Franchising World, January 2007
Franchising World magazine invited a trio of first-time International Franchise Association annual convention participants and members who are new to the association to share their impressions of the group’s annual meeting that was held in February in Palm Springs. The warm and inviting climate alone might influence some attendees to think positively about the gathering, but the power of the “content-substance factor” can’t be underestimated. Association members considering whether to invest in this year’s convention might take a few moments to learn what these three–a franchisee, a franchisor and a supplier–had to say.
Each year, the IFA annual convention’s program is structured to include a variety of educational sessions. Multi-unit strategies were especially interesting to one participant.
Mark Levis, director of franchise sales and development for Mr. Gatti’s LP of Austin found that the educational program about successful multi-unit strategies provided “great information due to our brand growing with multi-unit developers throughout the United States.”
Networking Opportunities
When asked their reactions to the opportunities provided for networking with peers, the group sounded a similar theme.
Levis, Great American Cookies and Pretzel Time franchisee Barbara Perlich and Robyn Promotion and Marketing Director of Operations Bobby Lehew all agreed that the convention setting fostered ample time and opportunities to meet and share conversations with colleagues.
“What I can say about networking and the overall experience was that it was very motivating,” said Perlich. “The convention provided a unique opportunity to meet and learn from the top franchisees and franchisors in various industries, all sharing common interests and values. And all were willing to help each other improve and succeed.”
Echoing Perlich’s comments, Lehew added that networking sessions opened the door to “discovering the amount of challenges a franchise system faces and making sure our solutions help alleviate administration and produce effective results for franchisees.”
“Sharing ideas with other unit franchisors,” said Levis, was a plus.
A popular highlight of the association’s annual convention is the Exhibition Hall that features hundreds of franchised concepts. The hall is often the scene of games, raffles and other crowd-pleasing activities.
While the exhibitions provided plenty of entertaining and light-hearted interaction among convention-goers, the setting also served as a “learning laboratory.”
“As a first-time vendor, our experience was exceptional,“ said Lehew. “We met people who were passionate about what they do; we learned how to better service our existing franchise clients and how to modify our solutions to make marketing materials management easier for franchisors and franchisees. It was a tremendous learning experience; we are looking forward to 2007.”
Worthy of a repeat performance?
So how did these participants rate the overall value of their annual convention experiences?
“It was a very motivating and uplifting experience,” said Perlich. “I would recommend the next convention for any franchisee interested in growing and succeeding in their business. Franchisees were welcomed and included; this was not just for franchisors. Lawrence Cohen, as IFA chairman, is the perfect example of the spirit of inclusion and the impact that franchisees can have.”
Providing a vendor’s perspective, Lehew summed up the convention’s overall value this way: “Exceptional. From the highly-organized collaboration with IFA staff members to the franchisor members we met: the IFA convention was the perfect harmonization for those with solid solutions custom-built for the franchise industry. The professional contacts plus plenty of time for networking provided ample opportunity to discover what other franchisors are doing and how we could help enhance their operation.”
Las Vegas bound?
Prospective IFA annual convention-goers can read the convention review that appeared in the April issue of Franchising World magazine, chat with colleagues about their impressions of that event and pay close attention to the 2007 program brochure provided in this issue. For those who haven’t made that decision, it’s not only about what there is to lose in time away from the business, but, more importantly, what can be gained and used to build that business by sharing with peers interested in improving their brands.