Earlier this fall, our community lost a giant. Jerry Darnell, the “Mayor of Franchising,” spent decades making franchising what it is today. He was a mentor to countless franchisees, suppliers, and franchise development professionals. By Jack Monson

Earlier this fall, our community lost a giant. Jerry Darnell, the “Mayor of Franchising,” spent decades making franchising what it is today. He was a mentor to countless franchisees, suppliers, and franchise development professionals. In October at the Franchise Leadership & Development Conference in Atlanta, Jerry’s close friends, Stan Friedman of FRM Solutions and Pete Baldine of The Moran Family of Brands, organized a gathering of his franchise family for a toast and to share a few stories.

Many of us shared the first thing Jerry had ever said to us: “What can I do for you?” or “How can I help you?”

When I first got involved in franchising, this was a rare question. Franchise brands were constantly in a selling frenzy. Many franchisees were more focused only on how quickly they could make more revenue rather than on how to serve customers. Lots of industry suppliers were churning and burning customers. “What can I do for you?” was not something you heard from many people, except for Jerry Darnell. Perhaps he was just ahead of his time.

Adding Value Versus Chasing Success

Adding value is not a new idea. Albert Einstein wrote over a century ago: “Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.” Perhaps we forgot that for 100 years or so, but I optimistically think most professionals are getting back to offering value to others here in the franchise space. Recent keynote speakers at the annual IFA Convention, including Simon Sinek and Seth Godin, both discussed adding value and serving others.

When franchisors provide value to their franchisees, success will follow. When a franchisee offers value to customers, success will follow.

Make Your Marketing Value-Based

Your marketing budget should follow this direction. The advertisers who attract the most customers are not those with ad campaigns that sell-sell-sell. Generating leads that will convert quickly is important, but it’s not where we should start.

The brands and small businesses who win are those who spend their marketing dollars sharing valuable information and helpful content. Instead of collecting leads for a fast sale, these brands are building relationships with their communities that will lead to long term business.

Moving forward, I ask you to consider two actions:

First, consider what you can offer that other people will consider valuable. Perhaps it’s information, insights, and advice in an area where you’re an expert. Share it freely in the form of videos, podcasts, whitepapers, webinars, or in-person conversations.

And secondly, reach out to customers, colleagues, and anyone in your community and ask, “What can I do for you?”

– Jack Monson

Jack Monson is the host of the Social Geek Radio Network, home of the Number One podcasts in franchising including The Franchise News Podcast and The Facebook Franchise Podcast. Monson is also the chief revenue officer at Social Joey and has been working with franchisees and small businesses in social media marketing for 13 years. For more information, visit socialgeekradio.com, or email jack@socialgeekradio.com.