale type portionof their franchise sales
division or franchise salesefforts and obviously we know
you're focused in on restaurantswhat are some steps or things
that someone might be tuning into say, well, I hadn't really
(10:44):
thought about that.
Or in our company we work, Ihadn't really thought about that
.
Or in our company we work withorganizations, we help them
franchise, and so very oftenthey're early on in the
franchise growth process.
They're emerging.
They don't really have resalesyet, but they might say that's a
great idea.
Robin, how can I start to beprepared or how can I start
implementing this into what I'mdoing today?
Robin Gagnon (11:04):
So to me, tom, it literally does start when you
are beginning with thoseemerging brands, right as
they're starting from day one,because especially emerging
brands and I'm actually in theprocess of writing a book on
this topic because I think it isso underserved in this industry
but think about that emergingbrand In the beginning you're
(11:25):
relying on friends and familyand your own personal Rolodex
and bringing people in.
Sometimes they're not the rightchoice for your brand and you
realize that two or three yearsin and you're beginning to build
and grow as a franchise, or soyou really are not too early
Start talking about resales very, very early in the game.
(11:46):
And then, on the other hand,you have the legacy brands who
are, you know, they have beenestablished for so long and the
folks have repaid their capitaland made their earnings all
these years, and so they justdon't think about what that
residual value is.
So at every single level offranchising there's definitely a
requirement and a need to talkabout resales, and to me it
(12:08):
starts in the culture of thecompany, right?
I say to people sometimes thatthe F word in franchising is
fail, and it shouldn't be.
It's a reality.
There are certain people whojust aren't suited.
Maybe not for that brand, maybefor another brand, maybe for
not that time in their life,maybe at another time, or maybe
they're just not financiallyready, but later on they would
(12:30):
be or could be, with somepartnership or someone else to
take over.
So we talk about that and wetalk about sell as the S word,
and to me it begins with thebrand saying let's get this out
in the open, let's haveconversations, let's understand
that if you realize this isn'tfor you, we have a great path
(12:50):
for you to move forward.
So brands that I've worked withfor example, last weekend I was
at the Taco John's conferencethey invite us to their
conference.
They say this is part of who weare.
We understand we love you whileyou're here and you may make a
choice to move on, and that'sokay.
We'll love you through that too.
And that is where a franchisorshould be.
They shouldn't and here's agreat myth about resales is that
(13:15):
the people inside your brandwill just buy the resales, and
that's a fallacy, because acouple of things will happen.
One there's never especiallywith the silver tsunami coming
there will never be enoughpeople in your brands to expand
Multi-unit conferences going onthis week.
There are not enough people whowant to be multi-unit owners at
(13:36):
that scale to absorb all ofthose units.
And then the other thing andthis is, I guess I'll say that's
a dirty little secret that I'llshare in the industry but the
people in your brand, they'llnever pay you enough, tom.
You know what happens.
They'll say, oh gosh, Iremember that time it was seven
years ago, when there was a lotof rain and that parking lot
(13:56):
flooded over there.
I bet there's all kinds of thisand that in the walls.
That new guy, you know he's notgoing to tear you down and
bring back those stories thatcould potentially lower the
pricing.
They're coming in from anexternal group.
They're going to pay the most.
They're excited, they want tocome into the brand and,
generally speaking, brands thathave a strong, vibrant resale
(14:18):
program.
When that new resale candidatecomes in, they're going to see a
10% to 15% sales lift in thosestores.
That is, that's quantitativelyimportant, because then what
happens?
They're going to see a 10% to15% sales lift in those stores.
That's quantitatively importantbecause then what happens?
That means royalties go up by10% to 15%.
So it's a win all the wayaround.
But it starts with the culture.
You need to be talking about it.
(14:38):
You need to let us come in anddo webinars.
You need to have checklists andeBooks and let us talk at your
conference and just sharestories about how.
Listen.
There is a clear path to comeinto the brand.
Too many franchisors don'testablish that clear path to
exit with dignity and respectand love all the way around.
Tom DuFore (15:03):
I love what you just said.
It makes me think a little bithere too, about by having a
program like this in place.
It allows even thinking aboutthe franchise development team
or franchise developmentdepartment.
It allows them to start usingthis to as the Stephen Covey
seven habits of highly effectivepeople.
You begin with the end in mind,and so it allows for the
(15:24):
FranDev folks to be talkingabout.
At some point you might want toexit.
I know you're just getting in,but we have a plan for that when
you're ready.
So whether that's in five years, 10 years or 20 years, or when
you're ready to retire out ofthe business, whatever that
looks like, we have a plan.
I just think that's a great wayto not shy away from it.
(15:48):
Right, it brings it front andcenter to say, as the franchisor
, it's okay, we know that forfolks to be quote lifers, that's
probably not likely.
It's probably more likely thatthey exit at some point.
Robin Gagnon (16:00):
Exactly and having something in place to allow
them to do that is so critical.
And there are buyers who willshy away from brands that don't
embrace, that, don't really havea strategy for moving forward.
