FAQ

Your Recruitment Support Resources

The resources available to help you build your Executive Search Firm

General FAQ’s

Dimensional Search is an integral component of the Sanford Rose Associates International (SRAI) franchise organization. SRAI, a distinguished leader in the recruiting industry, consists of a dualbrand approach to meet the diverse needs of search firm owners. Sanford Rose Associates (SRA) is a premier franchise dedicated to the assimilation of pre-existing recruiting firms into its extensive network. The Dimensional Search brand takes a distinct focus, actively seeking to engage and onboard professionals who currently operate outside the realms of the recruiting sector.

One of the core pillars of our franchise system is the commitment to coaching and supporting our franchise owners. We understand that the success of our franchisees directly correlates with the success of our brand. As such, franchise owners under the Dimensional Search umbrella will receive comprehensive training and guidance, equipping them with the knowledge and expertise needed to excel in the executive search industry. We foster an environment of growth and progression. As Dimensional Search franchise owners reach a predetermined threshold of revenue production and demonstrate their effectiveness in the field, they gain a unique opportunity to transition into the SRA network of offices brand. This seamless transition allows franchisees to further expand their horizons and tap into the full spectrum of opportunities within our dynamic franchise system.

The initial start-up cost ranges from $103,900 to $131,600 which includes an $88,000 (one time) franchise fee. Most new franchises fall near the lower end, as the higher investment number accounts for traditional brick and mortar office space (which isn’t necessary for a Dimensional Search franchise).

Initial start-up costs include (but may not be limited to), the initial franchise fee, commercial recruiting and marketing tools, office rent/furnishings/equipment/security deposits/buildout costs (should you decide that you want a traditional brick and mortar office), insurance & business licenses, equipment installation (internet and phone systems), and personal working capital (to bridge the start-up gap to revenue.)

The term of our initial agreement is five years, however – if you desired to leave after the first two years, the agreement provides for a buy-out option of a payment of one year of your royalties (or $10,000, whichever is greater.) At the end of the fifth year, you could choose to exit without any payment or the agreement would continue and simply require a six month notice to exit without any fee.

Our Marketing Communications team provides comprehensive, integrated marketing support designed specifically for Dimensional Search offices. This includes website design, development, and ongoing content management; logo design, branding and collateral packages; search engine optimization; and media and public relations opportunities. Unlike generalist agencies, our team is built exclusively for the search and staffing industry—combining experienced digital marketers who understand the language, challenges, and dynamics of executive search. With decades of experience and a depth of expertise that other firms charge tens of thousands of dollars annually to access, we deliver a level of scale, consistency, and strategic marketing support that is unmatched in the industry.

No. There are no territorial restrictions on where our franchises can do business. You can choose to work with clients and candidates locally, globally or anywhere in between. The only territory-like rule we have is that we will not place another franchise within a quarter mile radius of your headquarter location without your prior consent.

Will we make recommendations on how, when, and where you do business? Yes, however, they are only recommendations based on our years of experience in the industry, successful track record of starting and scaling recruiting firms, and only in line with the franchise owner’s best interest.

You still wholly own and operate your firm. We have no ability or desire to mandate the way you do business, operate your business, the hours you work, or the amount your office bills. We are here to support you in the implementation and achievement of your vision.

Individuals who have yet to venture into the recruiting industry stand as our target audience. This includes prospective entrepreneurs such as hiring managers seeking independence from the constraints of traditional employment, as well as candidates whose career aspirations may not align with the services offered by their current recruiters. Dimensional Search extends a compelling franchise opportunity tailor-made for those who fall outside our industry’s traditional boundaries. We take great pride in offering an extensive support system that includes guidance, ensuring that our franchisees are well- prepared for success. Additionally, for those who achieve a specific revenue threshold, the opportunity to transition into our sister franchise, Sanford Rose Associates, opens up a whole new realm of possibilities.

As a new franchise owner, it’s natural to ask why Dimensional Search is structured as a franchise system rather than a loose network. The answer comes down to commitment, protection, and long-term success—for you and for the brand.

A franchise creates a deeper level of mutual commitment than a network ever can. It establishes clear standards, shared accountability, and legal protections that safeguard both your business and the overall system. This structure ensures that every owner benefits from consistency, best practices, and a brand reputation that is actively protected and strengthened over time.

We recognize that some people come to us with preconceived ideas about franchising—often shaped by poor experiences or stories from other systems. Our belief is simple: the franchise model isn’t the problem—poor execution is. At Dimensional Search, we’ve built a culture focused on fairness, transparency, and owner success, not short-term gain.

