In this episode, Oleksij Rak talks with Jack Monson, Chief Growth Officer at franchise marketing agency Thunderly and host of the Social Geek podcast, about what franchise development looks like when candidates arrive already educated by AI, and why lead quality now matters more than lead count.

About Jack

Jack Monson has spent nearly 20 years in franchising, doing digital marketing and franchise development work. He is Chief Growth Officer at Thunderly, a franchise marketing agency celebrating 27 years this fall that works with around 75 brands on one goal: finding people who will become great franchise owners. Through advertising, content, PR, websites, videos and podcasts, Thunderly builds the top of the franchise-development funnel. Jack also hosts Social Geek, a 17-year-old podcast about marketing and franchising, and is active in the International Franchise Association.

What we talked about

Who a good candidate really is. Why Jack's team isn't interested in brands that only need someone who can write a check.

Blurring lines between sectors. How pizza and taco owners ended up diversifying into cleaning, health and wellness, and what that says about who succeeds.

The number every franchisor should know. How much one closed deal costs in advertising, and what happens to brands that can't answer that question.

Brokers, FSOs, or your own marketing. Where outsourced lead generation works, and the one thing a brand can never hand over.

Candidates who arrive after ChatGPT. Why the first sales call is no longer the first conversation about your brand, and where the research now happens.

Quality beats quantity. What AI-automated outreach did to lead intent, and why Jack thinks the best qualification tool is still a live conversation.

Sharpest moments

Where the research happens now:

"They've gone through Chat GPT and Claude and asked every question about you and your brand and your competitors."

The new marketing job in one line:

"If someone's asking ChatGPT what's the best pizza franchise in Texas, they're getting an answer. And you got to make sure that you are the answer, not your competitor."

On knowing your economics:

"If you don't know what that number is, you've got a problem."

On standing still:

"If you haven't changed your marketing approach or your business strategy since 2020 or before, you've got to do something different because the world's changed twice since then."

The surprise from an AI-visibility agency:

"You may find this a little shocking, but we don't use AI for any content creation."

Key takeaways

• Franchise candidates now arrive pre-researched through LLMs; being the answer ChatGPT gives is a marketing task that didn't exist five years ago.
• Google matters less every year; visibility is built through your website, articles, PR, Wikipedia, Reddit, and above all LinkedIn.
• Know your cost per closed deal in ad dollars and budget backwards from the openings you need.
• 1% lead conversion is a starting point; 5–7% is the goal, and some brands still never contact half of their leads.
• You can outsource lead generation to brokers, but never the brand itself.
• More leads are easy to buy; leads that remember your brand are not. A real conversation still qualifies better than any form.