Because, as you said, as peoplecome in to a business
opportunity, they're veryshort-sighted.
(16:21):
If they're only looking at atwo to five-year window, right,
they want to be looking andthat's the franchisees you want
in a brand.
You want those with a strategicvision.
Where do I fit into the future?
And what does that mean fromnow?
And ultimately, what do we allwant?
We want mumbos, right, we wantmulti-unit, multi-brand owners,
and that those kind of strategicbig buy thinkers are not going
(16:46):
to be comfortable if the brain'slike oh well, you know, if the
time comes, then we can havesome conversations at that point
, that's not going to cut itwith them.
Tom DuFore (16:54):
Is this something, then, that you work with your
clients on?
Do you help them put parts likethis together?
Robin Gagnon (16:59):
Oh, absolutely, and we, you know, we have a
massive library of resourcesthat we rely upon.
And of course, you know, at theIFA I did a succession planning
workshop super session at thelatest IFA, also presented that
in conjunction with thefranchisee forum at the
leadership conference inSeptember, and so and I've
(17:20):
spoken multiple times in eitherroundtables or panel discussions
to kind of elevate this as anissue and get the education out
there.
So from that we have built somany materials eBooks, the steps
in selling a checklist tounderstand when and whether
you're ready to sell successionplanning guides, all kinds of
(17:41):
materials.
Then really, we just allow ourfranchise partners to just load
this all up.
We'll do a webinar and thenthey have all these resources
available.
We often, like I said, we'llcome and do a booth or speak at
their annual conference andthese sessions are very well
attended because people arerealizing listen, all of us come
(18:03):
to that point where we're likepeople are realizing, listen,
all of us come to that pointwhere we're like not forever,
you know what's next, who'sgoing to step in, and that's
important.
And I shared this story at thelast succession planning
workshop that I went to.
Succession planning is foreveryone.
I had a situation where, when Igot my MBA a million years ago,
one of my best friends in myMBA class was my financial
(18:26):
advisor, younger than me, andunexpectedly he passed away last
December.
And as hard as that was for mepersonally, what struck me was
that the note that for mydaughter, right with our will,
says if anything happens, seeDavid, david wasn't there, right
(18:47):
?
That's when you start thinkingdo I really have this figured
out?
And so every brand needs to bethinking about that.
Do I have this figured out?
Do my franchisees have thisfigured out?
Like I feel like it should beon an FBC's quarterly review.
Like you know what is thesuccession plan?
You know what's yourcontingency plan?
(19:08):
There's a story I sharefrequently and I believe it was
I won't name the brand, but itwas a big brand, massive fast
food brand, and a gentlemanowned like 200 units and this is
, you know, kind of movingtowards contingency versus
succession planning.
But it was in my LinkedIn Iwrote an article about this that
he had over 200 units.
(19:30):
Young man in his 50s and theworst of the worst happened
Unexpectedly, he passed away.
Again, no plan in place.
Ultimately, within six weeks,his multi-unit operation was
filing for Chapter 7.
50 stores out of businessovernight couldn't reorganize
(19:53):
those stores.
Hundreds of employees you knowI can't even millions over time
of royalties lost.
So these are tough conversations, right?
None of us want to go for ourannual checkup.
None of us want it.
But I truly believe successionplanning, contingency planning,
should be an annual thing forevery single franchisee in
(20:16):
America and I'm out to sharethat message like let's get
ourselves in order and have aplan for whoever's going to come
over.
And often these families thinkit's the children.
But if you sit down and talk tothe children, they're like no,
not me, I have something else inmind.
So lots of conversations to behad around this topic.
Tom DuFore (20:38):
Well, robin, that is really great advice and thanks
for sharing those stories andfor someone that, when they
listen to this, might bethinking okay, robin, this
sounds great, I've got arestaurant to sell, or I'd love
to get my own contingencyplanning or structure in place
for a franchise resale, orthey're just maybe want to
connect with you.
What's the best way for someoneto do that?
(20:58):
Oh, our websitewesellrestaurantscom.
Robin Gagnon (21:02):
That's W-E-s-e-l-l restaurants with an scom.
Jump in there text us call usat 404-800-6700.
Anyone can reach out to me byemail, robin at
wesellrestaurantscom.
But of course you mentioned mylinkedin.
Jump on linkedin and message me.
Connect with me.
I'm happy to share time withwith anyone who has a as an
(21:26):
interest in this topic or anytopic related to the franchise
community.
Tom DuFore (21:30):
Now's a great time for us just to make a transition
, and we ask every guest thesame four questions before they
go, and the first question weask is have you had a miss or
two on your journey andsomething you learned from it?
Robin Gagnon (21:41):
Oh, absolutely so many right, but I thought about
this question.
I'll tell you, tom, in theearly days of we Sell
Restaurants, we had a situationwhere we relied on an external
web platform and it was managedby a third party and it was
someone we trusted.
But over time our costs went up, the limitations started to
impact our ability to scale andwe needed to take control.
