SalesStar Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
SalesStar is a B2B franchise providing sales coaching, training, and consulting to help companies grow their sales teams. Franchisees run local practices, managing client accounts and delivering coaching programs.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A SalesStar franchise requires a total initial investment of $206K – $242K, including a $125K franchise fee and an ongoing 10.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $206K – $242K
- 49th pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- 55th pct Education
- Units
- 7
- 24th pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Education avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $206K – $242K including a $125K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports Statement of Performance rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 48/100 (higher is better).
- FLAGBankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Sales Star Franchising USA, LLC
- Parent company
- Sales Star USA, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Sales Star Limited
- Predecessor
- and Affiliates
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Founder and CEO of Sales Star Limited
- Paul O'Donohue
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 13016 Eastfield Rd Ste B200 #203, Huntersville, NC 28078
- Auditor
- Davies, Goldstein & Associates CPA’s PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $92K
- vs $263K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Paul O'Donohue
- Headquarters
- NC
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 66% below the typical education franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown6 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Feenot refundable | $125K | $125K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Trainingnot refundable | $7K | $10K | |
| Office Rent | — | — | |
| First Month of Centralized Services Feenot refundable | $2K | $2K | |
| Computers, Software, Subscriptions, etc. | $2K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds - Three Months | $70K | $100K | |
| Total initial investment | $206K | $242K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $206K – $242K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $70K – $100K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $125K – $125K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 15.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 10.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $5K |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Total fee load | 15.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
SalesStar did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one SalesStar unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
19%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
- Item 19 type
- Statement of Performance
- Sample size
- 4
- vs category median 17 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $187K→$1.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- limited
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 204 Education brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 15.0% — above the Education average of 10.6%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports Statement of Performance rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +133.3% over 3 years (4 opened, 0 closed).
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Education averages
How SalesStar Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 7
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +133.3%
- Net unit change over 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 4
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 6 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
SalesStar is a brand-new 2025 franchisor with barely negative net worth of -$4,145 but positive net income of $28,435 on $262,500 revenue across 7 franchised units. No litigation, bankruptcy, going concern, or distress; Item 19 is disclosed. Very limited operating history and slightly negative equity are the concerns.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 3 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
bankruptcy proceedings. What’s it like to be a SalesStar franchisee? Item 20 or Exhibit B lists current and former franchisees. You can contact them to ask about their experiences. What else should I know? These questions are only a few things you should look for. Review all 23 Items and all Exhibit
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Davies, Goldstein & Associates CPA’s PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 48 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNew 2025 franchisor, limited history, 7 units
- 02MINORSlightly negative net worth -$4,145 (net income positive $28,435)
- 03HIGHNo litigation, bankruptcy, or going concern; Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 15.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | Free range |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Delaware |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 3 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 157 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 93 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- SMS System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: SMS System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
8 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
SalesStar · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a SalesStar franchise?
The total investment to open a SalesStar franchise ranges from $206K – $242K, with an initial franchise fee of $125K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do SalesStar franchise owners earn?
SalesStar does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the SalesStar FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the SalesStar FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is SalesStar's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for SalesStar (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many SalesStar franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, SalesStar has 7 total units in the United States, including 7 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is SalesStar a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates SalesStar as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 48 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent SalesStar, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.