How to Organise a Site Visit for a Prospective Franchisee

Before selling a franchise in your business, it is worth showing a prospective partner not just a presentation, but a normal working shift. A visit helps them understand exactly what they will need to replicate: the owner’s responsibilities, the team’s workload and the required service standards. For the franchising community, this is a way to build relationships on realistic expectations. Without a clear plan, however, the meeting can easily become either a sales tour or uncontrolled access to internal information.

1. Decide what the candidate needs to understand

An introductory visit is neither training nor a transfer of know-how. Its purpose is to give the candidate a sense of the day-to-day business and check that both parties have the same understanding of the franchisee’s future role.

Send the candidate a brief itinerary before the meeting. Specify the duration, which areas they may visit, the rules on photography and filming, and the topics for discussion. Ask them to submit questions in advance: this will help you involve the right employees and prepare information without rushing.

Plan the visit around three outcomes:

• the candidate understands which tasks fall to the owner and which to the manager;
• they see the main stages of customer service and how employees work together;
• they can identify the resources needed to replicate these operations.

Do not aim to persuade the visitor to buy a franchise at any cost. If the visit helps them realise that they are not prepared to manage a team personally or follow mandatory procedures, it has already benefited both parties.

Confirm in advance who will attend. Having the prospective operating partner present is often more useful than arranging another tour after the agreement has been signed. Access rules should apply to every guest, not just the main candidate.

2. Choose a normal shift, not a showcase

For a first visit, choose an operating company-owned outlet where work can be observed safely. Select it because it matches the format you are offering, not simply because it has an attractive interior or high turnover.

If you show a flagship outlet, explain clearly what makes it different: an exceptional location, an experienced team, additional equipment or the founder’s constant presence. Otherwise, the candidate may mistake the advantages of that particular site for features of the model as a whole.

Do not add extra staff to the shift just for the visitor or hide everyday difficulties. It is more useful to show how employees handle a queue, clarify an order or correct a mistake. However, do not deliberately create disruptions or discuss identifiable customers’ complaints in front of the visitor.

Appoint a host who is not also responsible for a critical part of the operation. The shift manager can join the conversation during a quiet moment, but should not have to choose between the visitor and customer service.

Build the route around the customer journey: arrival, ordering, fulfilment, collection and feedback. Then discuss the work that customers do not see, such as preparing for the shift, allocating tasks and monitoring stock levels. This sequence shows how the team’s actions shape the customer experience.

3. Set boundaries on access to information

Before the visit, divide materials into three categories: those you can show freely, those available only after a confidentiality agreement has been signed, and those that will not be shared at this introductory stage. For example, you can explain the overall workflow without handing over recipes, software settings or your complete supplier database.

Use a test environment or anonymised exports to demonstrate your business management system. Do not give the candidate a live login or open customer records containing telephone numbers, addresses and contact histories. Under Russia’s Federal Law No. 152-FZ ‘On Personal Data’, showing personal data to an outside visitor requires a separate lawful basis. An interest in buying a franchise does not, by itself, provide one.

A confidentiality agreement should define the information covered, the permitted purpose of its use and restrictions on disclosure to third parties. But it is no substitute for protective measures. If the company intends to rely on trade secret protection under Russia’s Federal Law No. 98-FZ, a signed agreement alone is not enough: the organisational measures prescribed by law must also be in place.

Agree separately on photography and filming. A practical rule is to allow images only of approved subjects, with no screens, documents or identifiable customers in view. Explain the visit format to employees beforehand and make clear that they can refer sensitive questions to the host.

4. Put performance figures in context

After the tour, hold a separate discussion somewhere that will not disrupt the outlet’s work. When discussing results, specify the period covered, the outlet format and the data source. Turnover on a particularly successful day does not represent a typical month, and a queue does not prove profitability.

Prepare a small set of anonymised materials: workload patterns by time of day, shift staffing and an example of equipment maintenance costs. Explain which figures depend on location, seasonality and the owner’s involvement. Do not turn the meeting into a promise that the candidate will necessarily achieve similar results.

In Russia, franchise relationships are specifically regulated by Chapter 54 of the Civil Code, which covers commercial concessions; the intellectual property provisions in Part Four of the Civil Code also apply. The visit itself grants no right to use the brand or its know-how. Under Article 1028 of the Civil Code, the grant of rights to use a package of exclusive rights under a commercial concession agreement is subject to state registration.

Russian legislation does not prescribe a specific mandatory form of pre-contractual disclosure for franchises. However, Article 434.1 of the Civil Code requires parties to negotiate in good faith. Verbal explanations must therefore be consistent with the documents, and significant limitations must not be concealed by a carefully selected demonstration.

5. Record the conclusions without putting pressure on the candidate

After the meeting, send a short summary of what you showed, which site-specific features you discussed and which questions remain unanswered. Assign responsibility for follow-up answers, particularly where an employee could not explain a figure during the visit.

Ask the candidate to describe the role they expect to take and identify the processes they would find most challenging. This is a check of their understanding, not a test of loyalty. It is better to uncover mismatched expectations now than after they have invested in opening an outlet.

Practical takeaway: prepare a repeatable visit plan, a set of materials that are safe to demonstrate, and a meeting summary template. A well-run visit to an operating outlet helps a candidate see the real work involved and make an informed decision — without staged perfection or premature disclosure of business secrets.