How to promote your franchise in Guatemala without overpromising

Turning a Guatemalan business into a franchise also means controlling how the opportunity is sold. An advert, a presentation or a voice message can create expectations that the contract does not cover. Before seeking investors, establish what your sales team may claim, what evidence they need and who can authorise exceptions. This helps protect trust within the franchise community.

1. Establish the legal framework for your messages

Guatemala has no specific, comprehensive franchise law or mandatory pre-contractual disclosure regime equivalent to those in some other countries. A franchise agreement is treated as an atypical commercial contract: it is governed by the Commercial Code, with the Civil Code applying where needed to fill gaps, alongside other relevant legislation.

This does not mean that any sales promise is acceptable. Article 669 of the Commercial Code sets out the principles of truthfulness and good faith for interpreting and performing commercial obligations. Your sales offer and final agreement should therefore describe the same opportunity, without implied guarantees that you later seek to deny.

The Industrial Property Law, Decree 57-2000, is also relevant because the offer includes the use of a trade mark. The Consumer and User Protection Law governs advertising and consumer relationships where applicable; you should not automatically assume that every prospective franchisee qualifies as a consumer.

Legal review should cover sales materials, not just the contract. Do not treat disclosure periods, franchise registration rules or other foreign requirements as though they were Guatemalan obligations.

2. Replace broad promises with verifiable claims

Gather your adverts, presentations, emails and standard replies. Classify each claim as a verifiable fact, an estimate or a future commitment. If you cannot classify and substantiate it, reword it before publication.

Useful alternatives include:

• “A business guaranteed to succeed”: explain the business’s operational track record and the risks its operator will need to assume.
• “Ongoing support”: specify the support channels, hours and activities that are actually available.
• “An all-inclusive investment”: identify what is included and which costs are budgeted separately.
• “A format ready for any location”: clarify which conditions must be assessed before an opening is authorised.

Create an internal record for each claim: approved wording, supporting documentation, the person responsible and a review date. This is not a legally required register, but a tool for managing sales communications.

Photographs also convey messages. If you show a company-owned outlet, identify it as such. Do not present architectural renderings as operating outlets or imply a geographical presence that does not yet exist.

3. Present figures without turning them into guarantees

Results from your existing business can help explain the model, but they do not establish how much someone else will earn. Rent, demand, wages, management and the time needed to build a customer base will vary.

If you choose to share financial information, distinguish between three categories:

• Historical results: figures for identified outlets and periods, supported by records.
• Estimated budgets: anticipated costs, subject to quotations and specific conditions.
• Projections: possible results based on explicit assumptions; these are neither facts nor guarantees.

Avoid presenting sales as though they were profits. State which expenses have been deducted and which have not, including the operator’s remuneration, tax liabilities and franchise-related payments where applicable.

Rather than claiming that the investment will inevitably pay for itself, allow prospective franchisees to assess scenarios with different sales and expense levels. Explain how cash requirements change if the opening is delayed or initial demand is lower than expected. A generic disclaimer at the bottom does not correct a categorical promise in the headline.

4. Manage conversations, intermediaries and document versions

Give your sales team a set of approved responses. Include difficult questions about profitability, opening dates, territory availability and the scope of support. Where there is no confirmed answer, the instruction should be to check, not improvise.

If you work with intermediaries, agree in writing who approves their adverts and which commitments they may not make. Avoid incentives that reward signed agreements alone without reviewing the quality of the information provided.

Keep only one current version of each presentation in circulation and withdraw earlier versions. Before signing, compare the promises made to the prospective franchisee with the contractual obligations. Any differences should be clarified explicitly, not hidden behind a general clause.

Practical action: review your main advert, presentation and sales responses today. Remove every unsupported guarantee and assign someone to approve each message before it is shared.