If you’re considering starting a franchise business, you’ve probably seen a lot of sales pitches recently. Franchise teams build super sophisticated sales networks – websites, brochures, sales reps, etc. – all working in sync, non-stop, to sell you their franchise.

What you won’t often hear is that owning a franchise can be just as risky as owning any other small business. That’s why we spoke to a number of current franchisees and franchise experts about the biggest mistakes they made when starting a franchise and what you can do to avoid them.

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Mistake #4: Not following the franchisor’s system.

Mark Arduino, Anago franchisee in Detroit, MI

“Just follow the system.” I heard this several times and though in my mind I was doing it, I really wasn’t. FOLLOW the SYSTEM. Anago has their own proprietary cloud based systems and while we received excellent training, including videos, on how to use every aspect of it, initially I cut corners by not using it. Then I realized my mistake. I came to see that it’s very user friendly. I’m sorry I didn’t use it from the start!

Also, Anago’s trainers taught me to go on as many cleaning contract appointments as possible – specifically at least 25-30 per month, or 1-2 per day, in order to achieve the growth I was looking for. I chose to take the easy route and only run about 10-12 per month. After about 6 months I realized that they were right – my growth wasn’t where it needed to be, and I had to run more sales appointments. Once I started to follow the system completely, I achieved the results I wanted when I first bought the franchise.

Click here to view the full article at Fit Small Business and read through all the mistakes to avoid when starting a franchise business.