A single franchise signing is worth $250,000 or more in fees and royalties. Franchise fees typically run $30,000–$40,000, and royalties at 6–12% of a franchisee's gross revenue over their lifetime account for the rest. Most development teams focus on cost-per-lead, but the number that actually matters is the cost of a qualified lead that went cold before anyone followed up.
The economics look different depending on who you are. For franchise brands, you're capturing both the upfront franchise fee and a long-term royalty stream — that's where the $250,000+ figure comes from. For franchise consultants and FSOs, the commission is the franchise fee only, since they don't collect ongoing royalties. Either way, letting a qualified candidate go cold is a significant, unrecoverable loss. According to the FranFunnel Franchise Lead Response Time Study, Q1 2025 · 500+ brands · 14 franchise categories, 35% of franchise brands never responded to an inquiry at all.
The uncomfortable part isn't losing a bad lead — it's losing a qualified one to a competitor who simply responded faster. Franchise candidates are evaluating multiple brands simultaneously. Speed creates preference. A candidate who fills out your form at noon and hears from a competitor by 12:01 has already started forming a relationship that's hard to displace, no matter how strong your FDD looks.
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