Lisa and Joseph Jefferys had sold 12 franchises, all in Ohio, when SBN spoke with them last August. Since then, they have sold 14 more east of the Mississippi and four international franchises in the Middle East.
Their company, Maids to Order, sells commercial and residential cleaning services plus add-on franchises for floor cleaning.
“We sell very slow-we don’t want to ‘production’ sell,” says Joseph, vice president. “When we sell a franchise, Lisa and I do personal training for the new owner. We are the founders, and we want to keep that personal touch we’ve always had.”
New franchise owners are required to attend classes at the company’s Canal Fulton training facility. When they return home, the Jefferyses go w ith them to help host grand opening ceremonies. Joseph says the reception they received during a trip to the United Arab Emirates to open franchises in Dubai, Shriah, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah was more than they expected.
“We felt like the president and first lady,” he says. “About 400 people attended the grand opening dinner, including members of the royal family, embassy officials and top business executives.”
The international franchise sales came from the company’s Web site.
“We were contacted via the Web site. We negotiated terms on the Internet, money was wired to us, and we never spoke a word,” Joseph says.
Each franchise is guaranteed to be successful and comes with an offer to buy it back after a year.
“No one ever wants to sell them back,” he says.
