Franchise Spotlight with Katherine LeBlanc

Lead conversion is the conversation franchise marketing leaders said they were prioritizing heading into this year, and for good reason. In this episode, Katherine LeBlanc sits down with Dave Hansen, CEO of ClientTether, and Lizzie Webb, VP of Operations and Marketing at Image Studios, to break down what's actually happening inside franchise funnels and what the brands getting it right are doing differently. One thing a listener will walk away with: the distinction between a lead quality problem and a sales process problem, and why it matters more than most marketers realize.In this episode:Why low conversion is almost always a process problem, not a lead problemThe two-metric system Lizzie uses to make the funnel visible across 150 locationsSpeed to lead: mystery shopping your own system and publishing the resultsWhen AI earns its place in the funnel and when it doesn'tHow to shift ad spend between channels and bring franchisees alongThe sixth call data point and what it means for follow-up strategyGuest: Dave Hansen, CEO, ClientTether Dave has spent over two decades building sales automation systems and nearly eight years inside the franchise industry. He brings a data-grounded perspective on where franchise brands consistently leave conversion on the table and what it takes to build a follow-up process that actually works. If you've ever wondered what your average lead response time actually is, Dave's answer to that question is worth your commute alone.Guest: Lizzie Webb, VP of Operations and Marketing, Image Studios Lizzie runs both marketing and operations at Image Studios, a 150-unit luxury salon suite concept across 31 states. Her approach to franchisee adoption, AI integration, and transparent benchmarking is one of the more practical examples we've had on this show.Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Apollo CMOWant to go deeper? 🌐 apollocmo.com ▶️ KatherineLeBlanc_Franchise on YouTube 🔗 linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc 📩 [email protected]

Doug DeLor of Spherion Staffing and Recruiting and Patrick Conley of Fran Focus join Katherine to map out where AI belongs in the franchise development funnel heading into 2027 — and where it should never go. The one thing to walk away with: the funnel is splitting into AI-owned and human-only territory, and franchisors who haven't drawn that line yet are already behind.In this episode:The Franchise Development funnel stage both guests would hand entirely to AI — and the one they'd never touchWhy AI search summaries are pulling click traffic away from franchise websitesHow a 30-70% website traffic decline got reversed through video and AEO strategyWhy most franchise nurture sequences treat every candidate the same — and why that has to stopThe case against relying on email as a primary Franchise Development communication channelGuest: Doug DeLor, VP of Marketing, Spherion Staffing and Recruiting Over 30 years in franchising, including time at McDonald's launching McCafe before moving into global brand transformation work. Doug's team went all-in on video four years ago, well before AI search made it essential — a move that reversed a major traffic decline and improved lead quality significantly.Guest: Patrick Conley, Founder, Fran Focus 25 years in the franchise industry, with a decade-plus focused on Franchise Development marketing. Formerly generated roughly 100,000 leads a year for The Entrepreneur's Source's coaching network. Now runs a boutique agency serving emerging and regional franchisors.Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Apollo CMOWant to go deeper? 🌐 apollocmo.com ▶️ @My Podcast Host on YouTube 🔗 linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc 📩 [email protected]

