Brokers and consultants fish in the same pond: people considering franchise ownership. But the leads behave differently depending on which side of the table you sit on, and sourcing them well means understanding why.

The candidate's starting point

Most candidates do not know the difference between a broker and a consultant when they start researching. They search, they browse portals, they fill in forms. What they want at that moment is options and guidance — not a specific brand.

That means the raw material is identical. The difference is what happens next.

Broker leads: volume and matching

Brokers typically represent a portfolio of brands and earn a commission on placement. Their funnel is built for volume: many candidates in, matched against many concepts. A broker can afford a lower conversion rate per lead because the portfolio gives every candidate somewhere to land.

For brokers, the sourcing priority is quantity with a floor on quality — enough verified candidates to keep the matching machine fed.

Consultant leads: depth and fit

Consultants working closer to a single brand or a tighter portfolio need the opposite: fewer candidates, better fitted. When you represent one concept with a specific investment level, a candidate outside that band is not a near-miss — they are nothing. There is no other brand to place them in.

For consultants, the sourcing priority is verification against specific financial criteria before the lead ever reaches your calendar.

What this means for sourcing

  • If you are a broker, you can tolerate shared or semi-qualified sources better than a consultant can, because your portfolio absorbs mismatches. You still pay for it in dialling time.
  • If you are a consultant, shared leads are close to worthless. You need exclusivity and pre-verified finances, because every unqualified call is pure loss.

The common ground

Both sides converge on the same three requirements as they mature:

  1. Verification by phone — interest, timeline, and finances confirmed by a human before you spend a minute.
  2. Exclusivity — the candidate expects your call, not a week of competing ones.
  3. Real-time delivery — the lead arrives while the candidate is still warm, with notifications you can act on immediately.

That is the model we run for both brokers and consultants, with tiers based on verified liquidity and net worth so you can buy exactly the band your portfolio or concept serves. See the tiers or start a conversation.