Franchise Manuals Interview with David Bullock Part 1

I am talking to David Bullock, the Director of Sales at Franchise Manuals LLC http://www.franman.net/ .

David, you are on the front lines with our potential client base. That means that you hear the good, the bad, and the ugly. One of the things I like to do from time-to-time is to visit with you about the responses and reactions to our product line.

Kit: David, for the sake of the reader, describe the companies that you spend the most time talking to. Are they smaller start-up franchisors, or are they the more established franchisors?

David: The majority of the businesses that I speak with are the more established franchisors. Many of them operate several different brands as well.

Kit: When you talk to them about their manuals, what are their major concerns?

David: You may be surprised to hear that most of them have the same concerns. The difficulties of keeping the manual updated ranks pretty high on the list, if not at the top.

Kit: Why are manual updates so difficult for the companies you speak with?

David: The reality is that most companies don’t have a system in place for accomplishing manual updates. In addition, these companies simply don’t have the human resources to devote to a manual update project. Most employees are already overloaded with a full workload. When the manual update project is added, there just isn’t enough time in the day.

Kit: What is the typical approach by a franchisor for updating their Operations Manual?

David: Typically, a company will pull personnel from other areas of the company in order to complete the project. The problem with this approach is that whenever you delegate the manual update project to different departments, you have multiple authors and it becomes a patchwork set of documents instead of a cohesive Operations Manual.

Kit: What have you heard about our newest product, The Online Manual by FranMan www.franman.net/onlinemanual.html

David: People tell me that the Online manual by FranMan is an incredible product. They love how user friendly the online manual is compared to the traditional paper manual. They also tell me that they love the real time updates feature that keeps their franchisees current on all the system standards. In addition, they say that the system eliminates the added expense of printing and distribution of manual updates.

Kit: David, if anybody reading this has any questions for you, how can they contact you?

David: They can call me at 214-448-6291, or they can e-mail me at david.bullock@franman.net

The Danger of a Poorly Written or Outdated Manual

Does your Franchise Operations Manual updating procedure consist of merely changing the revision date at the bottom of the cover page? Do you have a file folder labeled “Manual Updates” that is filled to the brim with changes that you want to make when you have time to get around to it?

There are very few companies that I have encountered that have a systematic method of updating their manuals on a consistent basis. Based on the conversations I have had with franchisors, less than 10% actually keep up-to-date on revising their Franchise Operations Manuals. Why is this? The answers vary. Some people say that they don’t have enough time, others believe that the changes aren’t important enough to justify their time away from their primary responsibilities.

I am sure that if you “peel the onion” to reveal the real reason, you would learn that they don’t update their manuals because the updates don’t have a direct correlation to the bottom line of the company. If it doesn’t generate immediate profits, then it has to wait until things slow down a bit. The problem is that things rarely, if ever, slow down. The reality is that life in the office continues to gain speed until it reached terminal velocity. At that point, another employee is hired to help manage the chaos. Then, life in the office returns to its usual fast pace and the process starts over again.

So, there you are with a lean staff, everything running smoothly, except for the Franchise Operations Manual. However, since your manual doesn’t have a direct impact on the bottom line, it stays under the radar. But, here is what could also be happening under the radar.

1. Better, cheaper, more thorough methods or systems are put into place and not documented in the manual

2. Home office human resources are being wasted by calls from franchisees who are asking questions about new standards that were introduced but not updated in the manual.

3. Underperforming franchisees are not being held accountable to undocumented, outdated standards.

4. The potential for litigation grows larger and larger with every undocumented system standard.

5. Potential franchisees who are performing due diligence are “turned off” when they visit a site and see a tattered manual with old update pages hanging out of the pockets


All of these problems can be overcome with fully interactive, fully integrated, Online Manual by FranMan www.franman.net/onlinemanual.html

The Online Manual by FranMan is an HTML version of your Franchise Operations Manual. This means that your manual has the style and elegance of your corporate website, it’s not just a collection of PDF files.

The Online Manual by FranMan features instant, real time updates. This means that your manual is never updated and that your franchisees are always operating from the most current system standards.

The Online Manual by FranMan also features a tracking tool that allows you to know which franchisees have read the manual updates, and which franchisees need additional support.

Regardless of the reason, a poorly written or outdated operations manual is a liability to your company, but it doesn’t have to be that way.