Industry Trends, TES Insights
How to Successfully Produce and Facilitate a Virtual Discovery Day for a Franchise
How to Create a Successful Virtual Discovery Day Experience
This should not be a sales closing event. Virtual Discovery Day (or Meet the Team Day) is a reinforcement of the information the candidate has been gathering during your awards experience. It is also a time to “meet the team” and learn more about the people behind your proven system.
Before & During Virtual Discovery Day or Meet the Team Day
1. Make sure you have a building block discovery experience in place leading up to your Discovery Day. Each meeting should not exceed more than one hour.
a. System Overview
b. Technology Overview
c. Training and Support
d. Marketing/Business Development
e. Panel or Validation Calls
f. FDD and Review
g. Invitation to Virtual Discovery Day
2. Send the candidate a Pre-Discovery Day questionnaire.
Create a “Pre-Discovery Day Questionnaire”. Only include 5-6 questions so that the candidate can share what they are seeking to learn more about. Give them a deadline of at least 1 day prior to the event. This will help you and the candidate to be prepared and fully engaged.
3. Prepare the candidate for a successful event so that they know what to expect and also know what is expected of them. For example:
a. Let them know who will be on the call (other candidates & the presenters)
b. Remind them that they’ll be on camera/video
c. Test the technology prior to the session
d. Ask them to log on early in case there are technical issues
e. Have them dress professionally, the same as if they were joining the event in-person
f. Tell them to have water/coffee on hand
g. Let them know there will be breaks throughout the event.
h. Remind them that franchises are awarded not sold, so you as the Franchisor are also gathering info from the candidate.
i. If you give out promotional items, books, products, etc., overnight them to the candidate prior to the event.
4. Have the candidate prepare a 2-3 slide presentation about themselves.
Send the candidate pre-formatted slides so he/she can add pictures, list his/her hobbies, introduce his/her family, and give some brief history about himself/herself, etc. Leave 5-7 minutes for each candidate to introduce themselves to each other and the presenters.
5. Don’t go longer than 5 hours with a break in between.
Keep the event to one day. Remember that there is a shorter attention span in a virtual setting. Think about having food delivered to candidates’ houses so you can all eat virtually together.
6. Be prepared to have multiple presenters.
Take advantage of the virtual technology so that it’s not just one person conducting the event. You have the possibility to bring in more team members virtually than you could in person. Allow 30-40 minutes per presenter and make it as interactive as possible. If you have a brick & mortar location or want them to get a feel for the home office, feel free to take them on a tour. Don’t be afraid to leverage technology.
7. Make sure there are good intros and bios of all the team members, not just the ones who are presenting. This allows the candidates to get a good overview of your brand’s culture, team, and what the support system will look like.
8. Avoid long PowerPoint presentations.
Don’t take too much time on one topic and allow plenty of time throughout the event for candidates to ask questions. Keep it interactive and engaging and make sure you are pausing frequently to check understanding and provide clarity if needed.
9. Use the virtual platform to your advantage.
Use the chat function in your virtual platform of choice to create a controlled and organized method for candidates to ask questions/give feedback. You can create set times (for example, every 15 minutes) for Q & A and open discussion, then have everyone mute themselves during the presentation.
10. Prepare a post-DD questionnaire.
This will provide you with insight into how the candidate liked the event if they were able to gain the info they were looking for, and anything else you want to reinforce. Give them a due date. Let them know that once that post-DD document is received, it will be presented to an awards committee to determine the next steps and eligibility for a franchise award.
11. Candidates don’t care about “your process”
They care about the experience. They need to walk away with a great feeling about your differentiators, who you are, what you do, and why they want to be a part of your team. If working with a TES Client, leverage your TES coach to determine the client’s why, collect additional info from the coach about the client, and collaborate with a coach before/after the event so that we’re all communicating properly, especially during this time of uncertainty.
12. Keep the event high energy, engaging, professional, and conversational.
Stay away from topics that are fear-producing. Attention span is much shorter in a virtual setting. Be charming and entertaining and let your personality shine through.
13. This is about meeting the team and seeing the behind-the-scenes.
At this point, they should have learned everything they needed to about your brand. The Discovery Day/Meet the Team event is just a reinforcement of info they’ve already gathered. This event is a way for you to really connect with the candidate and get them excited about becoming a part of your team.