That commitment has been validated independently. Sanford Rose Associates (affiliate brand of Dimensional Search) has been ranked among the Top 200 Franchise Systems nationally by Franchise Business Review, based entirely on an anonymous survey of our franchise owners.

In short, this is not about control—it’s about alignment. The franchise model allows us to invest deeply in your success, protect what you’re building, and grow together with clarity and confidence.

You’re not just joining a brand—you’re becoming part of a committed ownership community built for long-term results which is one of the main reasons why Dimensional Search is the fastest growing executive search franchise in the United States.

No. Without an Item 19 (financial performance of the franchises) in our Franchise Disclosure Document (the compliance document required by the Federal Trade Commission which every franchise is required to supply each prospective franchise investor) we are restricted from supplying “revenue information” in our conversations with prospective franchise owners. However, while Dimensional Search, being relatively new, may not have this information in our FDD, we have a substantial number of franchise owners spanning both Dimensional Search and Sanford Rose, who can provide ample opportunity to gather that information through valuable validation discussions with those existing owners.

Success in both cases is certainly attainable, but the critical factor for either scenario lies in having a dedicated partner responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations. Our business model is action-oriented, emphasizing the need for active participation. This means, in order for a franchise to thrive, it must actively engage in client acquisition, candidate recruitment, and expert process management to bring placements to fruition. Without this proactive involvement, generating revenue may prove to be a challenging endeavor.

Acquiring and growing DS is a “get to” not a “have to” for the leadership team and owners of DS. Building something that is a true industry game-changer and that has never been done before is the legacy we strive to create. We are committed to a corporate team that is capable, connected and unified in the pursuit of our own next level. We love helping firms achieve their goals, and being able to do so within the framework of a like-minded group of fun-loving entrepreneurs is what we are all about. Imagine a few hundred search firms all in pursuit of building the search firms of their dreams, guided by common core values, who respect each other’s individuality but know that together they can achieve far more collectively than they would individually. Now think about the benefit of developing so many authentic and meaningful relationships with people who understand the issues you face. Operating from abundance and the concept that a ‘rising tide lifts all boats’ is baked into the cultural DNA of our team. We all have a gap between our achievement and our potential, and the gap between those is the journey to the next level. Of course, as soon as the gap closes, a new potential opens up. Like a journey to the end of a rainbow, the pot of gold is not at a destination as there is no end. The pot of gold is the journey itself!

Upon becoming a franchise owner, individuals are introduced to a dedicated coach who remains by their side throughout their onboarding, initial training, and the crucial ramp up period. This close working relationship with their coach remains for the duration of their tenure as either a Dimensional Search or Sanford Rose Associates franchise owner.

In addition to personalized coaching, we provide access to NLE Academy, a comprehensive resource considered to be a “Netflix” for recruitment training. This extensive library houses hundreds of training videos covering a wide spectrum of topics, from day-to-day tactical insights to strategic growth strategies and the intricacies of producing and executing exit strategies.

Our organization prides itself on its multifaceted support structure, featuring specialized departments for every facet of the franchise journey. From onboarding and continuous training to expert assistance in marketing, digital outreach, SEO, and lead generation, legal and procurement support, coaching and mentoring, collaborative business opportunities, hiring staff members, capital allocation for growth, back-of-the-house services for contract staffing, and more, we’ve got it all covered. As a part of our close-knit family of companies, generating more than $200 million in revenues, we are the ideal partner to nurture and empower your franchise business, whether at the beginning or during the growth phase.

Legal Agreement FAQ’s

  •  None. We take great pride in structuring an Agreement that is the same for every office that joins the DS Network of Offices. All offices, large and small, have the same Agreement terms.
  • If we make a change to the Agreement that is different from all other offices, initially we operate “as if” all offices were entitled to the same changed benefit. Periodically, we will apply that change to an amendment specific to all offices to formalize the Agreement change.
  • Modification of language to provide comfort or to add clarity to a specific clause with the same intent/purpose can easily be done during the initial legal review process prior to signing. These changes are limited to semantical changes and would not be considered structural changes.

  • An office wanting to leave the network must provide proper advance notice. The Agreement does not provide for an early termination within the first two (2) years. An office can leave the DS Network in years 3, 4, and 5 and will be required to pay an early termination fee equal to the previous 12-month/year royalty obligation or the previous multiple-year average annual royalty obligation, whichever is greater. An office wishing to leave the DS Network after 5 years may depart with the proper 6-month notice with no early termination fee.
  • Example:

    • Office wants to depart in year 3.
    • Office had a previous year or average obligation of $25,000.
    • After the proper 6-month notice time period, the office may pay the $25,000 and depart the DS Network.

