A crucial step in the process of purchasing a franchise is the meeting between the prospective franchisee and the franchisor at the franchisor's corporate headquarters. During the course of my franchise career, I've had the opportunity to observe hundreds of franchise candidates at these meetings. It's an important time for both the franchisor and prospective franchisee.

Whether it is called a "discovery day" or some other name that the franchisor uses, most franchisors require prospective franchisees to visit their corporate headquarters as a prerequisite to purchasing a franchise.

Some franchisors try to schedule the corporate visit at an early stage in the franchising process. However, prospective franchisees should be sure to exercise patience. Purchasing a franchise is a major decision and a long-term commitment, and it's the last situation where you would want a rush to judgment to occur.

The meeting should take place after you've spoken to existing and former franchisees in the system, reviewed the UFOC (Uniform Franchise Offering Circular), completed other aspects of the due diligence process and gained a good understanding of the particular franchise program being considered.

A word of advice: Some franchisors will not provide a copy of the UFOC to a prospective franchisee until the candidate visits the franchisor's headquarters. I believe that once a franchisee completes and submits an application to the franchisor and is approved subject to the corporate visit, the franchisor should be willing to forward the candidate a copy of the UFOC.

During the meeting, the franchisor's staff will have the opportunity to meet the candidate, review his or her qualifications and make an informed decision regarding the franchise candidate becoming a franchisee.

Each party should have a clearly defined set of goals and objectives they would like to achieve as a result of this meeting. For the franchisor, those objectives are likely to include:

The prospective franchisee should have his or her own set of objectives, and, naturally, they differ in some ways from those of the franchisor. The franchisee's objectives are likely to include:

Typically, the franchisor will have a set agenda or format that is used for discovery day visits. Be sure to request a copy of the agenda before your meeting. It should include a list of those individuals with whom you will be dealing on a regular basis as a franchisee. From a functional standpoint, you want to meet those people:

Remember, this visit is very important to you, since it usually comes near the end of the franchise search process. It may be the last chance you'll have to obtain answers to important questions before you decide to sign the franchise agreement and pay the fee.

That being the case, you want to make sure you get all your important questions answered during this meeting. Following are some sample questions you might want to consider asking during your visit.

Find out if the franchisor has a strategic plan and specific performance goals for the franchise system. Does the franchisor have a program or objective to open a certain number of franchises?

What are the specific growth plans for the franchisor, for the short term as well as the long term? On which geographic areas or regions will the franchisor be concentrating?

Does the franchisor have a national meeting or convention? Are there quarterly or regional franchisee meetings?

Some franchisors have meetings in particular geographic areas once a year in addition to a national meeting. This gives franchisees the opportunity to focus on regional issues, hear about new programs and share their objectives and goals with the franchisor.

Be sure to meet the training director so that you can discuss the training curriculum that the franchisor follows.

Does the franchisor have a newsletter? What kind of information is provided to the franchisees?

Ask the franchisor representative to see some sample reports that are provided to franchisees. Are they provided on a regular basis? Are there reports that show the top-performing franchisees in sales and other operational and financial categories?

Does the franchisor have sales contests or promotions for its franchisees? Some franchisors periodically run such events to instill an increased level of enthusiasm among franchisees by offering prizes and other rewards.

Does the franchise system have a franchise advisory council? How long have they had such a council? How are the franchisee members selected to participate in it? How frequently does the council meet? Who represents the franchisor at these meetings?

What does the franchisor provide for its franchisees in the area of health insurance and other benefits? Does the franchisor have preferred vendors that franchisees can utilize?

How is the franchise organized from a technology standpoint? Is there system-wide e-mail, an inventory data line, a franchisees-only Web site (or an exclusive franchisee section on the corporate Web site)? How does it compare with what competitors are providing their franchisees?

Obviously, you should ask questions specific to the franchise opportunity. Based upon the results of your interviews with franchisees and your other due diligence activities, you'll be able to formulate specific questions unique to this particular franchise and its organization.

Take full advantage of this meeting with the franchisor to gain a level of trust and confidence. Do you feel, based upon all of the information you've gathered, that they will "deliver as promised"?

In addition to the questions you ask, this is your opportunity to have a discussion regarding the items in the franchise agreement that you would like to change or amend. Your attorney may very well recommend the process you should follow, whether you negotiate during your visit or your attorney negotiates on your behalf.

From the franchisor's perspective, recognize that the franchisor staff is going to make a decision as to whether they feel you are qualified to be a franchisee.

Hopefully, you have been able to have a positive visit with the franchisor and have resolved the items that you wanted to, with the result that you will sign what you and your attorney feel is an equitable franchise agreement.

Be sure that you capitalize on your meeting with the franchisor so that the decision you make is the right one. As I often tell prospective franchisees, "Its easier for a franchisor to recover from a bad decision than it is for a franchisee."