(22:04):
So we made the decision tobuild our own proprietary
technology.
We call it the BOSS the BrokersOperations and Sales System and
it was a major shift because ittook us out of just being in
the brokerage business, justbeing in the franchise business,
into also being a verytechnology-forward company.
That move wasn't easy.
(22:25):
Obviously it wasn't.
It's not the right solution forevery business.
I can't imagine starting thattoday but it was a tough lesson.
But we needed to control ourinfrastructure.
So we learned to invest in ourown capabilities and trust
people to build technology onour behalf that we now own 100%
of the intellectual property.
Tom DuFore (22:45):
Very, very good.
Well, let's look at the otherside of things.
Let's talk about a make or ahighlight you'd like to share.
Robin Gagnon (22:51):
They can't go see how the tires get changed, they
can't go touch the retailoperation.
They're really investing in theidea of us, our brand, and so
(23:17):
when I see them achieve thisfinancial success and personal
success in their markets, whilewe stay true to this mission to
sell more restaurants thananyone else, while we build a
brand that's grounded in ourethics, in our core values, in
our expertise, that is obviouslythe biggest win and the most
(23:38):
important mission of my life.
Tom DuFore (23:41):
Well, the name of the show is Multiply your
Success, and we always ask haveyou used a multiplier to grow
yourself personally,professionally, or organizations
you've run Well for?
Robin Gagnon (23:51):
me, the multiplier is just discipline Discipline
around my time where I spend it,so that I make sure that I have
not only meeting time, I haveto have strategy time.
For me, that's really early inthe morning, but that's when my
team is used to getting emailsfrom me at five in the morning
says I had an idea, and then youknow, by 1.30 in the afternoon
(24:15):
we have our chief technologyofficer on the line and, like
this was my idea, let's flexthis out.
So I think having thediscipline around my time,
owning that to be sure that Ihave strategy recovery, my time
owning that to be sure that Ihave strategy recovery, workout
time, like all of that, it givesme the ability to focus and
helps me to multiply.
(24:37):
That's my key multiplier.
Tom DuFore (24:39):
Well, the final question we ask every guest,
Robin, is what does success meanto you?
Robin Gagnon (24:44):
You know, I think earlier on in my life it would
be about did we make this number?
Did we hit this milestone?
Have we grown there?
As I have transitioned in myown career to a kind of a
different stage, it's to medefining success is what am I
doing that makes a difference?
How am I helping other peoplerealize and make life-changing
(25:07):
transitions?
You know I have a perfectexample.
I had someone who worked for usin our call center and today
she is a franchisee and she willsell 25 to 30 restaurants a
year.
It has been life-changing forher home, for her family, for
her life.
So building this business butalso seeing that make a
(25:28):
difference for others, that'sreally success for me.
Tom DuFore (25:33):
And Robin, as we bring this to a close, is there
anything you are hoping to shareor get across that you haven't
had a chance to yet?
Robin Gagnon (25:39):
Gosh, I don't know I feel like we're old friends
now.
We've been chatting for a while.
If there's anything I missedand someone wants to ping me
with a question, direct messageme on LinkedIn or just put it
out there for the world to seeand say Robin, what do you think
about this?
Because you said that and Iwant to talk about it.
Let's make it happen.
Tom DuFore (25:58):
Robin, thank you so much for a fantastic interview
and let's go ahead and jump intotoday's three key takeaways.
So takeaway number one is whenwe talk about Robin's vision
from the very beginning when shestarted the business, which was
, from day one, to sell morerestaurants than any other
(26:19):
company or person in the country, and she started on that
mission, she said 22 years ago,and here she is making it happen
.
I thought that was great and Ilove the clarity that she had on
that.
Just that mission has beensteadfast the entire time.
Takeaway number two was whenshe talked about having a plan,
for resales is critical and Ilove Robin's position because
(26:42):
she is a franchisor where shealso sells franchises to her
franchisees and she's in thebusiness of reselling existing
businesses, specificallyrestaurant businesses, and I
really like how she talks abouthaving this from the onset.
So for the clients that I workwith and our emerging brand
franchisors, start with thatright away.
(27:05):
Have a plan, start talking withyour franchisees about that and
sometimes it's just not theright fit.
As she said, sometimes afranchise brand doesn't fit that
buyer quite the way that theythought, and having a plan to
help them out is not only beinghelpful, it's also being a great
franchisor.
Takeaway number three is whenshe said.
(27:27):
Takeaway number three is whenshe said quote franchising is
the biggest force multiplier onearth unquote.
I thought that was beautifuland well said.
And now it's time for today'swin-win.
So today's win-win comes fromwhen she talked about success
(27:50):
and having discipline of hertime.
I thought that was great, whereshe was very clear to be
disciplined on the time andthings she spends time on and
things that she says no to.
But one of my favorite thingsthat she's been disciplined on
is her focus on her mission andhaving clarity on that mission
from the beginning to sell morerestaurants than any other
(28:13):
company or person in her space.
I thought that was fantastic.
