Franchise Update Magazine Issue III, 2013 | Page 50

GET to the
Head of the Class
My first day in franchising came in May 1985, when I was a young college student.
I had no idea where that decision would lead. After all, it was just a summer job!
It turned out to be a great decision, introducing me to the world of “franchise
development and growth through the addition of new franchisees”—something
many of us still refer to as franchise sales.
The world has taken many twists and turns since then, constantly challenging those
of us in “franchise development and growth” to innovate, improve, or be left behind.
One reliable way we stay ahead of the curve is to attend the Franchise
Leadership & Development Conference every fall. It’s a chance to meet with other
“forward thinkers,” put our heads together, and look for ways to improve
ourselves, our teams, and our brands.
What can you and I look forward to at this year’s event? A lot! Beyond the
excellent speakers, sessions, and panels featuring new and refreshed content
dealing with today’s needs, there also are opportunities for:

• Experienced CEOs to meet with fellow CEOs and press each other on the
constraints and opportunities they’re facing.
• Newer franchise development executives to participate in basic skills sessions

focused on the fundamentals of franchise sales success.
• Sales managers to work on leadership skills to improve the performance of

their teams and to review some ground breaking research that gets to the
very heart of motivating and coaching outstanding sales talent.
And of course there’s more—from inspiring keynote speakers to engaging educational
sessions on how to build appropriate content, leverage technology, and attract the best
candidates for our systems—as well as business solution roundtables and plenty of
time to meet with your peers and solution providers and potential partners.
One of the most interesting things about such a large group of talented sales
professionals coming together for this conference is seeing how some of the greatest
and biggest egos in our business interact, share, and work together. Let’s face it.
We’re in sales! We like to close transactions, and to do that we must have supreme
confidence in our own abilities and the systems we work within.
I look forward to seeing you at the opening of the event, and to how we all respond
to the many opportunities this conference provides. I hope you’ll join me in making this
the best event yet, stretching our individual skill sets to new limits and challenging our
peers around us to do the same.
See you in Atlanta!
Tom Wood, President & CEO, Floor Coverings International
2013 Conference Chair