A question that often comes up: “Can I sell my franchise without the franchisor’s approval?”
The short answer is no. Every franchisor must approve a buyer before you can close a deal. However, that doesn’t mean that listing with corporate is your only means to find buyers.
A franchisor will tell you that all the buyers in their database are approved by corporate. True, however, it doesn’t account for the thousands of buyers who will very likely qualify to submit an offer. All franchisors make expansion their priority, so, given a choice between selling a new unit and reselling an existing store, they will prioritize the new store every time. That makes it more challenging for sellers to find the right buyers and close on their timeline.
Here’s how our system works for you:
We have a national database of thousands of motivated buyers looking for a business just like yours. Franchise sales teams often work within a single region, so they may have strong contacts in New England but not in Texas. They may not think to seek out or share leads from different parts of the country. We have over 23,000 prospective buyers in our database, which means we’re able to generate a lot of interest, and the right interest, because we know just what the prospects are looking for.
We understand your business and who will make a great buyer. We do have some buyers who have been approved by corporate; mostly because they went through the approval process but got beaten out by a competing offer. We stay in contact with them so we can let them know when the next opportunity comes up. We also share your goal: a great offer that can close quickly. We’re not going to waste your time with people who don’t have the financial means or the motivation to get a deal done.
Our process will give you the opportunity to evaluate several offers and choose the one that’s right for you. If you have a profitable unit, you’re almost certain to get several full-price offers for your business. In 2025, we averaged four offers for every listing, and we’re on track for the same numbers in 2026. When a seller has four qualified buyers competing for their business, they can be assured they’re getting the best terms and the highest possible offer in the current market. They can trust they’re dealing with buyers who want a quick, clean closing because they know the seller has plenty of options.
We keep communication flowing so the deal progresses. We understand that sellers are busy running their business, which makes it hard to respond to every inquiry and request for information. Most owners have never sold a business before, unlike our team, which has sold hundreds of businesses worth over $127 million across the U.S. We understand how to keep a deal moving and how time and inertia can kill deals. We’ll ensure the offer is legitimate and the buyer stays engaged. If we run into issues or conflicts, we always have at least one other offer we can pivot to.
Our experience in selling franchises – it’s all we do – makes the diligence, negotiations, and closing quicker and more stress-free for both parties. Selling your business is a complex process, and chances are you’re doing it for the first and only time in your life. We do it every day. If we can help you find the right buyer (and backup buyers) for your franchise, let’s start with a free and confidential opinion of value.