I love that clarity and itgives clarity then to her staff,
her franchisees and others thatare part of the system to give
them the direction and missionon where they are headed.
And so that's the episode today.
Folks, please make sure yousubscribe to the podcast and
give on where they are headed.
And so that's the episode today.
Folks, please make sure yousubscribe to the podcast and
give us a review and remember ifyou or anyone you know might be
(28:36):
ready to franchise theirbusiness or take their franchise
company to the next level.
Please connect with us atbigskyfranchiseteamcom where you
can schedule your free, noobligation consultation.
Thanks for tuning in and welook forward to having you back
next week.
Welcome to the Multiply your Success podcast,
where each week, we helpgrowth-minded entrepreneurs and
franchise leaders take the nextstep in their expansion journey.
I'm your host, tom Dufour, ceoof Big Sky Franchise Team, and,
as we open today, I'm wonderingif you have a resale program in
place for your franchise system?
Are you discussing about anexit with your franchisees right
(00:24):
from the beginning, right fromwhen they sign on?
Well, our guest today is RobinGagnon, and she shares with us
how having a resale strategy isnot just a good idea, but it's
also good business.
Now, robin is the co-founder andCEO of we Sell Restaurants.
It's a brand that's carved aniche in the industry as the
(00:45):
world's leading and onlybusiness broker franchise
focused on restaurants.
Under Robin's leadership, weSell Restaurants has grown to 45
states where it dominates therestaurant space for for sale
marketplace and franchiseresales, delivering on the
founder's vision to sell morerestaurants than anyone else.
You're going to love thisinterview with a franchise
(01:08):
veteran and pro and just someonewho really brings a ton of
business insight, so let's goahead and jump into my interview
with Robin Gagnon.
Robin Gagnon (01:18):
Robin Gagnon, CEO and co-founder of we Sell
Restaurants, a restaurantbrokerage brand and franchisor
operating in this space for morethan a decade.
Thanks so much for theinvitation, Tom.
Tom DuFore (01:30):
Oh, wonderful.
Well, I'm so glad you're hereand this has been a long time
coming.
I love following you.
I follow you on LinkedIn andall the content you produce, and
you're a great contributor tothe franchise community just at
large.
But I'd love to take a stepback, because what makes you a
little unique is you sellfranchises through a business
(01:51):
brokerage and restaurantsspecifically and then you also
are a franchise organizationwhere you're actually selling
franchises of a restaurantbrokerage business.
So I'd love for you to talkabout what led you down this
direction to end up franchising.
Robin Gagnon (02:08):
Yes great question .
So initially we started like alot of business brokerage firms,
except that we really knew fromthe beginning our vision from
day one was to sell morerestaurants than anyone else,
period.
And we've delivered on thatmission.
And it was so strange becausein the beginning other general
business brokers were likethat's so limiting, why would
(02:31):
you do that?
But what's happened over timeis, when we started 22 years ago
, you have to remember, peoplewould just put the ad in the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Whoever had the biggest ad, themost listings, got the most
calls.
But that transition to adigital online platform.
So now general business brokersare working and fighting for
(02:51):
that digital space to be knownin their area and meanwhile we
Sell Restaurants has capturedthe digital online presence of
restaurants for sale.
So that actually turned out tobe a really great marketing
strategy for us and we knew fromthe beginning we wanted to go
deep into a single vertical.
We'd rather do one thing super,super well.
(03:13):
And we started out as a generalbusiness like a lot of firms,
with agents, right.
So you would bring on, justlike an ERA business, you'd
bring on or any of the CaldwellBank or any of the brands that
are doing just real estatetransactions and you have agents
.
What we found is agents werenot loyal.
You would train them and thenthey would turn over, and so we
(03:36):
said there's got to be a betterbusiness model.
And what is the best businessmodel of all?
You talk about multipliers inyour podcast.
That you do.
There's nothing more thanfranchising is the biggest force
multiplier on earth, right?
And so, leveraging that, wesaid we are going to become a
franchise and in 2012, that'sexactly what we did.
(03:58):
We went to the IFA for the firsttime that year and I met people
at IFA that year and ourconsultant said to us
franchising is the most generousspace you'll ever encounter.
I came out of Fortune 100companies.
I wasn't sure what theyactually meant by that and what
I learned is that you could justsit down and talk to anyone,
(04:19):
and that's really kind of been ahallmark of my career.
So many people have been sogenerous and so giving of their
time to me and to listen to myideas and help me move forward
that I really try my best waysto give back and mentor and
bring other people along infranchising to whatever extent I
can, and that's includedvolunteering for the
(04:39):
International FranchiseAssociation first at the local
level with the Women's FranchiseNetwork in Atlanta, then at the
national level and ultimatelyleading the Women's Franchise
Committee and now serving on theboard of directors and as the
chair of the Franchisor Forum.
I think we all need to giveback.
Tom DuFore (04:58):
I echo that sentiment.
