Despite Alesia Visconti Denial, Franserve Brokers Promote Davidovich NYC Bagel Scam

15 thoughts on “Despite Alesia Visconti Denial, Franserve Brokers Promote Davidovich NYC Bagel Scam”

• Why would Alesia Visconti need MFV to tell her Davidovich NYC Bagels is troubled franchisor?

  Does Franserve not do their own due diligence on the franchises they sell?

• FranServe is growing too quickly and is about to implode. 90% of their brokers are brand new and fail within one year. Don Clayton will make up any lie he needs to get you to do the FranServe Broker Training for $25,000 to ensure they can refill the failing brokers with new failing brokers.

  I was at their convention convention this heat, it was a complete joke. It was a complete money grab for Alesia Visconti. The franchisors who attended said it was a “shit show” and will not attend again. The first day was open to the public, 5 people showed up! Way too many franchisors and very few experienced brokers.

  What’s is Alesia’s background anyway?

• Hi Mike! I’m a Business student studying FranServe as a franchise option. If you are available, I’d love to ask you some questions.

• While the groups like FranServe do in fact work with many great franchise brands, their vetting process is all but non-existent. They do not review FDD’s, verify registrations or speak with any franchisees. These franchisors pay an annual fee to be in the group and FranServe owner Alesia makes a lot more money on the annual membership fees than she does on the 5% royalty they take for deals done. Here is basically how it works… They promise the moon to a franchisor for a few grand a year so the franchise signs up. The brokers try to promote it to their clients but eventually their clients learn that the franchise is not a worthwhile investment.

  A previous post asked about Alesia’s background… She owns a resume writing service, joined FranServe as a broker then bought out the previous owner, Tim. Her actual franchise experience is very limited.

  Here is the truth and the scary part… FranServe has about 400 brokers and works with a little over 500 franchise brands. The entire FranServe organization does 350 – 400 deals per year. Do the math on that one and you quickly realize that’s a lot of brokers and franchisors not getting what they were told.

• Most brokers in IFPG, Franserve, etc…are not making money and many franchisors get no franchise sales.

• I was promised all sorts of great things when I joined FranServe. Don Clayton told me that most brokers do anywhere from 5 to 20 deals a year and that the failure rate was practically non-existent. Don also told me that he joined as a broker as well and had such great success he wanted to share the opportunity with others. About 6 months after joining, and getting no where I learned that most brokers were in the same boat as me and just chasing crappy leads with no success. I also learned that Don never joined FranServe as a broker but was strictly hired as a broker recruiter. I also learned that the people I spoke with prior to joining FranServe were all paid to speak to me and tell me great things about the opportunity. Talk about a scam!

• If I had any advice for people joining FranServe, IFPG, BAI I’d say do more homework. Brian Felderstien from BAI runs ads that he makes $250k a year as a franchise broker yet cannot produce a single actual franchise deal done in years. He is just a recruiter for more brokers. Don Clayton swears he was so successful as a franchise broker that he wanted to share it with others… He too is just a recruiter for new brokers. Want to buy his swamp land too? These guys make so much money recruiting the next sucker and never have to deal with you again. As a franchisor who works with brokers I will say some make a great living and serve us well, but most are pretty much panning for gold.

• I have been exploring joining FranServe as a broker and have been speaking with a few people. I did a google search for Alesia Visconti, FranServe’s CEO and noticed that she is part of another group called Franchise City? I also see that Jerry Rieder, apparently FranServe’s head of training and broker support is part of this same group. I see they include the FranServe logo but the people I have spoken with thus far can’t seem to offer any sort of explanation as to why executive members of FranServe also play for another team that is not available to most of their brokers. Can anyone offer any insight into this as I really would rather not assume that the CEO and head of broker training for FranServe are not even buying what they are selling. Thanks in advance!

• Do you really need more to discern that this is not a happy venture for you?

• IFPG – Franserve- Franchise Brokers Association – Business Alliance – are all a part of the same swamp. Do your homework.

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• I was recently exploring being a franchise broker and saw this site on Reddit. It gave some good insight into how and why these franchise broker groups operate. [redacted] . It doesn’t bash any of them but sort of pulls back the curtain.

  Alex:
  By “sort of pulls back the curtain” I guess you mean promotes one sleazy, misleading opportunity as being cheaper than the other sleazy, misleading opportunities.

  I do admire the chutzpah required to deceptively promote a broker group on a website that catalogues the devastation caused by franchise brokers who will sell their grandmother a vaping franchise if it’ll pay a commission.

