Having a franchise consultant help you sort through all the different franchise opportunities offered can be an amazing asset. Consultants will talk with you and write down goals you’d like to achieve throughout the process. With a good consultant, most potential franchisees will save time and effort when researching all possibilities available to them.

Although having a franchise consultant can be advantageous to your ultimate goal, this is not always the case. Anyone can call themselves a consultant these days and many of these “consultants” have no experience or successes to back their business. The industry refers to these individuals as “drive-by” consultants, and they should be avoided at all costs.

So, how do find a consultant that is reputable, successful, and can be trusted?

Here is a short list of qualifications and characteristics that you should look for to help you find the right person.

• Full-time Focus: When researching consultants, always look for someone that has only one focus, franchising. Some consultants will be working in many different areas. Stay away from these consultants; find one that can give you their full attention and has a successful track record in the franchising industry. Although a consultant may be good, if his attention is in many different areas, he may not have the time you’d expect of him.

• Pre-screened: The most effective consultants will have a list of pre-screen franchisors that they’ve researched and/or worked with. This allows the consultants to know what each franchise opportunity offers and if the business could work for you. Look for a consultant or consultant group that pre-screens each franchise and has a variety of different industries and capital requirements.

• Franchise Experience: The best franchise consultants are those that know the most about franchise ownership and entrepreneurship. The more they know, the easier it is to relate to your experience in finding an opportunity. One of the best ways to gain experience in franchising is if the consultant was a franchisee or has worked on the executive team of a franchise. People in sales are taught to talk the talk but you should be concerned with finding a consultant that can walk the walk.

• Proven and Reputable: One of the easiest ways to determine if a consultant would be a valuable asset to you is to look at their track record. Do they have the results? If the consultant pre-screens and works with good companies, he should have plenty of people that could attest to his track record. Also, a reputable consultant will talk with you for hours or days before they even start discussing opportunities they think may fit your scenario. If the consultant only spends a few minutes talking before they start mentioning opportunities, they may not be the right fit for you.

Like every other industry out there, franchise consultants should be ethical and have proven experience in their field. They should be able to show you a track record of satisfied customers; referrals are even better. But one of the best options would be to interview potential consultants. See if you make a connection with them, if they have a passion for the industry, and if they have a proven background in consultation.