Franchising is just a uniquespace where people are willing
to collaborate and work together, even what might appear to
maybe even be competitivecompetitors in business, that
there's much more of a communityapproach to it, and so that's
absolutely what I've noticed, aswell as when I first launched
(05:18):
into franchising.
And speaking of theInternational Franchise
Association, I think I'd beremiss if I didn't first off
congratulate you on your recentaward, the Crystal Compass Award
, that you were given by theInternational Franchise
Association in February.
Robin Gagnon (05:34):
I'd love for you just to talk about the
recognition is an award given bythe Women's Franchise Committee
of IFA, which has now beenstarted since 1996, so has been
around a very, very long time,and they give that award.
They really talk about theCompass as being that North Star
(05:55):
.
You know, I served on thatcommittee for eight years
altogether and it became verynear and dear to my heart to
mentor and try to help growyoung women in this space, all
women in this space, but inparticular young women who are
just finding their path infranchising, and I was thrilled
to receive the award because itfelt like a culmination of those
(06:17):
years of giving to others.
Actually, when I did my littleacceptance speech I kind of
shared a little bit about howmany people have given to us
over the years.
You know I turn to my husbandat times and just say are we
really grateful enough for allthat franchising has given to us
?
Is it truly is a space whereyou put so much positive energy
(06:42):
out there and that's returned somany fold back to?
Tom DuFore (06:44):
you.
The work you've done is justfantastic and I should say
continue to do.
As someone who kind of I'm onthe sidelines or in the wings
watching and being a part of andseeing it.
So I just see the great workyou're doing and congratulations
and well deserving of thataward for sure.
One of the things I'd love totalk about that's related to
your business and it's kind ofthe blending of all the worlds
(07:07):
that you're involved in with theresales as a business broker
focused on restaurants and inthe franchise space.
As I understand, you'repassionate about the power of
resales in franchising and whatthat can do for franchise
companies or other businessesjust in general.
So I'd love for you just totalk about what that is, what
(07:29):
that looks like and how you'reinvolved to support it.
Robin Gagnon (07:32):
Tom, so many brands don't really think about
franchise resales as a strategy,a strategic move for the future
.
And so what's happening rightnow, demographically across
America, is that we'reundergoing what's known as the
silver tsunami.
I don't know if you've heardthat language, but 10,000 baby
(07:53):
boomers every single day areturning 65.
And so then they look at, well,who is going to take over my
business, what is my successionplan?
And often they look to family.
But young children well,they're not even young anymore,
right?
So the children of baby boomersare often Gen X or even
millennials and they're highlyeducated and, honestly, often
(08:16):
their own space.
And so when mom or dad says,hey, take over the restaurant,
they're like, oh no, not so much, right.
So that leaves this franchiseowner in a position where
they're trying to figure outwho's going to take over.
Can I maximize value?
And sometimes franchise ownersdon't even realize that there is
residual value, that thebusiness that they think, oh, I
(08:39):
paid it off, it's making me somemoney, but the lease is over
and the franchise is over.
Maybe I should just, you know,shut down and meanwhile so
that's the franchisee layer Onthe other side we have the
franchisor, and the franchisoris, you know, shoveling money
out the door with FranDev andbringing these new franchisees
in, but those franchisees, thatthose would-be franchisees, live
(09:01):
in a different pool than theones who want a resale right.
We don't cross over those worlds.
We don't do anything with newfranchise development and we
feel like it's absolutely adifferent customer, that
customer who wants a resale.
They want something open andoperating.
They maybe won't have thecourage or sometimes the capital
(09:21):
to start from the ground up,and so they come to us and they
want something that's been open,that has cashflow, it's on the
books and we can have differentsorts of conversations.
Then they might buy anotherdevelopment right, but they want
to take over something that'salready operating.
And so I really talk tofranchisors and franchise
communities about net restaurantgrowth.
(09:43):
Be sure that as you arebringing new units in, you're
not ignoring the signs thatsuccession planning may not be
taking place, because you knowthat item seven on your FDD is
going to show the ones that arecoming in and the ones that are
going out, and you want to makeexcuse me your item 20, you want
to make sure that there's abalance there.
(10:04):
You don't want to havesubtractions outnumber your
additions and that's powerfuland easy to do when you have a
partner like we sell restaurantswhere we specialize in keeping
those doors open, bringing newand excited franchisees in to
take over existing locations.
Tom DuFore (10:21):
I'd love to dig a little deeper into this resale
conversation here.
So, as you work withfranchisors and maybe helping
establish a resale type portionof their franchise sales
division or franchise salesefforts and obviously we know
you're focused in on restaurantswhat are some steps or things
that someone might be tuning into say, well, I hadn't really
(10:44):
thought about that.
Or in our company we work, Ihadn't really thought about that
.
Or in our company we work withorganizations, we help them
franchise, and so very oftenthey're early on in the
franchise growth process.
They're emerging.
They don't really have resalesyet, but they might say that's a
great idea.
Robin, how can I start to beprepared or how can I start
implementing this into what I'mdoing today?
