Franchise Update Magazine Issue II, 2013 | Page 26

Grow Market Lead
The discussion included topics such
as the ideal franchise candidate, profiling
tools, the award process, recruitment
budgets, conversion rates, cost per sale,
and the importance of adapting all of
those into a strategic development
plan—and sticking to it. Tanner won
the panel’s “best quip” honors with
his response to a question on how to
create a recruitment budget. “Setting a
budget is like carving Jell-O,” he said.
Day 1, Wednesday afternoon

Wednesday afternoon saw the launch
of educational breakout sessions. A
unique twist this year featured a group
of heavy-hitting multi-unit franchisees
on stage discussing hot topics as the
audience listened in. Multi-unit operator Aziz Hashim (Popeyes, Domino’s,
Checkers/Rally’s, and PetValu) facilitated the session, which delved into
topics as diverse as employee retention,
upselling customers, and maintaining
brand culture during growth, to closing units and working more closely
with franchisors.
The “Growing to 10 Units” breakout
session, facilitated by Sean Falk, featured
Randy Allen, CFO at the Morelock-Ross
Group of Companies; Dan Burrell, an
area director for Jersey Mike’s; Gary
Avants, a Zaxby’s franchisee, and Karim
Khoja, a Dunkin’ Donuts and BaskinRobbins franchisee. In this wide-ranging,
fast-paced 75-minute panel, they discussed the pros and cons of outsourcing, maintenance and repair, insurance,
the value of constantly interviewing for

24

Franchiseupdate Iss u e II, 2 0 1 3

“You don’t have
to change the
world, but you
can change one
person’s world.”
— David Akers

new talent, real estate and leases, lending relationships, and how to manage
the complexity that comes with growth.
Other afternoon sessions included
“Creating Infrastructure To Support
20–30 Units,” “Building Customer
Loyalty and Profits,” “Franchisee Exit
Strategies and Succession Planning,”
and “Show Me the Money: Franchise
Finance Pitch Session,” featuring a
panel of franchise lenders.
The Expo Hall officially opened on
Wednesday afternoon, providing a venue
for attendees to gather several times during the conference, attracted by suppliers
offering solutions for both franchisors
and franchisees—as well as by ample
food and drink. Suppliers and franchise
brands in the 200 booths rubbed elbows
with franchisees, pitching their wares and
answering questions. The Expo Hall was
a sold-out success, the largest ever for
the annual conference.
Thursday, Day 2

A continental breakfast began the day,
followed by a general session and more

details about the new “Franchising
Cares” initiative. Conference Chair
Sean Falk introduced Laura Castelvi,
senior manager for community outreach
at the Semper Fi Fund, who provided
more details about the organization.
Since its establishment in 2004, Semper Fi has issued more than 56,000
grants totaling more than $74 million
to more than 9,300 injured Marines
and their families.
NFL kicker and four-time Pro Bowler
David Akers took the stage and encouraged the audience to “get outside
of yourself.” He said this was possible
by giving “money, time, resources, and
passion.” Akers, who has scored more
points than anyone in the NFL since
2000 (although he had a terrible 2012),
said he’d planned to be a teacher before
finding his way to an NFL career. His
interest in helping children led him
to establish the David Akers Kicks for
Kids organization in 2001. Soft-spoken,
and not nearly as big as most expected
for an NFL player, Akers urged the
audience to “invest in someone.” He’s
adopted three children overseas, and
said people don’t have to change the
world, “but you can change one person’s world.”
Next up was franchise economist
Darrell Johnson, CEO of FRANdata,
who delivered his assessment of the
state of the current economy and how
it is affecting consumers and business
owners. “There’s still consumer debt,
recovery takes time,” he said. Despite
the persistence of consumer debt, a