  • The initial investment made by our DS team during the first 24 months is extreme. Our intent is to quickly get to a reasonable point in time from which we can begin to have accountability on both sides. For DS, the idea of breakeven remains several years beyond that point. If we invested all the time and resources into an office over the first 12 months and that office decided to leave the DS Network, then DS would incur significant financial damage to our operating model.

  • E&O is the only insurance that DS requires to be a member of the DS Network. E&O protects your business and the DS business name. Although E&O is not a federal or state mandated insurance, it should be.
  • DS has a special priced solution that will generally cost new offices $750 to $1,200 per year (exact cost will depend various factors, ie. – area of specialization and amount of coverage, etc.), which is a significant discount from other providers.
  • DS may recommend other business insurance coverages but E&O is the only coverage required per our Agreement.
  • Because we have not had a fire does not mean we don’t need fire insurance. One E&O claim could “burn your business” so best to avoid the risk.

No

  • Per all Agreements post 2011, offices have a protected territory of 1 mile or under (current agreements protect a 1/4 mile radius from HQ franchise location); per all Agreements post 2022, offices have a protected territory of a quarter mile. As a result, we simply need to confirm that your second address doesn’t violate the radius protected in the Agreement of another office. In the event that it does, we will simply reach out to the other office and request a release specific to this new location conflict. Although we have not had an issue in obtaining a release thus far, there is no guarantee of course but this has not proven to be an issue or concern for any of our offices since our acquisition in January of 2012.
  • If you have a remote employee working from their home address, this is not subject to the territory protected area. It only applies to an office business location from which you wish to build a satellite office location, and address that will be used on your business marketing.

  • We have a split partner notification form. Basically, a simple email from you to finance@dimensionalsearch.com, informing us that you have done a split. Provide us the name of your split partner firm/producer, then simply report the net fee received and pay royalties on that portion only.
  • This is a situation of “trust but verify.” We are simply confirming that your split partner is an actively operating search firm or search professional.

  • No. However, DS reserves the right to ask you to remove the DS brands, trademarks and/or logos if we believe the nature of the marketing effort is damaging to the organization.
    • Example: If an office elects to send 50,000 spam emails a week, we will not stop the marketing effort but we could request that the office remove all reference to the DS Network, DS/SRA companies, etc.

  • The startup fee helps mitigate the initial investment made by DS for the onboarding process, initial training, marketing assistance, technology training and set up, initial and ongoing coaching as well as the rest of the DS team’s assistance in the start-up and ramp up phase of the new franchise.

  • No. We can’t prevent or exclude a Franchisee from working in an industry or market.

  • We ask offices to report Billings and Cash within the first 5 days of the month following. We then process the reported account information by the 10th to 15th of the following month. We then send royalty invoices out between the 12th and 16th of the month. Invoices should be paid within a week from receipt of the invoice (give or take a few days of course). In short, about 20 days after the month closes, royalties should be paid.

  • In short, there is a minimum annual amount of $10k (prorated for new offices when joining). Minimum royalties of $2,500 are calculated quarterly so that offices don’t fall behind. Once $10k has been paid within the year, no additional minimum royalties will be due that calendar year because the minimum has been hit. As an example – an office cashed in a total of $20k for the quarter, thus paying $1k. That office would thus owe $1,500 ($2,500 minus the $1k already paid).
  • For new DS franchises, the minimum royalty goes into effect 270 days from the first day of training or 1 year from signing of franchise agreement (whichever is first).
  • For DS franchises, the revenue equivalent to hit the minimum royalty amount on an annual basis would be slightly less than $134,000 in annual revenue. This bar is purposely set low.

  • Two things:
    • Currently there is no federal law that says “royalty” payments must be taxed. However, if federal or states change the laws, DS would have the right to charge back the tax on the royalty payments. This doesn’t mean we would or wouldn’t; it means we would have the right to do so. We would figure out a solution in the event there is a federal law change.
    • We offer corporate deals on tools and resources. ZoomInfo is an example. ZoomInfo will charge a set fee for the product and they also charge tax on that product. Since DS pays ZoomInfo directly and we pass through the expense to the Franchise, we are invoicing for the tool/resource and the tax. The specific clause in the Agreement allows us to charge back the tax as a pass-through expense. The specific franchisee is responsible for proper accounting of the invoiced breakdown. Example: $5,000 product and $250 tax.