Prospective Franchisee Visits When Franchising a Business in Spain

Before welcoming someone into your franchise network, it makes sense for them to see how the business works when there are customers to serve, tasks outstanding and decisions to make. A well-organised visit helps them understand the day-to-day work; one designed purely to impress can create unrealistic expectations. If you are planning to franchise your business in Spain, design these visits as an opportunity for due diligence, not a rushed attempt to close a sale.

1. Choose an outlet that offers useful insights

The most impressive-looking premises are not always the most useful. What matters to a prospective franchisee is seeing an operation similar to the one they would manage: the size of the team, the allocation of tasks, the pace of work and the manager’s involvement.

If you have only one company-owned outlet, make that clear. Do not present it as a franchised outlet or suggest that it alone demonstrates how an independent business owner would operate. If you choose a particularly well-established outlet, explain which circumstances may not apply to a new opening.

Prepare a short fact sheet covering:

• Whether the outlet is company-owned or franchised.
• How long it has been operating and the relevant features of its location.
• The duties the manager performs on a typical working day.
• The support it receives from head office.
• Any known differences from the format being offered to the prospective franchisee.

The aim is not to find a perfect showcase, but an operation you can explain honestly. Avoid artificially increasing staffing levels or moving awkward tasks outside visiting hours to create a better impression.

2. Plan the visit around real work

Agreeing an agenda prevents the visit from becoming little more than a tour of the premises and a discussion about sales. Structure it around specific processes: preparing the outlet for trading, serving customers, replenishing stock, coordinating the team and completing end-of-day administration.

These activities will not all take place during the same time slot. You can combine direct observation with explanations afterwards, always distinguishing between what the prospective franchisee has seen and what they have been told. If they visit during a quiet period, explain what changes when customer numbers rise.

Allow time for practical questions:

• Which tasks require the franchisee to be present?
• Which issues does the outlet resolve itself, and which are referred to head office?
• How is work organised when a team member is absent?
• Which part of the working day tends to be the most demanding?

At a franchised outlet, agree the franchisee’s availability in advance and respect the demands of their business. Do not force the host into acting as a spokesperson or give them sales answers to memorise. Their experience can provide context, but it must be presented as one person’s experience, not as the outcome every prospective franchisee can expect.

3. Protect operations and sensitive information

A visit does not require you to open every screen, hand over the full manual or show customer files. Beforehand, identify what visitors can observe, what needs an explanation tailored to avoid disclosing sensitive information, and what should remain outside the scope of the visit.

Use anonymised examples when showing orders, staff rotas or operational issues. Make sure names, telephone numbers, customer histories and login credentials are not visible on documents or devices. The General Data Protection Regulation and Spain’s Organic Law 3/2018 still apply: the commercial purpose of the visit does not, in itself, authorise the disclosure of personal data.

Also set rules on photography, recording and access to staff-only areas. If you need to share confidential information, consider a proportionate confidentiality agreement. This does not replace protective measures and should not be used to prevent the prospective franchisee from consulting their advisers.

The visit should be an opportunity to observe, not a disguised working day. Avoid asking prospective franchisees to serve customers, operate equipment or stand in for employees as a supposed test of their commitment.

4. Keep the visit separate from the contractual decision

In Spain, Article 62 of Law 7/1996 on Retail Trade and Royal Decree 201/2010 regulate key aspects of franchising. The latter requires written, truthful and non-misleading pre-contractual information to be provided at least twenty working days before a contract or preliminary agreement is signed, or before the prospective franchisee makes any payment to the franchisor.

Visiting an outlet neither replaces that disclosure nor shortens the waiting period. Nor does a conversation with the manager turn that outlet’s figures into a valid forecast for another location. If individual sales or earnings forecasts are provided, they must be based on sufficiently substantiated experience or studies, as required by the royal decree.

After the visit, send a summary of the points discussed, the ways in which the outlet visited differs from the proposed format, and any outstanding questions. Correct any inaccurate statements in writing, and avoid using the visitor’s enthusiasm to press for an immediate reservation payment.

As a practical first step, prepare an outlet fact sheet, an agenda and a list for recording outstanding questions before welcoming your first prospective franchisee. A good visit ends with a more realistic understanding of the business, not necessarily a signature.