Over many years of speaking to prospective franchisees I have often heard the franchisee say “we are also looking at XYZ Ltd (the names have been changed to protect me!) they have applied for bfa membership.†My response to this has always been that they may be a franchisor that meets the British Franchise Association’s (bfa) membership criteria, but until they have been accredited they may not be! This is the equivalent of taking a transatlantic flight with someone who is in the process of taking their pilot’s test, wouldn’t you rather be flown by a qualified pilot?
It may be worth starting with what bfa membership actually means and what role the organisation fulfils. bfa members are checked against a set of criteria which include the viability of the model, the background of the directors, whether the contract meets the bfa and by default EFF code of ethics and the marketing material used by the franchisor (disclosure).