Similar to a recruiter or a realtor, except with a focus on franchising, a franchise consultant works with those that are looking to purchase a franchise.

Franchise consultants are paid on a commission basis by the franchisor when a client they refer buys that franchise. Commissions commonly range from $15,000 to $30,000 per deal, although can sometimes exceed this amount. The current industry average commission is about $25,000.

A client introduced by a consultant was 5 times as likely to purchase the franchise as any other marketing method. In addition, consultants save franchisors thousands of dollars and countless hours by handling much of the marketing and weeding out the tire kickers and non-qualified prospects.

Like most industries, there are certainly people that take a shot at being a franchise consultant and decide it is not the right business for them. An estimated 50% of new consultants decide this is not the business for them within the first year.

Currently an estimated 700 franchisors rely on consultants to assist with their growth. This number will vary from group to group as not all groups work with just any brand and not all brands work with every group.

A common misconception is the more brands you represent the more money you make. Most top producing franchise consultants make 80% of their money with just 10–15 brands. In truth the broker group is the one that benefits most from having the most brands, not the consultants.

This depends. While there are consulting groups that do not charge an upfront fee, they tend to be very selective in who they bring into their group.

While members of both pretty much do the same thing and share the same business model, there are some key differences between a franchise broker network and a franchise consulting company.

While there are true 'consultants' hired by franchisors to consult on various aspects of franchising, in this sense a consultant and a broker are one in the same. Other names commonly used are coaches and advisors.

It varies widely. Some consultants earn in excess of $500,000 per year while others only do 1 or 2 placements a year earning $25,000 – $50,000 per year. Much depends on how aggressively a consultant markets and how much they choose to work on their business.

A good franchise consultant can save their client time and frustration by handling much of the initial research legwork on their behalf, and help educate their clients about the franchise discovery process and introduce franchises they may not have previously considered.

Leads are generated through a combination of advertising certain franchises, similar to a Realtor advertising a home for sale, as well as advertising their services both online and through local networking. Some groups sell leads to their brokers while others teach consultants to market.