Business View Magazine - Feb 2024

empathy. For many owners, selling a business is an emotional journey, as they’ve invested their lives and hard work into their venture. President and Chief Operations Officer Linda Hentges-Nyman explains further, saying, “We train our offices to have the business ethics that sellers are looking for… we make sure they know that the process is confidential and treat them with respect.” In addition to highly ethical conduct, First Choice attributes 3 key areas vital to the success of its franchisees: training, systems, and support. When new brokers are brought in, they are provided with comprehensive training to get them fully accustomed and prepared. Currently, onboarding involves live case studies and reviews, as well as 52 on-demand courses, each with an assessment that needs to be completed. First Choice leverages the use of a proprietary, back-office operational system called the Office Management Suite (OMS) to host its entire onboarding process digitally in a way that’s very similar to the advanced systems you’d find in an official university curriculum. There are also monthly training webinars as well as an annual National Conference that brings in guest speakers to discuss the latest marketing and valuation strategies being executed at the national level. Overall, this approach ensures that each broker is equipped to navigate the intricate landscape of business brokerage and has resulted in an admirable franchisee performance baseline. Our average broker is doing somewhere between 6– 12 deals after their first full year, with our superstars doing somewhere between 20–30 deals a year,” says Executive Vice President of Franchise Development Melissa Salyer. These numbers indicate one thing: that business brokerage is an industry absolutely filled with profitable opportunities. And with such a favorable playing field, maintaining brand uniformity is paramount. “We are really involved with our franchisees to make sure that their branding is First Choice, that they are operational, and that they’re using the same methods of operation we use,” says Chief Executive Officer 122 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 02