Discovery Process
We have developed a comprehensive Discovery Process to facilitate your exploration of our franchise opportunity and our evaluation of your candidacy.
Throughout the process we will be providing you with lots of information and answering your questions. We will also learn as much as we can about you, your background, your business acumen, and goals. Below, we have outlined the specific steps in our discovery process:
PHASE ONE (Initial Interest)
Expression of interest received by Ben & Jerry's. If a store within your state is available, and the information you submitted meets some basic criteria, a representative from Ben & Jerry's will contact you and schedule an initial meeting or phone call. You will hear from us whether you are successful or unsuccessful at any point in the process...
PHASE TWO (Franchise Recruitment Meetings)
Our recruitment process includes a series of meetings. While each person's journey into Ben & Jerry's will vary slightly, the detail below provides a brief overview of each of the key stages:
Meeting 1 - a chance to ask all those questions you have and for both you and Ben & Jerry's to decide if this opportunity is suitable for you.
Between Meeting 1 and 2 - prepare your business plan and financial model. Complete the application form and pay our application fee (which is refundable if you do not proceed with a franchise). In addition we will schedule a visit to a Scoop Shop so you can have an in-depth conversation with an existing operator about the business and to observe a slice of the life of a franchisee. Following this visit, we will review your notes on the experience.
Meeting 2 - review your business plan and application form plus discuss your thoughts on the Scoop Shop visit. We will provide you a copy of our standard franchise agreement and disclosure document at this time.
Between Meeting 2 and 3 - take our franchise agreement to your lawyer for review. In addition, review your business plan and financial model with your accountant.
Meeting 3 - answer questions regarding the franchise agreement and review any changes to your business plan and financial model if appropriate. Review your prior representation statement. The aim of this meeting is to ensure all your queries have been answered and agree on a plan to move into the final stage of our recruitment process.
PHASE THREE - Final Approval
During the final approval meeting you will get a chance to confirm your impression of Ben & Jerry's and get some final questions answered. Part of the day will be face-to-face interviews with members of our management team. Final approval will be heavily based on these interviews.
If this final stage is successful we will ask you to sign an offer to franchise and pay your franchise fee. We will then arrange for your franchise agreement to be issued in its executable form. You must wait 14 days following receipt of your specific franchise agreement before signing it.
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