Sandler Training Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Sandler Training is a B2B franchise delivering sales and leadership training and coaching using its proprietary methodology. Franchisees run a local training practice serving corporate clients through workshops, coaching, and ongoing programs.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Sandler Training franchise requires a total initial investment of $78K – $102K, including a $59K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $738K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 17 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $78K – $102K
- 25th pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $738K
- Outlet subset24th pct Education
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 37th pct Education
- Units
- 138
- 67th pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
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 $78K – $102K including a $59K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $738K/year (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 86/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 17 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- TERMSNo protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Sandler Systems, LLC
- Parent company
- Sandler Holdings, LLC
- Predecessor
- Sandler Systems, Inc. (S-Corp, converted to LLC 5/31/2022); formerly David H. Sandler & Associates, Inc. (merged into SSL April 1994)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President
- David Braun
- Incorporated in
- Maryland
- HQ
- 300 Red Brook Boulevard, Suite 10, Owings Mills, Maryland 21117
- Auditor
- RSM US LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $27.7M
- vs $31.5M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- Blue Marlin Sandler SPV
- Sandler Systems Canada
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- David Braun
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 1983
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 36
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 86% below the typical education franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown8 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $59K | $59K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Training | $1K | $2K | |
| Real Estate and Improvements | — | — | |
| Office Furnishings and Equipment | $5K | $7K | |
| Office Supplies | $250 | $450 | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Cost | $400 | $1K | |
| Insurance | $2K | $3K | |
| Additional Funds (6 months) | $10K | $30K | |
| Total initial investment | $78K | $102K |
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
- $78K – $102K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $59K – $59K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- $544.79 per month
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $240 |
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 8% below the education norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$89K
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
81%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
15 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Sandler Training unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
81%
Above the 30–60% band. Verify revenue is per-unit average
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Sandler Training units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$738K
on $3.7M purchase
Total debt
$3.0M
SBA $1.8M + senior + seller note
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
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Avg gross sales
- $738K
- Per unit, per year
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 107 outlets
- vs category median 17 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $7K→$5.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $91K→$1.9M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 5 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 204 Education brands
Revenue is 8.2x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $738K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 8.2x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% — below the Education average of 10.6%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 5/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -4.8% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
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 Sandler Training Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 138
- Opened
- 10
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.7%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +0.7%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -4.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 30 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 17
- Loan volume
- $4.1M
- Median loan
- $100K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 13
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 8.5%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 27.5%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 48
- 1.2 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 12%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 33% went to startups / new businesses, 67% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in professional and management development training, franchised businesses charge off at 27.5% vs 16.0% for independents — franchising is associated with 72% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Sandler Training franchisees
Showing 3 of 13 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Sandler Training's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 12 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 8-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 17 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
2 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $1
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · RSM US LLP
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 86 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNegative net worth -$20,651,218
- 02HIGH1 resolved litigation matter
- 03MINORPositive revenue $31.5M and net income $1.87M offset
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% 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 |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | ZIP Codes |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 180 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
2 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 43 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- HubSpot CRM
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: HubSpot CRM
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
96 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Sandler Training · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Sandler Training franchise?
The total investment to open a Sandler Training franchise ranges from $78K – $102K, with an initial franchise fee of $59K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Sandler Training franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Sandler Training FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $738K. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Sandler Training 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 Sandler Training FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Sandler Training's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Sandler Training has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 17 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Sandler Training franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Sandler Training has 138 total units in the United States, including 138 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 10 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Sandler Training a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Sandler Training as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 86 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
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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.