Ziebart's Chief Growth Officer Larisa Walega and Franchise Assembly co-founder Liane Caruso join Katherine LeBlanc for a direct conversation about what's actually working in franchise development marketing right now. From portals to PR to GEO, this episode covers the channel decisions and budget tradeoffs that franchise marketers need heading into the next planning cycle. You'll walk away with a clearer framework for where to put your Franchise Development dollars and why.In this episode:Why contact rate, not cost per lead, is the metric that should be driving your portal decisionsHow Ziebart funds PR outside restricted ad fund dollars and what 17 years of that investment producesThe Meta targeting shift that displaced Ziebart's website as their top Franchise Development lead sourceWhy GEO scores are replacing Google search spend in forward-looking Franchise Development strategiesBrokers: what it actually takes to make them work and where brands are leaving money on the tableThe resourcing gap in Franchise Development marketing and why consumer teams can't fill itGuest: Larisa Walega, CFE, Chief Growth Officer, ZiebartLarisa has spent 17 years at Ziebart, starting as a field marketing manager and growing into a role that now spans marketing, franchise development, data and analytics, and annual business planning. She thinks in compounding investments and long-view brand strategy — which makes her take on what's working in 2026 Franchise Development worth paying close attention to.Guest: Liane Caruso, co-Founder, Franchise Assembly and Fractional CMOLiane advises brands from emerging to 100-plus locations on marketing process, brand standards, and budget strategy. She also co-founded Franchise Assembly, which runs Mastermind programs for franchise CMOs and Franchise Development leaders. The cross-brand visibility she carries into this conversation sets her observations apart.Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Apollo CMOWant to go deeper? 🌐 apollocmo.com ▶️ @MyPodcastHost on YouTube 🔗 linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc 📩 [email protected]

Brandon Rhoten has been in restaurant marketing for nearly twenty years — CMO at Papa John's, CMO at Potbelly, and the architect of the digital program that put Wendy's back on the cultural map. In this episode, he and Katherine get into the product launch process that most franchise brands are too impatient to build, why cultural relevance is a point of view before it's a tactic, and why franchisees don't care how many impressions your last post got.In this episode:The filtering, ops testing, and market testing process behind a real product launchWhy the product launch calendar has to be built a year in advance — and how to sell that discipline to a C suite that wants to move fastHow Dave's Hot Chicken connects to culture without chasing itBuilding a marketing calendar for brands that don't have constant product newsWhat franchisees actually want to hear from marketing — and it isn't impressionsGuest: Brandon Rhoten, CMO, Dave's Hot Chicken Brandon has spent nearly twenty years in restaurant marketing. He built the digital and social program at Wendy's, served as CMO at Papa John's and Potbelly, and now leads marketing at one of the most culturally visible brands in fast casual. He owns restaurants himself, which means he brings both the brand-side and the franchisee-side lens to this conversation.Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Apollo CMOWant to go deeper? 🌐 apollocmo.com ▶️ KatherineLeBlanc_Franchise on YouTube 🔗 linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc 📩 [email protected]

Kim Gouch (Retro Fitness) and Will Fraker (The Good Feed Store) join the conversation to talk about what AI is actually doing inside franchise marketing right now — not the buzzword version, but the real decisions their teams are making around creative, websites, data, and channel strategy heading into 2027. If you leave this episode with one thing, it's this: AI is already rewriting the customer journey before your prospects ever land on your website, and most franchise marketers aren't watching.In this episode:How AI is disrupting the customer journey before customers reach your website — and what to do about itThe "go slow to go fast" discipline-first approach to AI adoptionWhere AI belongs in creative production and where it absolutely doesn'tHow to prioritize channels for the AI era — email, paid, website, and beyondWhat franchise marketers need to stop doing with AI right nowGuest: Kim Gouch, Chief Brand Officer, Retro FitnessKim has spent 30+ years in franchising across hotel, hospitality, restaurants, and fitness — including time on both the franchisor and franchisee sides. As the first-ever Chief Brand Officer at Retro Fitness, she's building the AI strategy for a high-value, low-price fitness brand with e-commerce at its core. Her brand-first perspective on guardrails and authenticity is one of the clearest frameworks in this conversation.Guest: Will Fraker, VP of Brand and Performance, The Good Feed StoreWill has been in franchising for over a decade across home services, retail, and specialty. At the Good Feed Store — a 300+ location brand — he oversees brand and performance marketing while also supporting a much smaller early-stage stretch brand. That contrast gives him a uniquely practical lens on what AI looks like at scale versus what it looks like when you're a team of one.Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Apollo CMOWant to go deeper? 🌐 apollocmo.com ▶️ @My Podcast Host on YouTube 🔗 linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc 📩 [email protected]