  I’d recommend being more straightforward. how about: Why pay more to get ripped off by a broker franchise when we’ll rip you off for less?

  Thanks for the heads-up about the new group. They (You) are now on our radar!

  Unhappy Franchisee

• I was recently exploring being a franchise broker and saw this site on Reddit. It gave some good insight into how and why these franchise broker groups operate. It doesn’t bash any of them but sort of pulls back the curtain.

  Alex:
  By “sort of pulls back the curtain” I guess you mean promotes one sleazy, misleading opportunity as being cheaper than the other sleazy, misleading opportunities.

  I do admire the chutzpah required to deceptively promote a broker group on a website that catalogues the devastation caused by franchise brokers who will sell their grandmother a vaping franchise if it’ll pay a commission.

  I’d recommend being more straightforward. how about: Why pay more to get ripped off by a broker franchise when we’ll rip you off for less?

  Thanks for the heads-up about the new group. They (You) are now on our radar!

  Unhappy Franchisee

• Which new group, Sean?
  Curious in Cleveland

• Not criticizing all Broker Groups is the better choice. It would certainly be the wiser thing to do than to disparage all of them. It doesn’t make much sense, and casting aspersions on an entire segment of “Franchiseville” is inappropriate. Every group, just as with every Security Trader, Real Estate Agency, Business Brokerages, Acquisition Intermediaries, all have their good and bad “apples.” If going after a single franchise “Broker, Guru, Coach, Advisor, Expert or whatever,” that would be far more productive and informative than to lump them all into the same bucket.

  Many who comment here have had bad experiences with “certain” of these salespeople yet find it necessary to “indict” an entire group. This is hardly productive UNLESS you find that a single group has indeed violated, time and time again, the trust placed into them by prospective Franchisees. Some here have been brokers themselves at one time and have been affiliated with the very groups they disparage. In the interest of complete transparency, I will tell you that I am one of the founders of a “Broker” group. While my status with that group is now “Emeritus,” I rarely, if ever, work with individuals on a specific franchise. But, again, as with all of these groups, there are the good and the bad.

  This is a decision that potential Franchisees who engage the services of a “consultant” must make before doing so. Clarence rightfully says do your homework, and he’s right. But, as with any due diligence, whether you’re choosing a franchise or a franchise broker, you must do the required research.

  Now, anyone that knows me knows that I have been entirely forthright in explaining my background, my experience, and why these days I choose Franchisee Advocacy rather than pursue franchise brokerage. Oh, I still have the site up, and yes, I still get inquiries, but I hardly entertain them, if at all in large part due to my discomfort in representing many of the franchising brands. Most do not meet my personal criteria for being represented. It doesn’t make them all “bad”; they fail to meet my standard as my proclivity for the business has undergone a full-scale change.

  I volunteer with an organization that mentors individuals in nearly every business area, and we do it for free. Given my particular expertise in franchising, I mentor many seeking to invest in a franchise. I am honest, open, and never engage in attempting to convince them to move forward. This is purely a decision they have to make. The best I can do is direct them accordingly and provide them with the necessary resources to do their homework and due diligence. In this capacity, I couldn’t cross the line by using the position to turn it into a representation of a particular franchise, nor would I be interested in doing so.

  Speaking of my advocacy work, all one needs to do is visit my LinkedIn pages to see the progressive work I attempt to accomplish in the total transformational change necessary in the franchising space. From lead generation to disclosure to sale, I am advocating complete change, licensing, and significantly enhanced legislation that would favor prospective and existing Franchisees. Frankly, I’m not making many friends, but that isn’t a concern. Instead, my concern is righting the wrongs that have existed since 1979 with the “Franchise Rule,” whose tired words need an injection of truth and change.

  I routinely, without hesitation, call out the International Franchise Association for their comments, culture, and puffery that does little to assist Franchisees who have been cheated, defrauded and made victims of scrupulous franchisors who cared nothing about them and literally changed the lives of people who have invested life savings, homes, 401k’s, and provided personal guarantees only to have bankruptcy staring them in the face.

  Long post and my apologies in advance, but remember this if nothing else. YOU are ultimately responsible for the choices you make relative to franchising. YOU control the outcome, whether bad, good, or better. Therefore, YOU live with these decisions before, during, and after. Ultimately, it comes down to this. “Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread” – Learn to know what you’re doing and with whom. Get the advice you need and if you sense a single red flag, warning shot, or something that doesn’t feel right to you, walk away, or rather, run away. Never allow yourself to be pushed, cajoled, or influenced by some fast-talking sales rep who may have hung out a broker “shingle” yesterday.

  Be well, and thanks for reading.