What if a few simple mistakes cost you the chance of becoming a successful entrepreneur?
For entrepreneurs looking to jumpstart their success, leveraging an already successful business model through franchises can be a great way to get ahead – and insurance is one of the most profitable fields to explore! But how much profit you make and the quality of your experience mostly comes down to whether you can find the best insurance franchise to open.
Overall, the insurance industry offers a great opportunity for franchisees due to its large and growing market, competitive pricing, and the potential to generate additional revenue. From traditional life and health insurance to more specialized forms of coverage, such as pet policies, there are many ways to serve your local community while earning a profit.
With the right partner, entrepreneurs can find success in this lucrative and ever-evolving industry. But what factors do you need to consider? Who do you need to speak to, and what should you know about the local area? Keep reading to get answers to all of your burning questions!
Compare the Start-Up Costs
Chances are that you want to become part of one of the top insurance franchises. Doing your research is essential if you want to find the best fit for you.
Finding out what those start-up costs are like can help you answer other common questions for would-be investors, including “Are insurance franchises a good investment” and “How much does it cost to open an insurance franchise?”
The Small Business Association reveals that the average initial franchise fee for starting a business in any industry is typically more than $20,000. Still, you’ll find wide variations between companies. Invest some time in comparing start-up costs to find the best opportunity for your future business.
Aside from the cost, you’ll want to consider other factors like brand recognition, location, and reputation, to help you make the best choice and secure the right financing.
Choosing a Recognizable Brand
Perhaps the best part of opening a franchise rather than starting a business from scratch is that you can run a business with a recognizable name. However, when comparing companies, it’s worth considering just how recognizable each of the different brands is.
The right franchisor will help you with things like marketing — more on this later — but if you have a recognizable brand, you won’t have to market yourself as much. Long story short? When you have the chance to do so, it’s good to go with “name-brand” carriers rather than ones few in your area have heard about.
Picking the Right Location
One of the few things that business owners and homeowners have in common is understanding the importance of “location, location, location.” When you go to open an insurance franchise, it’s not always enough to have a recognizable name on the door. You also need to make sure the door, along with the rest of your business, is in an area that’s easy to drive to and, ideally, has plenty of organic foot traffic.
It may sound pretty simple, but opening a business in areas with plenty of parking and plenty of people walking to nearby stores can be the key to your profitability. Speaking of nearby stores, you should consider what kind of clients you’re hoping to attract and, if possible, open a franchise near stores that attract a similar clientele.
Getting Help With Marketing
A recognizable name and a killer location may minimize how much you have to promote your business, but marketing is still important for anyone who wants to start a successful business. With that in mind, you should find a franchisor who is willing to provide as much marketing support as you find necessary.
If you’re an experienced entrepreneur, or just very skilled at marketing, you may not need much help. But it’s still important to find a franchisor willing to help because when it comes to professional marketing assistance, it’s always better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Check Those Online Reviews
What do you do before you make a major online purchase? Chances are you check the reviews before pulling the trigger. And believe it or not, checking the online reviews for franchises you’re interested in can help you learn more about the experiences that both customers and franchisees have had with the company.
It all comes down to human nature: a lot of people base purchasing decisions on positive online reviews, and happy customers tend to leave happy reviews (which is one of the reasons a whopping two-thirds of Yelp reviews are positive). By finding franchises with the best reviews, you can find the best opportunity for you while also discovering which ones aren’t worth your time.
The Importance of “Word-of-Mouth”
While checking online reviews is a great way to see what people are saying about a franchise, we recommend that you also pay attention to what people are saying locally about the business. This is especially important because franchises are typically opened by local entrepreneurs, and if you are such a local yourself, then you have a chance to pay close attention to what others in town are saying about this company. And keep in mind that 92% of customers are likelier to believe what friends and family are saying about a business than what the business says about itself, making choosing an organization with a good reputation very important.
As a general rule, you want to choose a name that people trust (there’s that brand recognition again!) and one that is generally praised (happy customers will always share their passion with others). And by putting in a little extra work now to find the best possible company, you can ensure that such a business will be a major success.
Find the Best Insurance Franchise to Open Today!
Now you know more about finding the best insurance franchise to open. But what if the franchise you were looking for was just a click away?
Here at Freeway, we specialize in helping entrepreneurs like you realize your franchise dreams. And making those dreams into a reality is easier than you ever imagined. To see how we can help you get started, all you have to do is contact us today!
