---
title: "Key Questions to Ask the Franchisor Video"
description: "Watch this video to learn 8 key questions to ask a franchisor about ownership, support, training, financing, and what makes top franchisees successful."
url: "https://www.franchisegrade.com/learn/academy/franchise-risk/key-questions-ask-franchisor"
canonical: "https://www.franchisegrade.com/learn/academy/franchise-risk/key-questions-ask-franchisor"
markdown_url: "https://www.franchisegrade.com/learn/academy/franchise-risk/key-questions-ask-franchisor.md"
type: "Video"
topic: "Franchise Risk & Due Diligence"
duration: "2:39"
published: "2026-07-09"
watch_url: "https://www.franchisegrade.com/learn/academy/franchise-risk/key-questions-ask-franchisor"
video_url: "https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/IHy8bYRcQ24"
---

# Key Questions to Ask the Franchisor Video

Watch this video to learn 8 key questions to ask a franchisor about ownership, support, training, financing, and what makes top franchisees successful.

## Video details

- **Runtime:** 2:39
- **Presented by:** Franchise Grade Research Team
- **Video:** https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/IHy8bYRcQ24
- **Watch page:** https://www.franchisegrade.com/learn/academy/franchise-risk/key-questions-ask-franchisor

## Key takeaways

- The most useful questions have a documented answer you can check in the FDD.
- Ask about franchisees who left, not only about the ones who stayed.
- Separate what the franchisor is contractually obliged to do from what it says it does.
- Ask what the bottom quartile of units earns, not the average.
- Compare every answer against Item 19, Item 20 and your validation calls.

## Frequently asked questions

### What questions should I ask a franchisor before buying?

Ask what the total investment realistically runs in a market like yours, what every recurring fee is and when it changes, how many units closed or were terminated in the past three years and why, what the median unit earns rather than the average, and what support is contractually guaranteed in Item 11 rather than merely described.

### What should I ask about franchisee support?

Ask exactly what Item 11 obliges the franchisor to provide, how many field support staff serve how many units, how often you would see one, and what happens operationally when a unit underperforms. Then ask current franchisees whether that matches their experience. The gap between the two answers is the useful finding.

### How do I ask about earnings without getting a vague answer?

Anchor the question to Item 19. Ask which units it covers, whether the figure is revenue or profit, how many units fall below the stated average, and what it excludes. If there is no Item 19, no one in the system may legally make an earnings claim, and a verbal figure offered anyway is a compliance problem.

### What answers should concern me?

Reluctance to explain closures in Item 20, an earnings figure quoted outside Item 19, pressure to sign inside the 14-day disclosure period, and support described in a presentation that does not appear in Item 11. Any one may have context; the same evasiveness across several topics rarely does.

---

*Source: [FranchiseGrade](https://www.franchisegrade.com) — independent, FDD-derived franchise research.*
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