BY KERRY PIPES & EDDY GOLDBERG
Amped for Growth !
18th Leadership & Development Conference raises the volume
Hundreds of franchise development professionals gathered in Atlanta this past September for the annual Franchise Leadership & Development Conference ( FLDC ), one of the year ’ s must-attend events for brands looking to improve their sales , share ideas , and learn more about today ’ s best practices in franchisee recruitment . The theme this year was , fittingly , “ Amplify Your Growth .”
This year , 463 total attendees representing 285 franchisor executives from almost 200 franchise brands across the food , retail , and service sectors were on hand for the event , along with 74 supplier companies sponsoring the event .
Two full days and a final morning provided plenty of opportunity for expert speakers and panelists to interact with attendees in large settings , small sessions , and roundtable groups . The educational sessions , developed by the FLDC Advisory Board , were packed , lively , and well-received .
No FLDC would be complete without thought-provoking and inspiring keynote speakers . This year ’ s keynoters were Rich Karlgaard , publisher of Forbes magazine , and Seth Mattison , workforce strategist and management “ trend spotter .”
The Exhibit Hall , sold out again , is another high point at the FLDC . Thirdparty suppliers and franchisor executives mingled freely to discuss business strategies , solutions , and products and services to help brands grow .
This year ’ s Platinum Sponsor was FranchiseGrade . com . Gold Sponsors were Benetrends , Hot Dish Advertising , Pango Financial , and Franchising . com . The STAR Awards Banquet was sponsored by eKomi .
FLDC Conference Chair Shelly Sun
2016 CONFERENCE NUMBERS
463 TOTAL ATTENDEES
285
FRANCHISOR PROFESSIONALS
200 FRANCHISOR BRANDS
74 SPONSORING COMPANIES
Amped for Day 1 The conference swung into action Wednesday morning in the the familiar hallways of the InterContinental Buckhead in Atlanta as attendees gathered for registration and breakfast . The day ’ s educational sessions consisted of two strategic tracks .
The morning session of the Grow with the Right Franchisees track was called “ Geo-Targeting for Franchisee Recruitment .” Lori Merrall , senior director of franchise sales at BrightStar Care , facilitated a panel that discussed recruitment marketing strategies and how to more efficiently and effectively reach prospects , as well as how to support hyper-local franchisee recruitment initiatives . Panelists were Georgia Chasen , director of franchise development at Sylvan Learning ; Jennifer Durham , chief development officer at Checkers & Rally ’ s ; and Jack Humbert , vice president of franchise sales and finance at J . D . Byrider .
After lunch , the afternoon session of this track reconvened in a session called “ Growing Franchisees To Grow Your Brand .” Facilitated by Dan Doulen , director of franchise development at Buffalo Wings & Rings , the panel discussed how to reach the right franchisees once you ’ ve defined your target markets . Panelists were Chris Goethe , vice president of franchising at Primrose Schools ; Scott Nichols , senior vice president of franchise development at Charter Fitness and Spenga ; Renuka Salinger , vice president of franchise development at Camp Bow Wow ; and Charles Watson , chief development officer at Tropical Smoothie Cafe .
Concurrently , the Maximize Sales Performance track kicked off the morning with a session called “ Mastering Sales Fundamentals .” Facilitated by Paul Pickett ,
36 Franchiseupdate ISSUE IV , 2016