Now That You’re Out There, What Happens?

You’ve successfully graduated from Amada University and have returned home to start your business. You have the fundamentals to recruit, hire, and schedule a caregiver. You can build a relationship with a referral source. You know the steps to meet with a family and bring them on to service, and how to marry together caregiver and client to enable bill paying and payroll. But though you’re armed and ready to seize the day, so to speak, we don’t just throw you out there the way other franchises typically do.

What makes Amada Senior Care different is that every Franchise Partner is assigned to a Franchise Business Consultant, also known as a Franchise Business Coach, or FBC. They are part of Amada’s corporate team. Our Franchise Partners are paired with our FBCs based on revenue, knowing that in the beginning, when getting their sea legs, needs are very different than they will be as the business moves along the path to maturity.

The roll of each FBC

Is to help facilitate growth to the next level, and the next, and the next. Each has an area of expertise, for example sales—always integral but which are even more crucial in the beginning—or caregiver recruiting, scheduling, other aspects of operations, etc. The FP and FBC talk for about 60-90 minutes every week or two weeks, depending upon need, addressing anything that has come up, what’s working, not working. These relationships build a strong, stable three-legged stool, first referenced in part 1, and are in place for the entire duration of time a Franchise Partner is in the Amada system. There is always one point of contact the owner can call for anything and everything. That support is always there, and this is what distinguishes us from other franchises.

ROI

As an added advantage, when you leave Amada U., we give you some time to get your bearings, test the waters, really decide where you need help and where you don’t. At that time an FBC will plan an in-person visit to spend a few days with you in your market, usually 60 to 90 days after you open. Our agenda for this visit is a careful exploration of how you are managing sales, caregiving, and operations.

For the record, this is not an audit. We like to call it “A Refresher with Your Professor”— a brush-up on your skills and how you are applying what you’ve learned. Converting theory (what you learned at Amada U.) to strategy can be nuanced and challenging. Things you didn’t anticipate come up, such as one Franchise Partner operating in a very conservative, family-oriented area finding that prospective families in his market are adamant about family and church—not caregivers—caring for seniors. This entails a different type of breakthrough selling, and our FBCs are experts in what they do to meet all challenges. We go on sales calls, sit in on caregiver interviews, family meetings, client onboarding, and more. It’s a jam-packed three days where we all come out on top.

In my first calls with a prospective Franchise Partner, I talk about return on investment, ROI. People make a huge commitment, and I want them to understand from ground zero exactly what they can expect to get back from Amada Senior Care. I’m not just talking about the financial commitment, but an additional investment of time, effort, energy, blood sweat, tears. And while the goal is to eventually get to the freedom point where you can spend more time with family (as opposed to working for someone else who is calling the shots in that respect), it may take time to get to that point. Knowing Amada is supporting them all the way is a big ROI. So what will you get from us to help you build your business? I’d say just about everything. It’s hard work, but probably the most rewarding work you will ever do.

By Matt Smith
Vice President of Training and Support

Part 1 » Click Here! | Part 2 » Click Here!