In Development

Real-World Best Practices
from the Field

Practical guidance on franchise transfers drawn from years of managing complex deals across brands, markets, and buyer profiles. Written by practitioners, not consultants.

Contributing Authors

Who Is Writing This

The Best Practices section is being developed by two members of our team with deep, hands-on transfer experience. Their content will reflect real situations they have navigated, not theoretical frameworks.

Eric Edwards
Eric J. Edwards, CFE
Franchise Development Consultant
25+ years in franchise development and sales

Eric brings a front-line perspective on buyer qualification, prospect communication, and getting deals through the franchisor approval process. Having personally closed hundreds of franchise agreements across QSR, fast casual, and frozen dessert categories, his guidance is built on what actually moves deals forward.

Topics Eric will cover
How to pre-qualify a buyer before the first call with a franchisor
What kills deals in Discovery Day and how to prevent it
Managing the NDA process and protecting seller confidentiality
How to handle buyers who stall after signing the APA
Working with franchise brokers: when it helps, when it hurts
Chris Brown
Chris Brown
Franchise Development
Extensive field operations and development experience

Chris brings operational depth to the Best Practices content, focusing on the back half of the transfer process where deals most often get delayed or fall apart. His expertise in seller preparation, lease negotiation, and closing logistics is drawn from managing transfers across multiple brands and markets.

Topics Chris will cover
How to coach a seller through pricing their business correctly
Common landlord roadblocks and how to get through them
Assembling a franchisor-ready transfer file the first time
Coordinating training when seller and franchisor requirements conflict
What escrow gets wrong in franchise transfers and how to fix it

Coming Topics

A Preview of What's Coming

These are the areas we know matter most in franchise transfers. Each topic will be covered in a practical, experience-based format grounded in real situations our team has managed.

01
The First Seller Call

What to cover, what to avoid, and how to set realistic expectations on valuation, timeline, and the seller's role in marketing their own business.

EE
Eric Edwards
02
Valuation That Survives Due Diligence

How to help sellers price their business based on cash flow multiples and bank lending realities, not wishful thinking.

CB
Chris Brown
03
Qualifying Buyers Seriously

A practical framework for vetting buyer financial capacity, motivation, and fit before passing them to a franchisor, every time.

EE
Eric Edwards
04
Preparing the Franchisor File

What goes in, what gets rejected, and how to assemble a complete buyer approval package the first time without back-and-forth delays.

CB
Chris Brown
05
Navigating Discovery Day

How to prepare buyers for the franchisor meeting, what franchisors are actually evaluating, and the most common ways candidates undermine their own approval.

EE
Eric Edwards
06
Closing Without Drama

Coordinating escrow, landlord approvals, training, and wire transfers so the closing date is a formality, not a crisis.

CB
Chris Brown

Have a Transfer
to Discuss Now?

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