Robin Gagnon (11:04):
So to me, tom, it literally does start when you
are beginning with thoseemerging brands, right as
they're starting from day one,because especially emerging
brands and I'm actually in theprocess of writing a book on
this topic because I think it isso underserved in this industry
but think about that emergingbrand In the beginning you're
(11:25):
relying on friends and familyand your own personal Rolodex
and bringing people in.
Sometimes they're not the rightchoice for your brand and you
realize that two or three yearsin and you're beginning to build
and grow as a franchise, or soyou really are not too early
Start talking about resales very, very early in the game.
(11:46):
And then, on the other hand,you have the legacy brands who
are, you know, they have beenestablished for so long and the
folks have repaid their capitaland made their earnings all
these years, and so they justdon't think about what that
residual value is.
So at every single level offranchising there's definitely a
requirement and a need to talkabout resales, and to me it
(12:08):
starts in the culture of thecompany, right?
I say to people sometimes thatthe F word in franchising is
fail, and it shouldn't be.
It's a reality.
There are certain people whojust aren't suited.
Maybe not for that brand, maybefor another brand, maybe for
not that time in their life,maybe at another time, or maybe
they're just not financiallyready, but later on they would
(12:30):
be or could be, with somepartnership or someone else to
take over.
So we talk about that and wetalk about sell as the S word,
and to me it begins with thebrand saying let's get this out
in the open, let's haveconversations, let's understand
that if you realize this isn'tfor you, we have a great path
(12:50):
for you to move forward.
So brands that I've worked withfor example, last weekend I was
at the Taco John's conferencethey invite us to their
conference.
They say this is part of who weare.
We understand we love you whileyou're here and you may make a
choice to move on, and that'sokay.
We'll love you through that too.
And that is where a franchisorshould be.
They shouldn't and here's agreat myth about resales is that
(13:15):
the people inside your brandwill just buy the resales, and
that's a fallacy, because acouple of things will happen.
One there's never especiallywith the silver tsunami coming
there will never be enoughpeople in your brands to expand
Multi-unit conferences going onthis week.
There are not enough people whowant to be multi-unit owners at
(13:36):
that scale to absorb all ofthose units.
And then the other thing andthis is, I guess I'll say that's
a dirty little secret that I'llshare in the industry but the
people in your brand, they'llnever pay you enough, tom.
You know what happens.
They'll say, oh gosh, Iremember that time it was seven
years ago, when there was a lotof rain and that parking lot
(13:56):
flooded over there.
I bet there's all kinds of thisand that in the walls.
That new guy, you know he's notgoing to tear you down and
bring back those stories thatcould potentially lower the
pricing.
They're coming in from anexternal group.
They're going to pay the most.
They're excited, they want tocome into the brand and,
generally speaking, brands thathave a strong, vibrant resale
(14:18):
program.
When that new resale candidatecomes in, they're going to see a
10% to 15% sales lift in thosestores.
That is, that's quantitativelyimportant, because then what
happens?
They're going to see a 10% to15% sales lift in those stores.
That's quantitatively importantbecause then what happens?
That means royalties go up by10% to 15%.
So it's a win all the wayaround.
But it starts with the culture.
You need to be talking about it.
(14:38):
You need to let us come in anddo webinars.
You need to have checklists andeBooks and let us talk at your
conference and just sharestories about how.
Listen.
There is a clear path to comeinto the brand.
Too many franchisors don'testablish that clear path to
exit with dignity and respectand love all the way around.
Tom DuFore (15:03):
I love what you just said.
It makes me think a little bithere too, about by having a
program like this in place.
It allows even thinking aboutthe franchise development team
or franchise developmentdepartment.
It allows them to start usingthis to as the Stephen Covey
seven habits of highly effectivepeople.
You begin with the end in mind,and so it allows for the
(15:24):
FranDev folks to be talkingabout.
At some point you might want toexit.
I know you're just getting in,but we have a plan for that when
you're ready.
So whether that's in five years, 10 years or 20 years, or when
you're ready to retire out ofthe business, whatever that
looks like, we have a plan.
I just think that's a great wayto not shy away from it.
(15:48):
Right, it brings it front andcenter to say, as the franchisor
, it's okay, we know that forfolks to be quote lifers, that's
probably not likely.
It's probably more likely thatthey exit at some point.
Robin Gagnon (16:00):
Exactly and having something in place to allow
them to do that is so critical.
And there are buyers who willshy away from brands that don't
embrace, that, don't really havea strategy for moving forward.
Because, as you said, as peoplecome in to a business
opportunity, they're veryshort-sighted.
(16:21):
If they're only looking at atwo to five-year window, right,
they want to be looking andthat's the franchisees you want
in a brand.
You want those with a strategicvision.
Where do I fit into the future?
And what does that mean fromnow?
And ultimately, what do we allwant?
We want mumbos, right, we wantmulti-unit, multi-brand owners,
and that those kind of strategicbig buy thinkers are not going
(16:46):
to be comfortable if the brain'slike oh well, you know, if the
time comes, then we can havesome conversations at that point
, that's not going to cut itwith them.
