FranConnect Announces Partnership with Lumin.ai to Help Franchise Brands Dramatically Improve Franchise Sales Results

- New Conversational Artificial Intelligence Proven to Convert More Leads into Opportunities -

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Oct 08, 2020, 13:38 ET

HERNDON, Va., Oct. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FranConnect, the leading provider of franchise management solutions for driving success in franchise sales, operations, and marketing, today announced a partnership with Lumin.ai, a technology platform that uses conversational artificial intelligence (AI) to convert more leads into sales opportunities. FranConnect's customers can now leverage the integration of Lumin.ai to dramatically improve their franchise development efforts by automating and streamlining the early stages of their sales process — leading to a much higher conversion rate than traditional, manual sales tactics.

The Conversational AI solution works behind the scenes 24/7 to provide franchise sales teams with more efficient, immediate engagement of prospective franchisees. The SMS-based AI bot, based on the Lumin.ai Smart Scheduler, arranges introductory sales conversations and automatically populates calendars, seamlessly integrated with FranConnect's core Sales CRM solution.

"After years of helping hundreds of franchise businesses improve their sales functions, we understand that 'speed-to-lead' is more important than ever. The Lumin.ai integration combines cutting-edge AI with user-friendly SMS communication to help FranConnect customers capture and engage leads more quickly while providing a better buyer experience in the process," said Jaffrey Ali, Chief Product Officer. "And during a time when high-touch lead generation is not feasible, the frictionless sales process is an imperative."

This newly-launched partnership has already garnered industry accolades as part of FranConnect's initial launch. This past September, Floor Coverings International, a mobile floor-covering franchise, utilized FranConnect's AI solution and was named the winner of the Franchise Update Media 2020 Innovation Awards in the Most Innovative Consumer Self-Service Tools category for its inventive use of technology to expand its system. Through this approach, Floor Coverings International reported a strong return on investment, including a 100% increase in its monthly leads from prospective franchisees and an improvement in its lead closure rate of over 40%.

"We know that 'speed-to-lead' makes a big difference in keeping franchisees engaged and FranConnect's sales platform helped us leverage automation to ensure that all leads were engaged immediately," said Tom Wood, CEO of Floor Coverings International. "FranConnect, together with Lumin.ai, has achieved the highest ROI of any platform in use by Floor Coverings International. We're excited about what we'll continue to achieve through this partnership."

Founded in 2016 by Tom Ngo, a technology veteran with extensive experience creating and managing innovation at corporations ranging from Disney to early-stage startups, Lumin.ai was created to elevate AI conversational agents to the level of collaborators, in a field where most "bots" merely take commands, gather information, and answer questions.

"In the shifting landscape of customer expectations, it has become de rigueur to start relationships on the right foot by giving prospects control over when and how to communicate," said Tom Ngo, CEO of Lumin.ai. "Through our partnership with FranConnect, we are providing franchise brands with technology that dramatically improves their ability to differentiate in a market where potential franchisees are increasingly awash with choice."

FranConnect will host a live webinar with Lumin.ai to discuss the role of artificial intelligence in franchise development on Oct. 20 at 1 p.m. EDT. To learn more and register, please visit https://blog.franconnect.com/franconnect-webinar/role-of-ai-in-franchise-development.

About FranConnect
FranConnect is the leading franchise management software provider. For nearly 20 years, the FranConnect platform has served as the sales, operations, and marketing backbone for over 800 brands worldwide. Nine of the Franchise Times Top 10 Fastest-Growing franchise businesses rely on FranConnect to drive growth, improve profitability, and streamline operational performance. FranConnect customers span all sizes, growth phases, and industries and they grow 44% faster on average than the broader franchising market. Backed by private-equity investor Serent Capital, FranConnect is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, with global follow-the-sun operations. For more information on FranConnect, visit www.franconnect.com.

About Lumin.ai
Lumin.ai uses its proprietary conversational AI platform to engage leads in real time for companies in multiple industries such as franchise development, home improvement, new-home sales, and home financing. It drives top-line revenues by driving appointment volume as much as 300%, becoming an integral element of the sales process by automatically updating a company's calendar, customer-relationship management (CRM) system, and sales personnel. Lumin.ai is located in Pasadena, California. Additional information may be found at www.lumin.ai.

Contact:
Alexya Williams
Fish Consulting
754-888-6302
[email protected]

SOURCE FranConnect