A day in the life of a Schooley Mitchell Franchisee is absolutely up to the individual, and there are many options in terms of how to operate the business. It is certainly a relationship-building business – our franchisees spend much of their time engaging with prospective clients, networking in their business community, presenting our professional reports, and establishing relationships with professionals and associations that will lead to business opportunities.

Imagine any accounting firm, law firm, bank, financial planner, or many of the other professional businesses in your community. We take similar steps to grow our professional business and service our clients. Think of how many successful accounting practices there are in your area, and that will give you an idea of how many businesses receive help from professional business consultants. Much like these accounting firms, who profit and flourish for their partners, Schooley Mitchell too offers professional business-to-business consulting services that provide our Franchisees with the opportunity for financial success.

As you can imagine, it can be very valuable to get out and meet with the business-to-business professionals in your community, whether that’s over lunch or just coffee. We strongly suggest these meetings as a key aspect in building relationships and starting your business.

We suggest meeting 100 professional people for coffee each year (two per week) and going out to lunch with 12 others (at least once monthly). Can you imagine not getting several clients referred to you by establishing this many meaningful professional connections? Can you imagine not building enjoyable, professional and profitable relationships through this process?

What we’re trying to convey here is the importance of building relationships with other professional people in your community – accountants, lawyers, bankers, insurance brokers, financial planners, investment brokers, real estate people, credit union manager and other consultants, for example. They all have business clients. They can all refer business to you. We believe building relationships with other business professionals in our communities is enjoyable and should be a vital aspect of a Franchisee’s regular activities. Of course, the best part is that, unlike lawyers, accountants or real estate professionals, each and every business needs our service regardless of the state of the economy, and no meaningful competition exists in the cost reduction consulting world.

Of course, there are many other avenues to build and execute a Schooley Mitchell Franchise as well. We have very robust Customer Relationship Management programs, mailing and email campaigns, training tools and strategies to ensure our Franchisees are successful. Some of our Franchisees spend a few hours a week cold calling. Others don’t do it at all. Some people use telemarketing services – either in-house through head office or through outsourcing – to set appointments and meet with prospective clients. Many Franchisees meet with salespeople from other industries to set up paid referral relationships in order to set up a client flow from that source. Many join Chambers of Commerce, BNIs and similar networking groups in their areas.

In fact, every single Franchisee should be talking to each of their clients about referrals to their customers and vendors and other area businesses. Once you have a few clients, using this referral strategy can be the way you build your business and create success.

We think one of the greatest things about being a Schooley Mitchell Franchisee is that you can build a successful business by doing the things you enjoy and that you’re good at.

Along with the wide range of activities and relationship-building techniques we provide our Franchisees, you decide how successful you want to be.

Some Franchisees take a vertical approach – focusing on one of two industries and becoming experts in those industries. Others take a more “wide-net” approach and deal with clients across various industries. Some Franchisees rely on a handful of meaningful referral sources and acquire much of their business from those referral sources – others focus more on networking, and others on prospecting over the phone, on LinkedIn and through various other platforms. The point we are trying to make is that this isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” type of franchise – there is autonomy for each franchisee to use our overarching system and best practices, and yet focus on the activities that you enjoy and find fits your background and skillset.

It all comes down to what we’ve mentioned to you before – those that work at the business in a planned fashion and follow our best practices will grow a successful and vibrant professional consulting business.

The only limit is any limit placed on yourself, your motivation and your capabilities.

One thing that is also worth mentioning is that none of these activities require somebody to be an extrovert, or to have a sales background. Our most successful franchisees listen to their prospects and clients, and use stories to indicate how our services can help their clients. If a franchisees understands the importance of building trust and listening to the needs and wants of prospects and clients, this business will be a good fit.

We hope this helps you determine if Schooley Mitchell is the right option for you.