Tom DuFore (16:54):
Is this something, then, that you work with your
clients on?
Do you help them put parts likethis together?
Robin Gagnon (16:59):
Oh, absolutely, and we, you know, we have a
massive library of resourcesthat we rely upon.
And of course, you know, at theIFA I did a succession planning
workshop super session at thelatest IFA, also presented that
in conjunction with thefranchisee forum at the
leadership conference inSeptember, and so and I've
(17:20):
spoken multiple times in eitherroundtables or panel discussions
to kind of elevate this as anissue and get the education out
there.
So from that we have built somany materials eBooks, the steps
in selling a checklist tounderstand when and whether
you're ready to sell successionplanning guides, all kinds of
(17:41):
materials.
Then really, we just allow ourfranchise partners to just load
this all up.
We'll do a webinar and thenthey have all these resources
available.
We often, like I said, we'llcome and do a booth or speak at
their annual conference andthese sessions are very well
attended because people arerealizing listen, all of us come
(18:03):
to that point where we're likepeople are realizing, listen,
all of us come to that pointwhere we're like not forever,
you know what's next, who'sgoing to step in, and that's
important.
And I shared this story at thelast succession planning
workshop that I went to.
Succession planning is foreveryone.
I had a situation where, when Igot my MBA a million years ago,
one of my best friends in myMBA class was my financial
(18:26):
advisor, younger than me, andunexpectedly he passed away last
December.
And as hard as that was for mepersonally, what struck me was
that the note that for mydaughter, right with our will,
says if anything happens, seeDavid, david wasn't there, right
(18:47):
?
That's when you start thinkingdo I really have this figured
out?
And so every brand needs to bethinking about that.
Do I have this figured out?
Do my franchisees have thisfigured out?
Like I feel like it should beon an FBC's quarterly review.
Like you know what is thesuccession plan?
You know what's yourcontingency plan?
(19:08):
There's a story I sharefrequently and I believe it was
I won't name the brand, but itwas a big brand, massive fast
food brand, and a gentlemanowned like 200 units and this is
, you know, kind of movingtowards contingency versus
succession planning.
But it was in my LinkedIn Iwrote an article about this that
he had over 200 units.
(19:30):
Young man in his 50s and theworst of the worst happened
Unexpectedly, he passed away.
Again, no plan in place.
Ultimately, within six weeks,his multi-unit operation was
filing for Chapter 7.
50 stores out of businessovernight couldn't reorganize
(19:53):
those stores.
Hundreds of employees you knowI can't even millions over time
of royalties lost.
So these are tough conversations, right?
None of us want to go for ourannual checkup.
None of us want it.
But I truly believe successionplanning, contingency planning,
should be an annual thing forevery single franchisee in
(20:16):
America and I'm out to sharethat message like let's get
ourselves in order and have aplan for whoever's going to come
over.
And often these families thinkit's the children.
But if you sit down and talk tothe children, they're like no,
not me, I have something else inmind.
So lots of conversations to behad around this topic.
Tom DuFore (20:38):
Well, robin, that is really great advice and thanks
for sharing those stories andfor someone that, when they
listen to this, might bethinking okay, robin, this
sounds great, I've got arestaurant to sell, or I'd love
to get my own contingencyplanning or structure in place
for a franchise resale, orthey're just maybe want to
connect with you.
What's the best way for someoneto do that?
(20:58):
Oh, our websitewesellrestaurantscom.
Robin Gagnon (21:02):
That's W-E-s-e-l-l restaurants with an scom.
Jump in there text us call usat 404-800-6700.
Anyone can reach out to me byemail, robin at
wesellrestaurantscom.
But of course you mentioned mylinkedin.
Jump on linkedin and message me.
Connect with me.
I'm happy to share time withwith anyone who has a as an
(21:26):
interest in this topic or anytopic related to the franchise
community.
Tom DuFore (21:30):
Now's a great time for us just to make a transition
, and we ask every guest thesame four questions before they
go, and the first question weask is have you had a miss or
two on your journey andsomething you learned from it?
Robin Gagnon (21:41):
Oh, absolutely so many right, but I thought about
this question.
I'll tell you, tom, in theearly days of we Sell
Restaurants, we had a situationwhere we relied on an external
web platform and it was managedby a third party and it was
someone we trusted.
But over time our costs went up, the limitations started to
impact our ability to scale andwe needed to take control.
(22:04):
So we made the decision tobuild our own proprietary
technology.
We call it the BOSS the BrokersOperations and Sales System and
it was a major shift because ittook us out of just being in
the brokerage business, justbeing in the franchise business,
into also being a verytechnology-forward company.
That move wasn't easy.
(22:25):
Obviously it wasn't.
It's not the right solution forevery business.
I can't imagine starting thattoday but it was a tough lesson.
But we needed to control ourinfrastructure.
So we learned to invest in ourown capabilities and trust
people to build technology onour behalf that we now own 100%
of the intellectual property.
Tom DuFore (22:45):
Very, very good.
