By Richard Huffman, Celebree School

For many franchise leaders, industry conferences and networking events pop up on the calendar as routine obligations; something to “attend,” shake a few hands at, and then return to business as usual.

But in my experience, these events are far more valuable than that. When approached with intention, they become accelerators for growth, recruiting, innovation, and brand credibility.

I launched Celebree School more than 30 years ago with a single location and a mission rooted in culture and community. Today, we serve families across multiple states, and many of our most meaningful partnerships, strategic insights, and growth opportunities can be traced back to conversations that started at industry events.

Success at conferences is not about collecting badges or business cards, it’s about clarity, preparation, and purposeful follow-up. Here are the strategies I’ve found most effective for turning events into tangible business outcomes and expanding your influence within the franchise community.

Arrive With a Mission, Not Just an Itinerary

Too many leaders walk into conferences with a schedule, but not a strategy.

Before stepping on a plane, I ask my team three questions:

1. What do we want to learn?
2. Who do we want to meet?
3. What narrative do we want people to walk away with about our brand?

That clarity changes how you navigate every interaction.

Rather than drifting between sessions, your time becomes intentional; you target the workshops that sharpen your priorities, and you make a beeline for the conversations that matter.

For franchise organizations, event objectives often fall into a few key categories:

• Expanding franchise development pipelines
• Strengthening vendor and supplier relationships
• Benchmarking operational strategies against industry peers
• Increasing leadership visibility
• Building credibility as a thought leader

Once your objectives are defined, reverse-engineer your plan around them. Research attendees, speaking lineups, and participating brands ahead of time. Make a short list of priority relationships, not 40 names, but five, and focus on fostering those connections. Influence is built through meaningful, substantive interaction, not volume.

Lead With Value, Not With a Sales Pitch

One of the fastest ways to close a door at a networking event is to walk in and immediately pitch your brand.
The strongest connections I’ve built over the years began with listening first.

I approach conversations with curiosity:

• What challenges are other leaders facing?
• Where are they investing resources?
• What keeps them up at night?

When someone feels heard, the conversation shifts to trust and that is where influence begins.
Too often, networking is treated as transactional. In reality, it’s relational. Offer insight. Share lessons learned. Exchange ideas without expectation. When you lead with contribution rather than promotion, people remember you and they seek you out later.

Turn Panels and Presentations Into Platforms

Speaking opportunities are one of the most effective ways to expand your influence at industry events, not because they showcase authority, but because they demonstrate transparency and experience.

When I take the stage, I don’t just list all of the reasons why Celebree School is great. I talk about the mistakes we made, the turning points we experienced, and the philosophies that shaped our growth. That openness and vulnerability bridges the gap between speaker and audience member, creating relatability and key takeaways.

Audiences don’t want polish, they want true perspective. If you’re looking to position yourself as a thought leader:

• Choose topics that educate the industry, not promote your brand
• Ground insights in real operational experience
• Be candid about challenges and learning curves

Panels don’t just elevate your visibility, they create opportunities for deeper conversations afterward. Some of our strongest partnerships have developed from people who approached us following a session because something that we said resonated with their journey.

Bring Your Team and Develop Future Leaders

Conferences shouldn’t just be executive-level experiences. They’re invaluable professional development opportunities for emerging leaders. At Celebree School, I encourage regional leaders, operations executives, and development team members to attend selectively chosen events.

Involving your entire team in industry events paves the way for three things; developed bench strength with team members returning more confident and connected, a shared learning opportunity where the team can bring back mutually learned insights and implement them faster, and strengthened culture by showing the team how their roles contributed to the broader industry.

Events shouldn’t only be about who you meet outside the organization, they should also inspire the people inside it.

Network Beyond the Ballroom

The best conversations rarely happen inside the main ballroom. They happen in quiet corners after a breakout session, over early morning coffee, during evening receptions, and in impromptu hallway discussions. Influence is built in the unscripted moments of true human connection.

Make space in your schedule for organic conversations, don’t overpack your agenda. Some of the most valuable insights I’ve gained have come from spontaneous exchanges with peers navigating similar challenges.

Those conversations reinforce something important: franchising is a community, not a competition.

Follow Up Like a Partner

The value of an industry event is determined after you leave it.

Within 48 hours, my team and I debrief:

• What did we learn?
• Who should we follow up with?
• What ideas should we test or refine?

Then we send thoughtful follow-ups, not generic messages, but context-rich outreach that references the conversation and offers next-step value.

Influence grows when people recognize that you’re not simply passing through their inbox, you’re building a relationship.

Anchor Every Interaction in Purpose

At Celebree School, our mission has always been clear: grow people, strengthen communities, and build leaders.

Industry events are simply another place where that mission lives. Whether I’m connecting with fellow franchisors, suppliers, developers, or franchise owners, my intent remains the same; to learn, contribute, collaborate, and elevate our industry.

Because when the franchise community strengthens one another, everyone benefits: our brands, our teams, and the communities we serve.

Conferences and networking events are no longer about presence, they’re about purpose. Show up prepared. Lead with value. Invest in relationships. Share what you know. Listen even more. Do that consistently, and industry events stop being dates on a calendar, they become catalysts for influence, growth, and long-term impact.

Richard Huffman is the founder, president and CEO of Celebree School, a franchise leader in early childhood education that provides infant and toddler care, preschool, before and aftercare, and summer camp programs. For more information about IFA franchisor member Celebree School, please visit franchise.org/franchise-opportunities/celebree-school/.