At Raintree, one of the most exciting parts of 2020 was rolling out our Consultant of the Month program! Since April, our team has had the chance to connect with some of the top (and our favorite!) consultants in the franchising industry to learn more about them personally and learn how they have achieved success in their roles. During every interview, we encouraged them to discuss their background and share tips for other consultants in the industry.
Below is part of what we learned in 2020, and we are excited to continue learning about our partners and spreading tips in 2021!
Adrienne Leigh
In 2003, Adrienne decided to join FranNet and start her career as a franchise consultant. Currently, she is a proud member of both the IFPG and Franchise Brokers’ Association, of which she is also a member of their Advisory Board. Since becoming a franchise consultant, Adrienne’s purpose has not changed. She loves working with people and helping those in career transition, which she believes is one of the hardest times in a person’s life.
Adrienne makes it a point to participate in mastermind groups with other franchise consultants to share best practices, tips, and discuss different brands. More than anything, she works on her consulting business full-time and works hard! “Mostly, I work my ass off!” Adrienne jokes when asked why she has been so successful. Read Adrienne’s full story.
Jack and Jill Johnson
Jack and Jill Johnson launched their franchise consulting company, The Franchise Insiders, in 2017, with a mission of utilizing their expertise to find freedom for their clients through franchising. As members of the consultant network FranServe, not only have they been able to transform hundreds of lives, but they have also achieved their own personal goals of freedom, entrepreneurship, controlling their own destiny, and being purveyors of the American Dream!
Jack and Jill are constantly researching brands and updating their franchise consulting inventory with those that are doing it right. The Franchise Insiders look for certain qualities in the brands they present, including scalability, the opportunity to build an empire, and backing by a third-party company, like Raintree. Read Jack and Jill’s full story.
Thomas Gibbs
Thomas’ franchising journey started seven years ago when he took a golf coaching position for a franchise, GOLFTECH. After a few years, his boss decided to sell the business. As a person who does not shy away from opportunity, Thomas decided to purchase the existing franchise. After a few years, he sold the businesses and began looking for his next adventure. That search led him to franchise consulting and specifically the network, Business Alliance Inc., also known as BAI.
Thomas sincerely feels that relationships with the development team are key. He says, “Consultants need to work closely with the sales team to learn the brand, how to present it, who they are looking for, who will be successful in the system and make sure that it all aligns with your client. By working with multiple brands and development people you will start to realize who you work best with and who is best at their role, these are the brands you want to continue to show.” Read Thomas’ full story.
Susan Scotts
Susan Scotts worked in franchise development for a small company for 14 years prior to becoming a franchise coach. During that time, she established a strong relationship with the network The Entrepreneur’s Source (TES), which opened her eyes to career transition coaching. She joined TES in 2009, and has since helped hundreds of people better their lives through business ownership!
Susan stresses the importance of being in close contact with the franchise development team as your client progresses through the education process, and even beyond as they work through the steps to open their business. For this reason, Susan is highly appreciative of the communication between Raintree’s development team as they work with her clients, providing deep and detailed information following each call. Read Susan’s full story.
Lisa Welko
After starting an extremely successful boutique gym in 2001, Lisa decided to franchise the company. As Lisa began to learn more about franchising, she became drawn to the world of consulting, realizing that it would allow her to do what she loves- help people find success as business owners by drawing upon her own experiences, triumphs, and mistakes as an entrepreneur. In 2016, Lisa officially sold her fitness company, and by 2017 she was fully immersed in being a franchise consultant, partnering with both Franchise Brokers Association (FBA) and the International Franchise Professionals Group (IFPG).
Lisa warns against keeping a shortlist of brands. She believes that as a franchise consultant you always need to be learning and keeping the portfolio of brands you work with open and dynamic. When she is looking for brands to present, Lisa primarily looks for concepts that have a strong management and support team- not necessarily large but singularly focused on the success of their Franchise Owners. Read Lisa’s full story.
Scott Diener
Scott Diener is a 30+ year veteran in franchising, building multiple brands from scratch, working in franchise development, and then even founding his own private birthday party concept, Scooter’s Jungle. After spending years working with Scooter’s Jungle Franchise Owners, he decided he wanted to get back into the business of helping others connect with their ideal business dreams. In 2014, he joined consultant networks The You Network and International Franchise Professionals Group.
Scott really drives home the significance of getting to know his clients by allowing them to share their journey, their background, and the “why” that prompted them to begin their franchising search. By diving deep, Scott can help his clients accurately identify the pains they are experiencing and how they can be solved, all while maintaining the agility to adjust to their needs. Read Scott’s full story.
Patrick Elsner
After working as the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals radio network and managing 29 salespeople, Patrick started to look into starting his own business. Patrick was drawn to franchising, and like a lot of people, he decided to work with a franchise consultant. Originally, Patrick was interested in a tax franchise, but through time he ended up taking over the business that had belonged to his own franchise consultant upon his retirement. 18 years later, Patrick still enjoys what he does every single day.
“There isn’t a magic formula for being successful. It comes from hard work, dedication, and wanting to put the effort in,” he says. “I have 75-plus people in my pipeline at any given time so I do my admin work at night or on the weekends to keep my days open for calls. I have made franchise consulting a full-time career as it should be. Consulting is not something someone should do on the side. The dedication to my clients is really what has allowed me to differentiate myself from the other 99% out there.” Read Patrick’s full story.
Carl Grossman
Carl Grossman is an esteemed member of Business Alliance Inc., as one of the top 10% of all consultants in the network. He spent his formative years performing turnarounds for large companies, but when this concept started dying down, he decided it was time for a career change. An old friend suggested he look into franchise consulting, and Carl was immediately intrigued. In 2015, he joined BAI, and the rest is history!
Carl emphasizes the importance of being involved in the education process after handing your client to the franchise development team. He is there every step of the process, starting with the initial call. Not only that, but Carl continues to keep in touch with his clients after they have been awarded a franchise, and considers many of them lifelong friends! Read Carl’s full story.
Thank you to all the above consultants for your time and for sharing your franchising industry stories with us- we can’t do what we do without you!
If you are interested in becoming our next Consultant of the Month, email Lana Mazin [email protected] for consideration.