Well, let's look at the otherside of things.
Let's talk about a make or ahighlight you'd like to share.
Robin Gagnon (22:51):
They can't go see how the tires get changed, they
can't go touch the retailoperation.
They're really investing in theidea of us, our brand, and so
(23:17):
when I see them achieve thisfinancial success and personal
success in their markets, whilewe stay true to this mission to
sell more restaurants thananyone else, while we build a
brand that's grounded in ourethics, in our core values, in
our expertise, that is obviouslythe biggest win and the most
(23:38):
important mission of my life.
Tom DuFore (23:41):
Well, the name of the show is Multiply your
Success, and we always ask haveyou used a multiplier to grow
yourself personally,professionally, or organizations
you've run Well for?
Robin Gagnon (23:51):
me, the multiplier is just discipline Discipline
around my time where I spend it,so that I make sure that I have
not only meeting time, I haveto have strategy time.
For me, that's really early inthe morning, but that's when my
team is used to getting emailsfrom me at five in the morning
says I had an idea, and then youknow, by 1.30 in the afternoon
(24:15):
we have our chief technologyofficer on the line and, like
this was my idea, let's flexthis out.
So I think having thediscipline around my time,
owning that to be sure that Ihave strategy recovery, my time
owning that to be sure that Ihave strategy recovery, workout
time, like all of that, it givesme the ability to focus and
helps me to multiply.
(24:37):
That's my key multiplier.
Tom DuFore (24:39):
Well, the final question we ask every guest,
Robin, is what does success meanto you?
Robin Gagnon (24:44):
You know, I think earlier on in my life it would
be about did we make this number?
Did we hit this milestone?
Have we grown there?
As I have transitioned in myown career to a kind of a
different stage, it's to medefining success is what am I
doing that makes a difference?
How am I helping other peoplerealize and make life-changing
(25:07):
transitions?
You know I have a perfectexample.
I had someone who worked for usin our call center and today
she is a franchisee and she willsell 25 to 30 restaurants a
year.
It has been life-changing forher home, for her family, for
her life.
So building this business butalso seeing that make a
(25:28):
difference for others, that'sreally success for me.
Tom DuFore (25:33):
And Robin, as we bring this to a close, is there
anything you are hoping to shareor get across that you haven't
had a chance to yet?
Robin Gagnon (25:39):
Gosh, I don't know I feel like we're old friends
now.
We've been chatting for a while.
If there's anything I missedand someone wants to ping me
with a question, direct messageme on LinkedIn or just put it
out there for the world to seeand say Robin, what do you think
about this?
Because you said that and Iwant to talk about it.
Let's make it happen.
Tom DuFore (25:58):
Robin, thank you so much for a fantastic interview
and let's go ahead and jump intotoday's three key takeaways.
So takeaway number one is whenwe talk about Robin's vision
from the very beginning when shestarted the business, which was
, from day one, to sell morerestaurants than any other
(26:19):
company or person in the country, and she started on that
mission, she said 22 years ago,and here she is making it happen
.
I thought that was great and Ilove the clarity that she had on
that.
Just that mission has beensteadfast the entire time.
Takeaway number two was whenshe talked about having a plan,
for resales is critical and Ilove Robin's position because
(26:42):
she is a franchisor where shealso sells franchises to her
franchisees and she's in thebusiness of reselling existing
businesses, specificallyrestaurant businesses, and I
really like how she talks abouthaving this from the onset.
So for the clients that I workwith and our emerging brand
franchisors, start with thatright away.
(27:05):
Have a plan, start talking withyour franchisees about that and
sometimes it's just not theright fit.
As she said, sometimes afranchise brand doesn't fit that
buyer quite the way that theythought, and having a plan to
help them out is not only beinghelpful, it's also being a great
franchisor.
Takeaway number three is whenshe said.
(27:27):
Takeaway number three is whenshe said quote franchising is
the biggest force multiplier onearth unquote.
I thought that was beautifuland well said.
And now it's time for today'swin-win.
So today's win-win comes fromwhen she talked about success
(27:50):
and having discipline of hertime.
I thought that was great, whereshe was very clear to be
disciplined on the time andthings she spends time on and
things that she says no to.
But one of my favorite thingsthat she's been disciplined on
is her focus on her mission andhaving clarity on that mission
from the beginning to sell morerestaurants than any other
(28:13):
company or person in her space.
I thought that was fantastic.
I love that clarity and itgives clarity then to her staff,
her franchisees and others thatare part of the system to give
them the direction and missionon where they are headed.
And so that's the episode today.
Folks, please make sure yousubscribe to the podcast and
give on where they are headed.
And so that's the episode today.
Folks, please make sure yousubscribe to the podcast and
give us a review and remember ifyou or anyone you know might be
(28:36):
ready to franchise theirbusiness or take their franchise
company to the next level.
Please connect with us atbigskyfranchiseteamcom where you
can schedule your free, noobligation consultation.
Thanks for tuning in and welook forward to having you back
next week.
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